Mandalorian, The (Göransson)

Music from the Star Wars series The Mandalorian was created by Swedish composer Ludwig Go?ransson, and is meant to convey a “futuristic” sound, while still capturing the cinematic depth of the original movie music from the 1970s and 1980s. Additionally, the character of the music hints at the music of old Western movies (think distant whistling during a shootout scene) with added layers of melodic and rhythmic ostinati. The creative simplicity of the music translates very well to percussion instruments, and is idiomatically arranged into this 3½-minute work.

While the texture of this arrangement is thick and active at times, this piece is accessible to players who have a basic understanding of steady rhythmic pulse, ensemble awareness, and phrase delivery within repetitive musical figures. All the mallet parts can be played with two mallets, and they typically have “mirrored” parts somewhere else in the ensemble, which can aid in performance clarity and confidence. Additionally, Kirk J. Gay has scored this work to target varying levels of percussion experience, where the mallet parts are best reserved for stronger players, and the glockenspiel and percussion parts are best suited for students who might be new to the percussion ensemble game.

While there is a waterphone called for in the instrumentation, it is only used in one measure, and the effect can easily be substituted with a bowed cymbal or Superball mallet on a tam tam.

With a wide array of parts that range in difficulty, coupled with a rhythmic vocabulary that is simple, yet effective, this work will appeal to students and audience members alike, whether or not they are a fan of the source material from which it originated. If you are considering this piece for your next percussion ensemble concert, rest assured: this is the way.

—Joshua D. Smith
Percussive Notes
Vol. 61, No. 3, June 2023