Blue Identity (ensemble version) (Download)

for solo marimba + percussion quartet

She-e Wu

Level: Advanced

Duration: 8:00

Personnel: 5 players

State Lists: Florida

Release Date: 2019

Product ID : TSPCE19-017DL

Price: $42.00

Item #: TSPCE19-017DL

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Note: This is a recording of the ensemble version from which the solo version was adapted.

Description

International soloist and percussion educator She-e Wu composed Blue Identity for the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Paris and its director Frédéric Macarez. Scored for a marimba soloist with four percussionists, it provides a virtuosic vehicle for advanced players to showcase technical dexterity in a dramatic musical setting. After premiering in Paris in 2002, it received its U.S. premiere at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC).

This ensemble version of Blue Identity was recorded in 2017 in Kangasala, Finland, and is on the album "HITS" with Osuma Percussion Group and She-e Wu on Alba Records, released in 2018.

Use of this product is governed by the license terms outlined here.

Instrumentation

• Marimba (low C)

• Crotales (2 octaves + additional mid-range B & C crotales)

• Glockenspiel

• Chimes

• Vibraphones

• 32” timpano

• Drums (bongos (2), djembe, 4 graduated concert toms, concert bass drum)

• Cymbals & gongs (sizzle cymbal, China cymbal, splash cymbal, 3 suspended cymbals, tam-tam)

• Accessories (triangle, 3 bass bows)

Reviews

Inspired by the action movie The Bourne Identity, this eight-minute marimba feature is reminiscent of marching arts front ensemble writing in that there is no memorable melodic material, but rather it is made up of moods, atmospheres, and rhythmic environments. There is a great deal of interplay between the marimba soloist and the percussion quartet, both on a small scale (rhythmic reinforcement and punctuations) and on a large scale (percussive interludes between marimba sections).

The marimba player must be confident with multiple connected permutations, as this makes up the bulk of the composition. There are sections with expressive chorale moments, but the majority of the piece relies on rhythmic and permutated treatments of chordal areas and progressions. There is a difference in difficulty level when comparing the marimba part to the other four parts, which are certainly lower in rhythmic and technique requirements.

—Joshua D. Smith
Percussive Notes
Vol. 58, No. 2, April 2020