The piece opens freely with a quick 32nd note pattern to be repeated ad lib with written dead strokes to be interspersed throughout. Out of this section comes a more structured multi-meter section (4/4, 7/4, 5/4, 6/4) before settling in 10/8. Independent…
Style:
Solo Works
Composer:
J.B. Smith
Publisher:
C. Alan Publications
This collection of three solos for marimba explores three distinctive moods and characters. They may be performed as a set or as individual solos.Program NotesPrelude: Aggressively Happy was written to serve as a “high octane,” aggressive opener to concerts.…
Style:
Percussion
Composer:
Robert Clayson
Publisher:
C. Alan Publications
After a free, improvisatory opening, Choice moves into a rhythmically exciting dance-like section in 6/8. The performer is required to play polyrhythms between the hands as if the music can’t decide whether it is in 6/8 or 2/4. It then dies down into a final…
Style:
Solo Works
Composer:
J.B. Smith
Publisher:
C. Alan Publications
Robert Clayson's new piece Dance of the Music Box Figurines is scored for 4.3-octave marimba solo and is a musical portrayal of a ballerina dancing gracefully to music played by an antique music box. This piece gives the performer many opportunities to…
Style:
Solo Works
Composer:
Robert Clayson
Publisher:
C. Alan Publications
After a lyrical opening exploring independent rolls, the piece quickly moves into a perpetual motion section of running sixteenth notes. Traveling through countless meter changes, the driving accents and rhythms end up owning the performer and the audience…
Style:
Solo Works
Composer:
J.B. Smith
Publisher:
C. Alan Publications
The first four etudes explore different sticking combinations (1423, 243, 321, and so on) in a musically and compositionally sound setting. Smith provides sticking indications for these four pieces. The fifth and final etude combines the techniques in the…
Style:
Solo Works
Composer:
J.B. Smith
Publisher:
C. Alan Publications
with Spoken Voice
The percussion lay down a groove for this work with solo voice that can also stand alone as a great ensemble work.Program NotesText by M.B. Hanrahan Invitation stands. Driven to a foreign land and dropped from the sky, through a hole in your…
Style:
Percussion
Composer:
J.B. Smith, Hanrahan
Publisher:
C. Alan Publications
The five movements are not programmatic in a literal sense but are suggestive of the tableaux and natural drama one might encounter in a mountain environment. Although the piece was written to be performed in its complete form without breaks between movements…
Style:
Percussion
Composer:
J.B. Smith
Publisher:
C. Alan Publications
The Mourning at Fort Polk is a solo for low A marimba that serves as a reminder that some things are bigger than ourselves. It is dedicated to all of the men and women who serve in the U.S. Armed Forces. May your service and many sacrifices never be forgotten…
Style:
Percussion
Composer:
Robert Clayson
Publisher:
C. Alan Publications
Written for a trio of middle aged men, Prelude to Elaboration offers a means to alternative ends: the development of a deconstruction and/or the gradual reduction of a fabricated statement. From the opening perspective the work could be titled Elaboration on…
Style:
Percussion
Composer:
J.B. Smith
Publisher:
C. Alan Publications