Keiko Abe is undoubtedly the most influential marimbist and composer for the marimba that the percussion world has seen. She has combined five of her very popular pieces into this book. Keiko Abe’s compositions are always virtuosic, requiring fast playing, quick dynamic control, and much musicality. Though performed somewhat less often now that marimba repertoire includes many other composers, these pieces still represent some of the building blocks of contemporary marimba performance, composition, and pedagogy. The book also contains “alternative suggestions” at the end, which are ways in which the composer reworked parts of the compositions so that they may be played on marimbas smaller than 5 octaves.
Contents:
- Memories of the Seashore
- Wind in the Bamboo Grove
- Little Windows
- Ancient Vase
- Variations on Japanese Children’s Songs
- Alternative Suggestions
Annotated by Ethan Pani