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The opening scene of Pixar’s Up is an extraordinary animated sequence. Reminiscent of a home movie, it is a touching montage that chronicles the entire marriage of Carl and Ellie Fredricksen, from the day they first met till the day of Ellie’s death. The scene contains no dialogue, only images and music, and its brilliance lies in its power to emotionally connect the viewer to Carl, while allowing us to personally reflect on the fragility and fleeting beauty of life, love, and the human experience.
With Married Life, the Oscar-winning main theme of the film, composer Michael Giacchino perfectly captures the sentiment and poignancy of this scene with a waltz that, upon request of director Pete Doctor, resembles “one’s grandmother’s music box.” Alex Stopa’s arrangement for mallet quartet (with optional percussion accompaniment) tastefully reproduces the original in a way that today’s concertgoers will truly enjoy.
Married Life ships as a full, bound score with a color cover and a set of printed parts.
• Glockenspiel
• Vibraphone
• 1 marimba (4.3-octave, shared)
• Snare drum*
• Suspended cymbal*
*Optional
“Married Life” is a terrific piece for mallet quartet with optional percussion. The program notes state, “The opening scene of Pixar’s Up is an extraordinary animated sequence. Reminiscent of a home movie, it is a touching montage that chronicles the entire marriage of Carl and Ellie Fredricksen, from the day they first met till the day of Ellie’s death. The scene contains no dialogue, only images and music, and its brilliance lies in its power to emotionally connect the viewer to Carl, while allowing us to personally reflect on the fra- gility and fleeting beauty of life, love, and the human experience.”
Alex Stopa has done a terrific job arranging this piece. I was especially impressed with how the parts are balanced. While the vibraphone part is the most prominent, each player plays the melody in a soli fashion many times throughout the piece. Even better, the marimba players switch positions at one point, allowing each marimbist to play the bass and treble parts.
From a pedagogy standpoint, it is a percussion director’s dream. Equally impressive is the efficiency of instrumentation. Requiring only one glockenspiel, vibraphone, and 4.3-octave marimba, “Married Life” can be performed by most schools and institutions.
The difficulty level is perfect for a more advanced middles school/early high school ensemble looking for a longer project, or something quick and fun for an advanced high school or undergraduate ensemble. From a programming point of view, it simply does not get any more accessible than “Married Life.” I guarantee this will be a hit with any audience in any setting!
—Joe Millea
Percussive Notes
Vol. 58, No. 6, December 2020
The opening scene of Pixar’s Up is an extraordinary animated sequence. Reminiscent of a home movie, it is a touching montage that chronicles the entire marriage of Carl and Ellie Fredricksen, from the day they first met till the day of Ellie’s death. The scene contains no dialogue, only images and music, and its brilliance lies in its power to emotionally connect the viewer to Carl, while allowing us to personally reflect on the fragility and fleeting beauty of life, love, and the human experience.
With Married Life, the Oscar-winning main theme of the film, composer Michael Giacchino perfectly captures the sentiment and poignancy of this scene with a waltz that, upon request of director Pete Doctor, resembles “one’s grandmother’s music box.” Alex Stopa’s arrangement for mallet quartet (with optional percussion accompaniment) tastefully reproduces the original in a way that today’s concertgoers will truly enjoy.
Married Life ships as a full, bound score with a color cover and a set of printed parts.
• Glockenspiel
• Vibraphone
• 1 marimba (4.3-octave, shared)
• Snare drum*
• Suspended cymbal*
*Optional
“Married Life” is a terrific piece for mallet quartet with optional percussion. The program notes state, “The opening scene of Pixar’s Up is an extraordinary animated sequence. Reminiscent of a home movie, it is a touching montage that chronicles the entire marriage of Carl and Ellie Fredricksen, from the day they first met till the day of Ellie’s death. The scene contains no dialogue, only images and music, and its brilliance lies in its power to emotionally connect the viewer to Carl, while allowing us to personally reflect on the fra- gility and fleeting beauty of life, love, and the human experience.”
Alex Stopa has done a terrific job arranging this piece. I was especially impressed with how the parts are balanced. While the vibraphone part is the most prominent, each player plays the melody in a soli fashion many times throughout the piece. Even better, the marimba players switch positions at one point, allowing each marimbist to play the bass and treble parts.
From a pedagogy standpoint, it is a percussion director’s dream. Equally impressive is the efficiency of instrumentation. Requiring only one glockenspiel, vibraphone, and 4.3-octave marimba, “Married Life” can be performed by most schools and institutions.
The difficulty level is perfect for a more advanced middles school/early high school ensemble looking for a longer project, or something quick and fun for an advanced high school or undergraduate ensemble. From a programming point of view, it simply does not get any more accessible than “Married Life.” I guarantee this will be a hit with any audience in any setting!
—Joe Millea
Percussive Notes
Vol. 58, No. 6, December 2020
