Icy Celestial Bodies
marimba solo for 5-octave marimba (4-octave marimba arrangement available)
8 1/2 minutes
8 1/2 minutes
Icy Celestial Bodies Performed by Matt Andreini
|
Program NoteComets spend most of their existence far from the sun and the Earth, orbiting the far reaches of our solar system. While some pass by our planet every few years, others take thousands or even millions of years to complete an orbit. Comets consist of ice and organic materials left over from the formation of our solar system. Some scientists theorize that comets striking our young planet may have deposited water and compounds that contributed to the development of life. Icy Celestial Bodies expresses the distant loneliness of a comet’s path through space through shimmering bowed passages and delicate, sparkling chords. Rushes of rapid notes evoke the excitement of approaching the sun, which produces melting and the comet’s signature gas tail. The gravitational pull of the sun produces momentum which unwinds and fades away as the comet embarks on its next orbit. This piece was written for Matt Andreini and was premiered in October 2017 at the Cedar Rock House in Quasqueton, Iowa on the Iowa Composer's Forum Fall Concert Series, Hammers and Mallets. |