Liquid Bars (2008)
Joào Pedro Oliveira
PUBLISHER: Keyboard Percussion Publications
RECORDINGS: None
RANGE: 4.3 octaves
DURATION: 11:45
MOVEMENTS: Single movement
TYPE OF ACCOMPANIMENT: Fixed
MUSICAL OVERVIEW: The tape and marimba should sound as one instrument. The tape often mimics live effects processing of the marimba. Although the work has an improvisatory feel and does incorporate proportional notion, time cues and length of durations must be followed when notated to effectively communicate the musical intentions. The articulations, rapid lines, and dynamic range of the marimba writing is best combines with the tape by using a matched set of hard mallets. The marimba notation is standard, with a few special figures explained in the preface to the score. Sounds on the tape may trigger events in the marimba, or the marimba may trigger events in the tape. Confidence in performance is key to successfully portraying the latter.
ACCOMPANIMENT OVERVIEW: Synthesized and sampled sounds. The writing requires moments of synchronization within a relatively free environment. The tape is not a timekeeper or present simply as a background to the marimba, rather it functions as a collaborator in the music. The tape contains contemporary sounds using modern processing techniques.
TECHNIQUE OVERVIEW: SI, SIA, DV, and DL. Rapid, four-mallet, single-line stickings are required, including passages with large intervallic leaps. Although the work is technically difficult, the rhythmic difficulties and timekeeping present larger challenges to the performer than the techniques involved. The performer must have a strong kinesthetic sense of the marimba.