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Stephen Primatic’s Five on Five is an aggressive mallet ensemble piece for 5 players on one 5-octave (low C) marimba. Because of the number of players, each performer must be aware of their space and move quickly so as not to disrupt the other performers. This makes for an artful, amusing, and unique spectacle.
Five on Five consists of three sections. The opening section is propelled forward by constant 16th notes that are passed around the ensemble. The middle section is comprised of slower, more reflective musical material with an ostinato split between players 4 & 5 and lyrical, melodic material in the other players. The third and final section is a return to the unrelenting 16th note material of the opening.
This piece comes as a professionally printed and bound score and includes individual parts in PDF format for printing or for tablet viewing.
• Marimba—low C
Stephen Primatic, a composer who has contributed many excellent pieces to the percussion repertory, has given us another unique and exciting piece for five players all performing on one 5-octave low-C marimba. Each player is to stand on the “playing side” of the instrument, and so the range of each part is relatively small.
The piece explodes out of the starting gate with a fast (quarter note = 132) six-teenth-note rhythmic theme with accents performed by Players 2–4. Soon, all five players are involved, with Player 5 providing a bass part made up of eighth-note and quarter-note figures. This moves to a transition where Player 5 plays the sixteenth-note theme as a pedal, with the other players playing chords over the top. The harmonies are very dramatic at first but gradually wind down to the middle section, which is a little slower. The middle section is in half notes, creating a hocket effect between the voices. Eventually the more dramatic poly chords return and bring us back to the original tempo and material, ending with a D.C. al Fine.
This would be a perfect opener to any percussion ensemble concert. The individual parts are challenging but are repetitive enough to make them accessible to most intermediate/advanced players. Audiences will also enjoy watching five people play the same instrument.
—Tom Morgan
Percussive Notes
Vol. 56, No. 3, July 2018
Stephen Primatic’s Five on Five is an aggressive mallet ensemble piece for 5 players on one 5-octave (low C) marimba. Because of the number of players, each performer must be aware of their space and move quickly so as not to disrupt the other performers. This makes for an artful, amusing, and unique spectacle.
Five on Five consists of three sections. The opening section is propelled forward by constant 16th notes that are passed around the ensemble. The middle section is comprised of slower, more reflective musical material with an ostinato split between players 4 & 5 and lyrical, melodic material in the other players. The third and final section is a return to the unrelenting 16th note material of the opening.
This piece comes as a professionally printed and bound score and includes individual parts in PDF format for printing or for tablet viewing.
• Marimba—low C
Stephen Primatic, a composer who has contributed many excellent pieces to the percussion repertory, has given us another unique and exciting piece for five players all performing on one 5-octave low-C marimba. Each player is to stand on the “playing side” of the instrument, and so the range of each part is relatively small.
The piece explodes out of the starting gate with a fast (quarter note = 132) six-teenth-note rhythmic theme with accents performed by Players 2–4. Soon, all five players are involved, with Player 5 providing a bass part made up of eighth-note and quarter-note figures. This moves to a transition where Player 5 plays the sixteenth-note theme as a pedal, with the other players playing chords over the top. The harmonies are very dramatic at first but gradually wind down to the middle section, which is a little slower. The middle section is in half notes, creating a hocket effect between the voices. Eventually the more dramatic poly chords return and bring us back to the original tempo and material, ending with a D.C. al Fine.
This would be a perfect opener to any percussion ensemble concert. The individual parts are challenging but are repetitive enough to make them accessible to most intermediate/advanced players. Audiences will also enjoy watching five people play the same instrument.
—Tom Morgan
Percussive Notes
Vol. 56, No. 3, July 2018
