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Pure Imagination (Bricusse/Newley)
Live performance by Alex Stopa.
As Gene Wilder sings in the film, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, “Come with me, and you’ll be, in a world of pure imagination.” Alex Stopa does exactly that in his clever, jazzy marimba arrangement of this timeless classic. This arrangement requires a high level of sensitivity and technical skill as it blends the whimsy of the original melody with a hint of nostalgia, surprising the listener with unexpected harmonic turns.
This piece ships as a printed, professionally bound folio with a full-color cover.
If you have ever seen the movie Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, how could you ever forget Gene Wilder’s memorable lyric, “Come with me, and you’ll be, in a world of pure imagination”? This timeless favorite has been arranged in a jazz-ballad style by Alex Stopa for unaccompanied marimba solo. Advanced four-mallet dexterity is required for the jazz harmonies, which permeate the simple yet sophisticated and rich rendition. The use of the low C at critical points in the arrangement adds an extra level of drama as Stopa briefly modulates to D-flat major after taking the listener through whimsical chord substitutions ending in the opening tonality, E-flat major. Constant attention to the straightforward melody as it is underpinned with complex jazz harmonies is essential.
This nearly three-and-a-half minute arrangement could be an excellent change of pace for a solo recital at the college level, or it could even be an encore for the mature marimbist’s recital. Either way, “Pure Imagination” will leave the audience spellbound with its nostalgic reference to the Willy Wonka movie.
–Jim Lambert
Percussive Notes
Vol. 51, No. 3, May 2013
As Gene Wilder sings in the film, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, “Come with me, and you’ll be, in a world of pure imagination.” Alex Stopa does exactly that in his clever, jazzy marimba arrangement of this timeless classic. This arrangement requires a high level of sensitivity and technical skill as it blends the whimsy of the original melody with a hint of nostalgia, surprising the listener with unexpected harmonic turns.
This piece ships as a printed, professionally bound folio with a full-color cover.
If you have ever seen the movie Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, how could you ever forget Gene Wilder’s memorable lyric, “Come with me, and you’ll be, in a world of pure imagination”? This timeless favorite has been arranged in a jazz-ballad style by Alex Stopa for unaccompanied marimba solo. Advanced four-mallet dexterity is required for the jazz harmonies, which permeate the simple yet sophisticated and rich rendition. The use of the low C at critical points in the arrangement adds an extra level of drama as Stopa briefly modulates to D-flat major after taking the listener through whimsical chord substitutions ending in the opening tonality, E-flat major. Constant attention to the straightforward melody as it is underpinned with complex jazz harmonies is essential.
This nearly three-and-a-half minute arrangement could be an excellent change of pace for a solo recital at the college level, or it could even be an encore for the mature marimbist’s recital. Either way, “Pure Imagination” will leave the audience spellbound with its nostalgic reference to the Willy Wonka movie.
–Jim Lambert
Percussive Notes
Vol. 51, No. 3, May 2013
