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Genre: Duet for 2 Marimbas
# of Players: 2
Level: Medium Difficult | Duration: 6:15
Publisher: C. Alan Publications | Copyright: 2018
Download mp3 | Click on images to left for score sample

Inspired by the way individual elements of the environment come together in one beautiful landscape, Sonic Portrait captures that essence through sound. The work features two distinct marimba parts, but like a landscape they have a constant dependence on each other to make the piece complete. The theme of individual ideas coming together permeates the whole piece.
Genre: Duet for 2 Marimbas | # of Players: 2
Level: Medium Difficult | Duration: 6:15
Instrumentation
Marimba 1 (5-octave)
Marimba 2 (5-octave)
Program Notes
Sonic Portrait came about as the result of a road trip from Nashville to the composer’s hometown in Texas. Inspired by the way individual elements of the environment come together in one beautiful landscape, he sought to capture that essence through sound. The work features two distinct marimba parts, but like a landscape they have a constant dependence on each other to make the piece complete. Within each of the sections the two players have melodies that bounce between each other and without one the melody will be incomplete. This theme of individual ideas coming together permeates throughout the whole piece to the point where two of the main themes are juxtaposed to form the final section of the piece.
Inspired by the way individual elements of the environment come together in one beautiful landscape, “Sonic Portrait” captures that essence through sound. The work features two distinct marimba parts, but like a landscape they have a constant dependence on each other to make the piece complete. The theme of individual ideas coming together permeates the whole piece. Sam Carullo has done an excellent job blending each part seamlessly with a combination of vertical orchestration and dynamic indications.
The piece really allows and challenges each player to really listen and play off of the other, which makes for better chamber music. Overall, this is a wonderful addition to the music duo repertoire, and while the piece is highly accessible to audiences, it also provides a high degree of musical depth and technical challenges for the performers. This would be great for any senior recital, graduate recital, or professional performance.
Joe Millea
Percussive Notes
Vol. 57, No. 4, September 2019 Joe Millea on Jul 15th 2022