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, $28.00 (https://c-alanpublications.com/digital-dances-no-3/))
Digital Dances No. 3 (Perc Ens 4-5)
Genre: Percussion Ensemble
# of Players: 4-5
Level: Medium Difficult | Duration: 6:00
Publisher: C. Alan Publications | Copyright: 2019
Download mp3 | Click on images to left for score sample
Rating:
Price:
$28.00
Item #:
25540
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Notes & Instrumentation
Digital Dances No. 3 is the third in a series of marimba quartets based heavily on video game and electronic dance music. The constant driving pulse and changing meters keep the excitement to the very end. The work is scored for either quartet or quintet, for groups of varying ability, and may be performed on only 3 instruments, if necessary.
Genre: Percussion Ensemble | # of Players: 4-5
Level: Medium Difficult | Duration: 6:00
Instrumentation
Marimba 1 (4.0-octave)[can be shared w/ Mar. 4]
Marimba 2 (4.3-octave)[can be shared w/ Mar 4a]
Marimba 3 (4.3-octave)[opt. notes for 5.0-octave]
Marimba 4 (5-octave)*
*Also included are parts for Marimba 4a and 4b, which turns this into a quintet.
Marimba 4a & 4b replace Marimba 4 and require a 5.0-octave instrument.
Program NotesDigital Dances No. 3 is the third in a series of marimba quartets based heavily on video game and electronic dance music. It employs a relentless, driving pulse and constantly changing meters, with harmonic influences from both popular and modern classical genres. The work is scored such that it can be performed as either a quartet or quintet, to accommodate varying ability levels, and requires only three total marimbas (1 5.0-octave for quartet, 2 for quintet), if necessary.
Digital Dances No. 3 was commissioned by Dr. Corey Robinson and the University of Texas-Tyler Percussion Ensemble, who premiered the work at the Texas Music Educators Association Convention, in San Antonio, TX on February 14, 2019.
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Product Reviews
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Percussive Notes New Literature Review
Third in a series of marimba quartets influenced by video game and electronic dance music, “Digital Dances No. 3” is a fast paced, unrelenting journey through syncopation and interplay within multiple meters. Although written as a marimba quartet, the piece comes with an arrangement for five players, splitting the bottom marimba part into two parts, requiring an additional 5-octave marimba. One of the top marimba players can share a marimba with a bass marimba player, so it is possible to play this piece with three marimbas and four players, or four marimbas and five players if the performers desire. The advantage of the split part is that it would alleviate some of the difficulty of Part 4, allowing for a group with more varied talent levels to perform the work. Parts 1 through 3 are relatively equal in difficulty, with 1 and 2 dealing with the melody and fast two-mallet passages frequently, while parts 3 and 4 utilize four mallets for chords and arpeggiated lines.
After a brief opening presenting a three-note theme in the upper marimba voice, the piece takes off with a driving bass line that rarely lets off the gas. With several descending octatonic interjections that serve as cadential moments, Marco Schirripa develops the bass and melodies around adding eighth notes that eventually disintegrate into the second part of the piece. Here the melody carries the rhythmic stability, shifting between three and four beats within a measure. Even when the bass enters with quarter notes, the shifting high and low notes help to mask the beat and confuse the listener until the piece enters a seemingly different phrase in 7/8. Schirripa eloquently weaves in the previous melody and develops these two concepts together until a structural, harmonic, and rhythmic arrival that finally returns the piece to the original driving bass line that helps to tie the whole piece together. With a clear return of the introductory material and combining elements developed throughout, the piece finishes and creates a satisfying arc.
At around six minutes in length, this keyboard ensemble is a great addition for an undergraduate percussion ensemble concert.
Matthew Geiger
Percussive Notes
Vol. 59, No. 2, April 2021 Matthew Geiger on Jun 16th 2022
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