Marimba Montuño
William Susman
About this work:
Joseph Gramley, multi-percussionist, marimba virtuoso and performer with the Silk Road Ensemble recorded Marimba Montuño on his 2005 CD Global Percussion. Since then he has performed the work throughout the US.
It challenges the performer with 4-mallet technique combined with contrapuntal montuño rhythmic figures.
The following program notes by Thomas Mallon from Joseph Gramley's CD Global Percussion:
Marimba Montuño owes its harmony to the Fibonacci series and its pulse to Afro-Cuban rhythms, particularly the montuño, a motif that's repeated continually in the same pitch and voice. "I compose in small sections or chunks and then organize the sound into a fixed order," says Susman. The end result is rhythmically supercharged—a test of dexterity and speed for the marimbist.
Gramley's unflagging ability to play the rhythms simultaneously in both hands—a relatively new feature of 4-mallet marimba technique and composition—led Susman to dedicate the finished Marimba Montuño to the performer. But even before that Gramley had made the work his own. "I usually know within the first page if something I want is a keeper. Marimba Montuño is that kind of piece."
Year composed: 2002
Duration: 00:09:00
Ensemble type: Solo instrument, non-keyboard:Marimba
Instrumentation: 1 Marimba
Instrumentation notes: Standard "low A" marimba.