This is an excellent intermediate-level
marimba quartet, which is very pedagogically sound as well. - JimLambert Printed by permission of the Percussive Arts Society, inc.
I
have a large cottonwood tree in my backyard and every winter,
sometime around the first of December, I look out to find a bed of
leaves that virtually hides any evidence of grass. Raking it up is a
project! However, with two young children at home, those
massive piles of leaves quickly turn into a playful attraction.
Leaves Fell Playfully is the dance of
those many leaves as they make their one and only journey to the
ground. A light breeze, the opening passing sixteenth-note
gesture, releases the leaves from their tree as the dance begins.
The melodic content moves freely through several major and minor key
centers as the dance passes between members of the quartet.
Eventually the lower marimba voices take over the forward motion of
the piece with an undulating line as the leaves begin to pile on the
ground. With a final gust from the wind, the original dance
resumes as the remaining leaves fell playfully to the ground.
This quartet is playable on two low-A marimbas and requires two
mallets for each player throughout.
click on the
cover page to view an excerpt of the piece
