Description
This is the first of we hope many pieces from Yves and Claudy. “Almost a Tango” is written for Marimba with piano accompaniment. The two mallet solo utilizes the entire range of the marimba and is scored for 5 Octave with an alternate part for 4 1/3 Octave. The piano accompaniment is charming and the marimba solo is one of the best two mallet solos we have scene in some time. The recording below is the 5 Octave version. Percussive Arts Society Review: The title of this two-minute, 20-sec- ond solo translates to “This is Almost a Tango,” which is a fitting description. While this piece does not follow the strict composition rules of this ballroom dance style, it does communicate a tango-esque character that is immediately familiar and recognizable. Included in this piece is an arrangement for either a 5-octave or a 4.3-octave instrument. Both versions contain the same amount of sixteenth-note runs, rolls, octave doublings, and syncopated figures, and is intended to be played with two mallets. Even though some marimba/piano pieces can be played with just the marimba part, this solo does not make sense without the piano accompaniment, as it provides the bulk of the harmonic material. I could easily see this piece utilized as a weekly college assignment for two-mallet reading, or as a solo performance piece for a high-school private-lesson student. Joshua D. Smith