Three Dances, for viola and two marimbas (2003)
Duration: 10’
Composed for viola and two marimbas.
Also available for alto saxophone and two marimbas, or alto saxophone and four-hands marimba.
Movements:
Score excerpt
Commissioned by:
Kevin Clarke, percussionist
Premiere:
Jason Fisher, viola / Kevin Clarke and Yuko Sato, marimbas
Griswold Hall, Peabody Conservatory, Baltimore, MD
Fall 2003
Performers in audio recording:
Recording of the premiere
Program Notes:
This commission provided me with a unique opportunity to bypass the traditional moods and styles the marimba and the viola each play in, and to combine their sounds for increased emotion and drama. I chose a dance suite as the form for this piece, both because the athleticism and motion needed to play each of the instruments reminds me of dancing and because the instruments together typically have a very bright, lively sound. The first movement (Syrtos) is modeled after the traditional Greek dance of the same name, and evokes the feeling of Greek music with its metrical changes and fast tempo; the second movement (Tango) is an homage to the sultry ensemble music of Astor Piazzolla; and the third movement (Gigue) is based on the Baroque dance of the same name, and incorporates the modern devices of modal harmonies and ostinato figures into the gigue’s traditional 12/16 meter and high speed.
— November 2002