Medal of Honor by Gene Fambrough

Instrumentation: Marimba (5 Octave)

Medal of Honor was composed for and is dedicated to all war veterans. As the son of a Korean War veteran, certain things have come to move and inspire me lately, among them a recent visit to the nations capitol. This was my first opportunity to view the Korean War Memorial, and I found particular interest in the area known as the Pool of Remembrance. Additionally, I have always been awed and inspired by the Changing of the Guard ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. I had been working on fragments of this work and found the needed inspiration to tie them together within this framework of ideas. The Prelude presents a haunting, ominous mood through the use of non-traditional harmonic motion and open fifth structures. Remembrance presents the key of B-flat minor, developed throughout the remainder of the work and explored more traditionally within ...of the Unknown. Although still in minor tonality, Celebration creates a joyous interpretation of the previous themes and a brief variation in major, concluding with a short Postlude. The five sections are played without pause.

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