5 Préludes - Book No. 3

Item details

• Description +

  • Duration: 20 min.
    
    This final set of Préludes is written to expand both technique and musicianship for the advanced level marimba soloist.  Each piece is progressively more difficult and students should learn them in order for maximum effect.  Your ability to present multiple layers of musical material, including comprehensive application of independent rolls in a variety of textures, is truly tested in this collection.  The musical language in these Préludes pays tribute to the classic masterpieces of the contemporary marimba solo repertoire by composers including Druckman, Thomas, Schwantner, and Viñao.
    
    no. 9 [...surface currents] A musical interplay between various forms of moving water are represented throughout this Prélude with numerous rapid figures. Keep each note separate and distinct without losing tempo.  Balanced lateral rotation will also encourage the development of smooth independent rolls. 
    
    no. 10 [...spirals] What happens when two forms collide?  Each component part intersects with another, drawn together by gravity, only to be thrown apart again.  This Prélude explores the expansion and contraction of musical space, relative to pitch and time, imagined in such a collision. 
    
    no. 11 [...echoes] This two-part Prélude challenges the complete virtuosity of any marimba soloist.  The reverberation of the opening motives permeates the lush harmonies and expressive themes found throughout Part A.  The relentless moto perpetuo that follows in Part B is full of technical fireworks; do not lose sight of the musical demands in this complex, multi-layered form. 
    
    no. 12 [...genesis] This movement unfolds through a pattern repetition process, based on cyclic permutations of a 5-note chromatic motive.  Only two mallets are needed to execute this process, where differences in register and articulation create the perception of counterpoint within a single melodic line.  Notated without a time signature or barlines, you may interpret the accelerating and decelerating rhythms somewhat freely to achieve a more improvisatory feel. 
    
    no. 13 [...evolution] The work of the previous twelve Préludes culminates here in a 12-tone serial fugue that stretches the limits of what is playable with four mallets on marimba.  More of a set of variations than true counterpoint, the initial subject and countersubject undergo both mutation and permutation in a variety of musical settings, requiring complete command over all types of gestures across the full five-octave range.  Let the next stage in your musical evolution begin.  Endless forms, most beautiful and wonderful, are now possible. 
    
    Each book of Préludes can be performed together as a multi-movement set, but individual works may also be played separately, or in combination with other pieces in the entire collection.
    
    

• Instrumentation +

  • Marimba (5-octave)

• About the composer +

  • Dr. Jeremy Brunk serves as Lecturer of Music at Millikin University,where he teaches applied percussion, percussion methods, music theory, ear training and assists with the percussion ensembles. Outside of Millikin, he has given solo recitals and masterclasses in marimba and timpani across central and northern Illinois, including past events for PAS and IMEA. Most recently, his composition Dominican Cycles was performed at 2008 PASIC by the Millikin Percussion Ensemble, and he gave solo marimba recitals at Millikin and Northern Illinois Universities last Spring. Dr. Brunk currently serves as Principal Timpanist for the Millikin-Decatur Symphony, Section Percussionist with the Illinois Symphony, and acting Principal Timpanist with the Peoria Symphony this season; appearing previously with Sinfonia da Camera, Champaign-Urbana Symphony, Oklahoma City Philharmonic and North Carolina School of the Arts Summer Festival Orchestra. He is also co-founding member of Melange Chamber Players of Chicago and works each summer as a dance accompanist at Interlochen Center for the Arts. In 2007, Jeremy Brunk completed his D.M.A.in Percussion Performance and Literature at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; and holds an M.M from the University of Oklahoma and B.M. from Millikin University.

• Reviews +

  • To come.

• Credits +

  • Front cover: Sune Kliborg Lynge (Kliborg Design) 
    Engraving: Jeremy Brunk
    Printed in Copenhagen, Denmark
    Copyright © Edition SVITZER
    www.editionsvitzer.com

Related publications

4 Préludes - Book No. 1

4 Préludes - Book No. 2

Scott Joplin Ragtime Collection (Vol. 2)