Marimbaroque

The piece is written for two instruments performed by four players, and players are required to move to another instrument in the last Allegro section. As a result, players may feel busy, but the audience will have fun!

Genre: Marimba Quartet | # of Players: 4
Level: Medium | Duration: 6:50

Instrumentation
Marimba 1 (4.5-octave)
Player I
Player II

Marimba 2 (5-octave)
Player III
Player IV

Program Notes
Marimbaroque was commissioned by Sound Gift, an outstanding percussion ensemble in Japan directed by Kazuko Ogawa and premiered in February 2009. The title suggests that the piece is composed in the style of Baroque Music. In fact, it has the form of a Baroque Concerto Grosso and is based on a few pieces of Johann Sebastian Bach’s (1685-1750), Two-Part Invention No. 4 in D minor, Andante from Italian Concerto, and Allegro from Brandenburg Concerto No. 3. However, this piece is not “genuine” Baroque Music, of course, so the composer intentionally lets notes sometimes deviate from an authentic Baroque style.

The piece is written for two instruments performed by four players, and players are required to move to another instrument in the last Allegro section. As a result, players may feel busy, but the audience will have fun!