View more images
Mallet Ensemble - Afta-Stuba! Composed by Mark Ford
Instrumentation: One Marimba Low A
Click the Links Below to Listen to the Piece
Program Notes: Afta-Stuba! is a sequel to my 1988 composition, Stubernic. Like Stubernic, Afta-Stuba! Is written for three players on one low A marimba. This composition can be performed after Stubernic or independently. A few Stubernic motives are utilized in Afta-Stuba!, and the main theme at bar 20 is derived from the first three notes of Theme of Stubernic. In this piece, each player plays in every register of the instrument at different times in the music. The work calls for the players to alternate positions behind the marimba, and even play the instrument from the front side. My goal for Afta-Stuba! was to combine quality music with a little fun to celebrate the potential of the marimba. t was premiered at the 2000 PASIC in Dallas, Texas with Christopher Deane, Shawn Hart and myself as performers.
"Premiered at PASIC 2000, "Afta-Stuba!," which is written for three marimbists performing on one low-A marimba, is a sequel to Mark Ford's "Stubemic." (Ford suggests that both pieces could be performed in sequence on the same program.) Those who have played "Stubemic" will recognize motives shared by both pieces. In fact, the main theme of "Afta Stuba!" derives from the first three notes of Theme of the previous composition. In "Afta-Stuba!" Ford exploits the spatial idiosyncracies of the marimba keyboard. The three marimbists must address the keyboard from all points of the compass in order to execute the tightly-written, closely coordinated, three-part counterpoint that characterizes the work. The result is a piece that provides as much fun for its performers as it does for the audience, and one that should be regularly heard on college percussion recitals. " - John R. Raush Percussive Notes, June 2001
Mallet Ensemble - Stubernic Composed by Mark Ford
Click the Link Below to Listen to the Piece
Program Notes: I dedicated Stubernic to Stefan and Mary K. Stuber. I went to college with both of these individuals and they have been friends ever since. In 1988 the Stubers went to Guatemala and Nicaragua for a year for humanitarian aid purposes. When they returned they told me stories of their adventures and the many marimba bands they heard, especially in Guatemala. I was writing a vibraphone/marimba duet at the time. However I decided to make it a trio on one low A marimba in the style of the Latin American marimba bands. Although I did not cite any music from Latin America in Stubernic, I did hope to capture the spirit and energy of their music. The title Stubernic comes from the Stuber's last name with the 'Nic" coming from Nicaragua (which is where they spent most of their time that year). For one marimba with three performers. Should be memorized. Players should use medium to medium hard yarn mallets at the beginning. Players 1 and 2 should use a slightly harder mallet after cadenza.
"Stubernic (pronounced "Stew-bur-nick") is a unique, challenging marimba trio for one 4 1/3-octave marimba shared by three performers. Dedicated to Stefan and Mary K. Stuber--and their music studies in Nicaragua--the title suddenly makes sense: "Stuber-Nic" (leave it to Ford to personalize a composition to this degree). This single-movement, three-part work should be memorized. Player 2, situated in the center of the instrument, has the most difficult part, in that the four-mallet middle section is a rhapsodic, guitar-like cadenza. Players 1 and 3 (tacet for most of the middle section) are positioned on either end of the marimba's range and provide clever accompaniment to Player 2. At one point, Players 1 and 3 must develop an ostinato on the frame and resonators of the marimba. The composition's first section sounds minimalistic and modal, and there is evidence of Ford's musical humor in that the performers rotate up the marimba in the fashion of a Central American marimba family playing musical chairs--before returning to their original register. The final section is truly an ensemble tour-de-force in that the parts are virtually all doubled in octaves at the end. There is also evidence of a set of variations on the modal melodic material presented in the first section. Players 1 and 3 utilize two-mallet technique throughout this ten-minute work. Stubernic is a spectacular ensemble for three mature keyboard percussion performers." - Jim Lambert Percussive Notes, December 1995
El Zocalo by Kai Stensgaard is a four performer piece for two marimbas.
Grenada, the first movement of Spanish Suite written by Isaac Albeniz, has been arranged by Kai Stensgaard for a marimba trio. Written with two, two-mallet parts and one four mallet part this ensemble is a great take on a piece that helped Albeniz contribute to the rebirth of Spanish nationalism!
Ensemble Sheet Music Bicyclops ADVANCED 3 Players Instrumentation: Xylophone, 4 1/2 Octave Marimba, Vibes
Ensemble Sheet Music Metric Lips ADVANCED 4 Players Instrumentation: Xylophone, Vibes, (2) Marimbas
Ensemble Sheet Music Pliatan Grade 5 ADVANCED 4 Players Instrumentation: Vibraphone (2), marimba (3), bassoon (piano substitution)
Ensemble Sheet Music Waldstein Piano Sonata, op. 53 Mvmt. 1 Grade 6 EXTREMELY ADVANCED 7 Players Instrumentation: Bells, vibraphone (2), chimes, marimba (3), timpani
Ensemble Sheet String Quartet in C minor, Mvt. 4 Grade 5 ADVANCED 4 Players Instrumentation: Marimba(4)
Ensemble Sheet String Quartet in F, Mvt. 2 Grade 5 ADVANCED 4 Players Instrumentation: Marimba(4)
Ensemble Sheet Music Caprice Español (Spanish Caprice) Grade 6 EXTREMELY ADVANCED 5 Players Instrumentation: Marimba (5) {or xylophone, marimba (4)} Texas UIL Percussion EnsembleThis title is on the Indiana state Percussion Solo and Ensemble listThis title is on the Florida state Percussion Solo and Ensemble list
