Rhapsodic Aprismatism (Solo 4-Mallet Marimba) [DIGITAL]

Joest's conventional harmonies, peaceful textures, and simple melodic line and motive make for a wonderfully soothing piece. Be sure to add this one to your next recital.

Genre: Marimba (4-mallet) | # of Players: 1
Level: Medium Difficult | Duration: 4:45

Instrumentation
Marimba (5-octave)

Program Notes
Rhapsodic Aprismatism was a response to a lot of turbulence in my life during a recent summer. Its conventional harmonies, peaceful textures, and simple melodic line and motive were a much needed bright spot of order within the chaos. The five-note motive is transformed and twisted into almost unrecognizable forms before returning to the main key and melody. Throughout the piece, the home key has been tainted by the dominant key (the home key’s diametric opposite) in the bassline. The final elegant statement of this motive is at once a final desperate cry for order and an emotional scream of frustration. The tension becomes so thick, it becomes almost unbearable, until everything breaks and the simplicity of the main melody returns for an intensely satisfying conclusion, moving the bass into the home key, not only releasing the tension of the melody, but the piece itself. It provides a happy ending, a way to escape from the violent emotional struggles of that period of my life.

The title is a reference to the piece’s form, a rhapsody, and my mild synesthesia – I see notes and chords in color. The root of the fabricated word “aprismatism” is “prism,” which references these color changes.