Modern Japanese Marimba Pieces 1 by Miki, Miyoshi, Sueyoshi, and Ikebe

Modern Japanese Marimba Pieces 1 is a small collection of some of the most important marimba solos to come out of Japan. All of them are written with what has come to be known as a 'Japanese' sound which can sound a little strange to Western ears, focused more on creating a mood rather than a harmonic chord progression. Solos include:

• Time for Marimba by Minoru Miki
• Torse III by Akira Miyoshi
• Mirage pour Marimba by Yasuo Sueyoshi
• Monovalence I by Shin-ichiro Ikebe

Time for Marimba by Minoru Miki was written back in 1968 for Ms. Keiko Abe on her very first marimba recital, during a period when most marimba music consisted popular Western classical music arrangements filled with rolls. Minoru wanted to avoid the use of rolls as much as possible for this solo.

The piece uses a six-tone series of notes and changing quintuple rhythms to create an improvisational atmosphere. It's got a distinctly Japanese tonal character and is one of the most performed marimba solos ever written. Difficulty - Advanced. Duration -10:00

Torse III by Akira Miyoshi is a multi-movement solo that creates vastly different characters between each of the movements. I. These is angular and disjunct. II. Chant is a chorale with a very traditional Japanese tonality. III. Commentaire is a moto perpetuo exploration. IV. Synthese is the largest movement, combining the previous three into one character.

Mirage pour Marimba by Yasuo Sueyoshi was also written for Keiko Abe, without regard for technical or musical difficulty because of her reputation of being able to play anything.

Divided into seven continuous movements, this solo changes style frequently from moody chorale to frantic, wild forays. Difficulty - Advanced +. Duration - 8:30