Isabelle Dances
General Info
Year of Published: 2010
Publisher: Theodore Presser Company
Duration: 00:15:00
ISBN: 978-1-5980-6406-3
Cost: $16.99
Movement
1. Bounce
2. Dream
3. Hover
4. Stomp
Instrumentation
Description
Isabelle Dances by Steven Sticky ws composed for percussionist Isabelle Huang. This fifteen minute marimba solo is Steven Stucky's newest work for percussion. The marimba's sonic landscape is explored in the course of four movements, with outer movements (titled Bounce and Stomp) showcasing the instrument's rhythmic drive and highly-charged neo-primitivism, and the inner movements (titled Dream and Hover) developing inventive tremolos and the unfolding of time. The second and fourth movements are subtitled as homages to Chopin and Bartok.
“Dream” starts out with tremolo on single notes to create an unendingly beautiful phrase which mimics the sustaining of sound which the instrument lacks of. Meanwhile, the fast-moving line on the bass accompanies it with a sense of unease that recalls Chopin’s Prelude in D Minor Op.28 No.24. Stomp, which is an homage to Bela Bartók, has a strong sense of primitivism. The movement puts one in mind of Book 6 from Bartók’s Mikrokosmos, sharing similarities in both the sound, phrase structure, and the rhythmic structure. The beginning of the piece consists of strong accented major seconds in both hands, which creates a strong sense of vertical direction as well as horizontal direction. The main theme of the movement has a strong rhythmic discernment with a ‘stomp’ on the beginning of each rhythmical phrase.
Recent Performance
Works for Percussion by this Composer
Marimba Works
Concerto Works
Concerto for Solo Percussionist and Wind Orchestra – Solo Percussion; Multiple Percussion; Wind Ensemble; Band
Spirit Voices