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Cameron Brown’s Fleet is a compelling and groove-oriented piece that features a solo marimbist accompanied by a percussion quartet. The piece moves through several different feels and time signatures as well as chord progressions and key centers. Throughout the piece, Brown creates interesting textures using a relatively small set up with few players. This adds to the overall “fleeting’’ feeling of the music, which fades away and moves quickly from one section to the next.
Fleet was the winning composition of the 2019 Great Plains International Marimba Composition Contest.
This piece comes as a professionally printed and bound score and includes individual parts in PDF format for printing or for tablet viewing.
• Crotales (2 octaves)
• 2 glockenspiels
• Vibraphone
• Marimba (low C)
• Drums (snare drum, tamborim*, 2 toms (med & low), kick drum, concert BD)
• Cymbals (hi-hat, 2 ride cymbals, 2 crash cymbals, 2 China cymbals)
• Accessories (2 shakers, 2 mark trees)
*May be substituted for a high tom or bongo
“Fleet,” for solo marimba with percussion quartet, was the winning piece in the 2019 Great Plains International Marimba Competition Composition Competition. As a result of placing first, the work was the compulsory piece for all Collegiate/Open Solo competitors, being performed six times by finalists at the 2019 competition with Great Plains Percussion Group as the backing ensemble.
The solo marimba part is idiomatically virtuosic, primarily utilizing block chords and four-mallet permutations. The solo part requires a fair amount of stamina, as the soloist plays continuously throughout the almost 7-minute work (save for one measure of rest). Intricate syncopations accompany the metric shifts, requiring a strong sense of independence from the ensemble. Composer Cameron Brown often employs hypermetric techniques, particularly in 7/8 sections.
The drum set material is split between two players, with the Percussion 4 part primarily serving as the groove-master. All ensemble parts include at least one metallic keyboard percussion instrument, aiding in clarity between the wooden sounds of the soloist and the metallic sounds of the ensemble.
The work is primarily through-composed, with each section demonstrating a different feel. As there is no overt central melodic theme, the composer creates musical motion and progression primarily using energetic pulsations of harmonic clouds. The overall feeling of the work is cohesive, largely due to the fact that the composer utilizes a similar timbral palette throughout. The unity of instrumental sounds connects sections that have different metric feels, tempi, or key areas.
“Fleet” is harmonically pleasing and energetic. It serves well to demonstrate the performance capabilities of both the soloist and ensemble. This would work well for an advanced undergraduate group.
—Jamie Wind Whitmarsh
Percussive Notes
Vol. 59, No. 5, October 2021
Cameron Brown’s Fleet is a compelling and groove-oriented piece that features a solo marimbist accompanied by a percussion quartet. The piece moves through several different feels and time signatures as well as chord progressions and key centers. Throughout the piece, Brown creates interesting textures using a relatively small set up with few players. This adds to the overall “fleeting’’ feeling of the music, which fades away and moves quickly from one section to the next.
Fleet was the winning composition of the 2019 Great Plains International Marimba Composition Contest.
This piece comes as a professionally printed and bound score and includes individual parts in PDF format for printing or for tablet viewing.
• Crotales (2 octaves)
• 2 glockenspiels
• Vibraphone
• Marimba (low C)
• Drums (snare drum, tamborim*, 2 toms (med & low), kick drum, concert BD)
• Cymbals (hi-hat, 2 ride cymbals, 2 crash cymbals, 2 China cymbals)
• Accessories (2 shakers, 2 mark trees)
*May be substituted for a high tom or bongo
“Fleet,” for solo marimba with percussion quartet, was the winning piece in the 2019 Great Plains International Marimba Competition Composition Competition. As a result of placing first, the work was the compulsory piece for all Collegiate/Open Solo competitors, being performed six times by finalists at the 2019 competition with Great Plains Percussion Group as the backing ensemble.
The solo marimba part is idiomatically virtuosic, primarily utilizing block chords and four-mallet permutations. The solo part requires a fair amount of stamina, as the soloist plays continuously throughout the almost 7-minute work (save for one measure of rest). Intricate syncopations accompany the metric shifts, requiring a strong sense of independence from the ensemble. Composer Cameron Brown often employs hypermetric techniques, particularly in 7/8 sections.
The drum set material is split between two players, with the Percussion 4 part primarily serving as the groove-master. All ensemble parts include at least one metallic keyboard percussion instrument, aiding in clarity between the wooden sounds of the soloist and the metallic sounds of the ensemble.
The work is primarily through-composed, with each section demonstrating a different feel. As there is no overt central melodic theme, the composer creates musical motion and progression primarily using energetic pulsations of harmonic clouds. The overall feeling of the work is cohesive, largely due to the fact that the composer utilizes a similar timbral palette throughout. The unity of instrumental sounds connects sections that have different metric feels, tempi, or key areas.
“Fleet” is harmonically pleasing and energetic. It serves well to demonstrate the performance capabilities of both the soloist and ensemble. This would work well for an advanced undergraduate group.
—Jamie Wind Whitmarsh
Percussive Notes
Vol. 59, No. 5, October 2021
