Six-Mallet Marimba Technique, Sparkling Transcriptions

M ore suggestions from readers of the previous CMT post about transcriptions… thank you! The Bach pieces transcribed for marimba, especially. Bach himself transcribed one of his cello suites for the lute, so we guess that gives encouragement to everyone to try her/his hand at it. Without doubt, Bach’s music transcribes well to marimba, although works by Pleyel and Albeníz and other composers do nicely, too.

Like harpsichord, the intimacy and timbre of marimba are in some ways more conducive to the ‘confessional’ Bach—more congenial to a posture of reverence or genuflection than piano is. Modern marimba has five full octaves, but I suppose you might wish that the high register of a marimba had more sparkle. Maybe the origin of such a wish is undervaluing the skill of the transcription and the artistry of the percussionist. Following the advice of an emailer, I listen to Kai Stensgaard. His six-mallet technique accommodates more complex contrapuntal writing than four-mallet could do. Kai’s work is wonderful. Speed is not a limiting factor per se, but it’s extremely difficult to play with 6-mallet polyphony completely relaxed, without fatigue. The tiny, highly personal deviations from perfect synchrony lend a shimmering, human aspect—revealing an aspect of our humanness as we ‘hit a wall’ in our attempts to synchronize events with a time resolution much below about 100 - 120 msec (mm = 400 - 600) [see Bruno Repp's paper here (500KB pdf) ]. It is still computationally difficult for virtual instrument software to emulate this biomechanics with believable realism… Kai’s technic is virtuosic—and the relaxed, earthly, biomechanics-constrained humanity of it is part of the beauty we hear in his performances. There are many other beautiful transcriptions and performances/performers, too.



[ Kai Stensgaard, marimba; Ramirez, ‘Missa Criolla—Gloria’, video 2008 ]



[ Kai Stensgaard, marimba; Albeniz, ‘Asturias Leyenda’, video 2008 ]

For sacred and classical compositions for marimba, you may also like to try Cambridge, Massachusetts based Thomas Oboe Lee’s pieces. For example, his ‘Prelúdios’:


    [50-sec clip, Thomas Oboe Lee, ‘Prelúdios’, Mvt. 1, 1.2MB MP3]


    [50-sec clip, Thomas Oboe Lee, ‘Prelúdios’, Mvt. 2, 1.2MB MP3]


    [50-sec clip, Thomas Oboe Lee, ‘Prelúdios’, Mvt. 3, 1.2MB MP3]


    [50-sec clip, Thomas Oboe Lee, ‘Prelúdios’, Mvt. 4, 1.2MB MP3]

Bach at Christmas. Warm fire in fireplace. Mulled cider. Friends and family visiting. Cheers!


    [50-sec clip, Ed Hartman, Bach, ‘Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring’, 1.2MB MP3]

• Kai Stensgaard website
  
• Kai Stensgaard on MySpace
  
• Kai Stensgaard channel on YouTube
  
• Classical Marimba League
  
• Marimba repertoire at C. Alan Publishers
  
• Marimba.org
  
• Percussive Arts Society
  
• MostlyMarimba.com
  
• Gwendolyn Burgett Thrasher page at Michigan State Univ
  
• Pius Cheung website
  
• Thomas Oboe Lee, Preludios, at American Music Center
  
• Burgett-Thrasher G. Six Cello Suites by J.S. Bach Arranged for Marimba. (Blue Griffin, 2007.)
  
• Cheung P. Goldberg Variations arranged for Solo Marimba. (MPC, 2006.)
  
• Hartman E. Marimbells of Christmas. (Olympic Marimba, 2008.)
  
• Mygind J, Videal G, et al. Marimba Music by Kai Stensgaard. (Mape, 2007.)
  
• Thomas Oboe Lee website
  
• Composers in Red Sneakers
  
• TOL page at Boston College
  
• DSM. Latent Meaning: Performances as Authorship, Transcriptions as Intrepid Exploring. CMT blog, 14-DEC-2008.