Michael Blake
PATTERNS IN A HEPTATONIC FIELD
Bardic Edition BDE1228
For solo xylophone or marimba or vibraphone.
The solo xylophone has been neglected by contemporary composers in favour of the marimba which, apart from its low register, can be quite a bland instrument. To my mind the xylophone has more character and a crystal clear attack that reminds me of early pianos (versus the modern ‘industrial’ Steinway). The title of this piece makes a reference to Morton Feldman’s ‘Patterns in a Chromatic Field’, but the material is derived from timbila xylophone music from Mozambique, and in honour of the great timbila player and orchestra leader, Venancio Mbande (1933-2015), there are recurring quotations marking off the main sections of the piece. Unlike traditional timbila music, Patterns in a Heptatonic Field is cast in constantly changing metres, derived from the asymmetric patterning of Shoowa weaving.
While the concert xylophone is preferred, the piece may be played on the concert marimba using hard sticks, or a traditional marimba which has the requisite range and scale, and it is also possible to play it on the vibraphone without motor, without pedal, and again with fairly hard sticks. Michael Blake
Duration 5 minutes
The solo xylophone has been neglected by contemporary composers in favour of the marimba which, apart from its low register, can be quite a bland instrument. To my mind the xylophone has more character and a crystal clear attack that reminds me of early pianos (versus the modern ‘industrial’ Steinway). The title of this piece makes a reference to Morton Feldman’s ‘Patterns in a Chromatic Field’, but the material is derived from timbila xylophone music from Mozambique, and in honour of the great timbila player and orchestra leader, Venancio Mbande (1933-2015), there are recurring quotations marking off the main sections of the piece. Unlike traditional timbila music, Patterns in a Heptatonic Field is cast in constantly changing metres, derived from the asymmetric patterning of Shoowa weaving.
While the concert xylophone is preferred, the piece may be played on the concert marimba using hard sticks, or a traditional marimba which has the requisite range and scale, and it is also possible to play it on the vibraphone without motor, without pedal, and again with fairly hard sticks. Michael Blake
Duration 5 minutes
