Amazonka

Item details

• Description +

  • Duration: 7 min.
    
    Amazonka is the Ukrainian word for Amazon - the Women Warriors. According to myth, the Amazons were an all-female society of fierce warriors who supposedly lived in the area north of the Black Sea. The Amazon society was described as stringently matriarchal. Males were of no use other than for mating purposes and as slaves, doing work that was traditionally performed by women. The limbs of the men were amputated so that they could not rebel and escape. It has been Yevhens intention to translate this story into music.

• Instrumentation +

  • Marimba (5-octave)

• Watch+

• About the composer +

  • The Ukrainian composer Yevhen Stankovych is one of the most outstanding figures in the world of music at the end of the 20th century. The collapse of the U.S.S.R. gave him the opportunity to establish contacts with the world, resulting in recordings of his music by various companies and the performance of his works by performers in other countries, bringing him wide recognition as one of the most individualistic and eminent composers of our time.
    

• Reviews +

  • Review (Percussive Notes, May 2012)

    Subtitled “marimba sonata 2008,” this contemporary, unaccompanied four-mallet solo opens with an extended, slow fortissimo chorale with primarily quartal harmonies. A sudden change of style (to even eighth notes) and very soft dynamics create a complete contrast to the opening stoic chorale. After a brief return to elements from the opening, “Amazonka” settles into a rhythmic set of changing harmonies before returning back to the slower character of the opening chorale.
    
    This unique composition continues with this segmented compositional structure that may appeal to some performers, but I find this disparate concept of form weakens this work significantly. The most satisfying portions of “Amazonka” are the rhythmic sections, but its thematic development is weakened by the continual interruptions of slower tempo shifts. In the world of marimba compositions, “Amazonka” is not one which will find a lasting position of pedagogical or performance value.
    
    —Jim Lambert

• Credits +

  • Model: Alecia Stryzhak
    Front cover graphics and layout: Ronni Kot Wenzell
    Copyright © Edition Svitzer 
    Printed in Copenhagen, Denmark

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