Title: Superfluous 2
Composer
: Matthew Coley
Instrument: Marimba
Genre: modern music
Year of publication: 2010
Preview: PDF
Listen: MP3
Price: €18
Duration:2.30 min.
Buy now

Performing artist: Matthew Coley

YouTube Performances
Matthew Coley (USA)

Review (Percussive Notes, March (58) 2012)

Obviously aware of the extreme demands of this composition, Matthew Coley poses the following question: “Is it really necessary to write something of such complicated technical demand for a solo percussion instrument and player?” In order to expand the repertoire and vocabulary for the instrument, there is always a need to produce new works for all ability levels. It is not as if Coley did not warn the performer of the difficulty in the title.

Do not be fooled by the duration of this short, modern fugue. Approximately two minutes and 30 seconds, there are plenty of elements to challenge advanced performers. With the presence of a sixteenth-note pulse almost always apparent, all four-mallet stroke types are required. Using intervals that exceed an octave, shifts to a second are made within the duration of one sixteenth note. A rapid, controlled alternating stroke technique is needed in the left hand to execute a descending thirty-second note passage that incorporates chromatic neighbor tones. Independence is a necessity as a large wingspan frequently separates the hands during this work.

A note to experienced marimbists: Leave your ego at the door. Extreme independence and technical facility are a must in order to attempt this work. A mature musician will ensure that the density and demands do not interfere with compositional ideas.

Darin Olson

 

Superfluous 2

Superfluous 2 was written in 2009 and is the next not-so-logical step from the more tonal and traditional Superfluous 1.  The title is a play on the words “super fugue”, but also seemed befitting to the pieces and probably the ones to follow for reasons only found in the learning and performing of such a composition.  While it was fun to write a fugue, and especially one of such modern construction, is it really necessary to write something of such complicated technical demand for a solo percussion instrument and player?  If you have a slight addiction to fugues, like I do, then your answer, like mine, is probably a hushed, yet confident, yes. 

The architecture of the fugue has always appealed to me on a level that seems superior to many other forms.  To this effect, my composition, Concealed Chambers, was written in 2000 and is a solo marimba work in five movements.  Movement three, Cortex, begins as a three-part fugue and ends as a four-part, of which the subject and harmonic language are the primary basis for the material in the other four movements.  Beethoven made no mistake when some of his most memorable compositional moments are the “Ode to Joy” fugue of the last movement of the Ninth Symphony and the statuesque Grosse Fugue in Bb major, Opus 133 for string quartet.  The fugues of Bach’s and Shostakovich’s books of 24 are an example of some of the most amazing variety of character that music and the structure of the fugue can exhibit.  The award-winning composer, Bjorn Berkhout, who has written fugues for me, once said, “The fugue was the last great contribution to Western-classical music.”

I hope with Superfluous 2 you can bask in the joy of performing a work that follows in the steps of such a venerable and superior musical structure, while knowing that it is not a transcription, but actually written for the marimba with the spirit of any other contemporary composition.  Also, remember to enjoy that what you are doing is super, but also superfluous. 

–M.C.


Matthew Coley

Matthew Coley is a marimba, percussion, and dulcimer artist specializing in contemporary solo and chamber music and concerti. He is currently professor of percussion at Iowa State University, and holds degrees from Northwestern University and the University of North Texas.  Matthew performs regularly as a soloist throughout the US and Europe, traveling annually to Chisinau, Moldova to perform concerts, concerto premieres, and masterclasses. 

He has performed as soloist with such ensembles as San Francisco Sinfonietta, Millen-nium Chamber Players, Moldavian Philharmonic and Tele-Radio Orchestras, and Third Coast Percussion.  In 2010, he will also perform as soloist with several ensembles, finish his first solo marimba album, and tour with percussion duo SI2. 

In 2009 he was featured in Time Out Chicago Magazine, performed the US premiere of Marcin Blazewicz’s Concerto Rustico for marimba and strings, the World premiere of Ghenadie Ciobanu’s Breeze of the South Latitudes Marimba Concerto, and his composition, Journey for Solo Marimba, Piano, and Percussion Ensemble was featured as part of the University of North Texas Percussion Ensemble concert at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention.

In 2008, Matthew place third in the prestigious 5th World Marimba Competition Stuttgart, and is the first American to ever place in this competition.  In 2005, he placed third in the Minnesota Orchestra Young Artist Competition, and in 2000 won first in the Music Teachers National Association Solo Percussion Competition and the Percussive Arts Society Marimba Concerto Competition. 

Matthew is founding artistic director of SONIC INERTIA, and an active member in the percussion duo SI2 with Cory Hills.  He collaborates regularly with choreographers and is most recently working with Valerie Williams and Co’Motion Dance Theatre.  Matthew has presented concerts and masterclasses at several universities throughout the US, some of which include Louisiana State University, University of Maryland, and Virginia Commonwealth University.  He is endorsed and published by Innovative Percussion, endorsed by Dynasty and Grover Percussion, and published by Edition SVITZER.  He can be found on the web at www.hearmatthewcoley.com.



 

Credits
Front Cover graphics and layout: Ronni Kot Wenzell
Engraving: Matthew Coley/Johan Svitzer
Printed in Copenhagen, Denmark
Copyright © Edition SVITZER
www.editionsvitzer.com

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Reviews:


 

 

 

Luminosity
Tomasz Goliński

Instruments:

marimba

Read More
Buy

Purity 2
Tomasz Goliński

Instruments:

Marimba duo

Read More
Buy

Secret Passion
Paolo Cimmino

Instruments:

Mar. & Perc.

Read More
Buy

Passamezzo
Yngve Jan Trede

Instruments:

Harpsichord

Read More
Buy

Three pieces for marimba
Yngve Jan Trede

Instruments:

marimba

Read More
Buy

Shiver
Miki Campins

Instruments:

two marimbas and vibraphone (4 players)

Read More
Buy

Dance of Words
Aiko Fukushima

Instruments:

marimba solo

Read More
Buy

Five by Five
Andy Pape

Instruments:

Percussion Duo

Read More
Buy

Flute Concerto
Carl Nielsen

Instruments:

Flute and Piano

Read More
Buy

Complete incidental music for flute
Carl Nielsen

Instruments:

flute, viola, harpe

Read More
Buy

Ciaccona
Johann Sebastian Bach

Instruments:

Flute quartet

Read More
Buy

Furusato
Eriko Daimo

Instruments:

marimba

Read More
Buy

Cavalleria Rusticana, Intermezzo
Eriko Daimo

Instruments:

Marimba

Read More
Buy

Asventuras
Alexej Gerassimez

Instruments:

snare drum

Read More
Buy

Gran Fantasia
Pietro Morlacchi

Instruments:

Flute and Piano

Read More
Buy

Flute Exercises - part one
Henrik Svitzer

Instruments:

Flute

Read More
Buy

The S-Dance
Ivana Bilić

Instruments:

percussion trio

Read More
Buy

Wild Rose
Ivana Bilić

Instruments:

Marimba

Read More
Buy

Anna
Manuel Leuenberger

Instruments:

Marimba

Read More
Buy

Variation on a Relation
Jon Laukvik

Instruments:

marimba and piano

Read More
Buy

Passacaglia
Jon Laukvik

Instruments:

Organ

Read More
Buy

Aria, Fugue, & Final
Jon Laukvik

Instruments:

Organ

Read More
Buy

LEMURIA - The Fallen Civilization (Duo Version)
Csaba Zoltán Marján

Instruments:

marimba duo

Read More
Buy

LEMURIA - The Fallen Civilization
Csaba Zoltán Marján

Instruments:

Marimba

Read More
Buy

Niflheim
Csaba Zoltán Marján

Instruments:

Marimba

Read More
Buy

Individual Lemming
Attila Szilvási

Instruments:

Marimba and tape

Read More
Buy

Unreal Motorway
Attila Szilvási

Instruments:

Marimba and tape

Read More
Buy

Tales for Vibraphone Vol. 2
Various

Instruments:

solo vibraphone + mallet duo

Read More
Buy

Tales for Vibraphone Vol. 1
Various

Instruments:

Vibraphone

Read More
Buy

Metal
Anders Ĺstrand

Instruments:

Percusion Ensemble

Read More
Buy

Gigue
Anders Ĺstrand

Instruments:

Percussion Ensemble

Read More
Buy

Duo Arpeggio
Anders Ĺstrand

Instruments:

Marimba and Vibraphone

Read More
Buy

Mallet Dance
Anders Ĺstrand

Instruments:

Marimba and Vibraphone

Read More
Buy

Etude in eb minor
Pius Cheung

Instruments:

Marimba

Read More
Buy

Nocturne in F Major
Pius Cheung

Instruments:

Marimba and Vibraphone

Read More
Buy

Poetic Fantasy
Pius Cheung

Instruments:

Marimba

Read More
Buy

Eravie
Alexej Gerassimez

Instruments:

Marimba

Read More
Buy

A Farewell to Those Left Behind
Tim Ferchen

Instruments:

Vibraphone

Read More
Buy

Etudes for Marimba Vol. 1
Tim Ferchen

Instruments:

Marimba

Read More
Buy

Fantasia and Toccata
Daniel Berg

Instruments:

marimba

Read More
Buy

Blue Memories
Daniel Berg

Instruments:

Marimba

Read More
Buy

Stella Polaris, 5 songs for Vibraphone
Daniel Berg

Instruments:

Vibraphone

Read More
Buy

Test for Timpanists
Sřren Monrad

Instruments:

Timpani

Read More
Buy

Ektaal Reflections
Sřren Monrad

Instruments:

4 octo, 2 sn. dr. & hi-hat

Read More
Buy

Chasing Buddies
Sřren Monrad

Instruments:

marimba & vibraphone + additional percussion

Read More
Buy

Wildfire
Sřren Monrad

Instruments:

Percussion duo

Read More
Buy

Zavanna
Sřren Monrad

Instruments:

Percussion ensemble

Read More
Buy

A piece for snare drum
Sřren Monrad

Instruments:

Snare drum

Read More
Buy

Hittade
Maria Finkelmeier

Instruments:

Marimba and 3 percussionists

Read More
Buy

Dream Variations
Tobias Broström

Instruments:

Trumpet & Percussion

Read More
Buy

Ombra
Tobias Broström

Instruments:

Percussion Ensemble

Read More
Buy

Trois Tableaux
Tobias Broström

Instruments:

Marimba

Read More
Buy

Bridging the World
Tobias Broström

Instruments:

percussion ensemble

Read More
Buy

Arena - Percussion Concerto No. 1
Tobias Broström

Instruments:

multi percussion/marimba and symphony orchestra

Read More
Buy

Arena - Solo Version
Tobias Broström

Instruments:

multi percussion

Read More
Buy

The 2nd flight of the bumblebee
Tobias Broström

Instruments:

Marimba duo

Read More
Buy

6&8
Tobias Broström

Instruments:

snare drum, bass drum & hi-hat

Read More
Buy

Feelings and Qualities on Skin
Bo Holmstrand

Instruments:

Snare drum

Read More
Buy

Tricky Biscuits
Bent Lylloff

Instruments:

Snare drum

Read More
Buy

The Nutcrackers
Bent Lylloff

Instruments:

Snare drum

Read More
Buy

Sonata, opus 11B
Asger Lund Christiansen

Instruments:

flute and piano

Read More
Buy

Partita, op. 22
Asger Lund Christiansen

Instruments:

Cello

Read More
Buy

Autumn Garden
Janne Tuomi

Instruments:

Marimba & small set-up

Read More
Buy

Elegia
Saverio Mercadante

Instruments:

flute and piano

Read More
Buy

Rondeau
C.E.F. Weyse

Instruments:

flute and piano

Read More
Buy

Sonata in B major, opus 1
Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann

Instruments:

Flute and Piano

Read More
Buy

Solitude sur la Montagne
Ole Bornemann Bull

Instruments:

Flute Ensemble

Read More
Buy

Running Towards Empty
Bjorn Berkhout

Instruments:

Percussion Ensemble (sextet)

Read More
Buy

Fugue on a Chromatic Subject
Bjorn Berkhout

Instruments:

Marimba

Read More
Buy

Superfluous 1
Matthew Coley

Instruments:

marimba

Read More
Buy

Superfluous 2
Matthew Coley

Instruments:

Marimba

Read More
Buy

Contemplation
Matthew Coley

Instruments:

Percussion Octet

Read More
Buy

Preambolo
Hans Magne Grćsvold

Instruments:

Flute Ensemble

Read More
Buy

Capriccio
Hans Magne Grćsvold

Instruments:

Marimba

Read More
Buy

Instructive Studies for the Modern Flute
Hans Magne Grćsvold

Instruments:

Flute

Read More
Buy

Le Tombeau de Couperin
Maurice Ravel

Instruments:

Flute Quartet

Read More
Buy

Pavane
Maurice Ravel

Instruments:

Flute Quartet

Read More
Buy

Het Lam Gods II
Sophie Lacaze

Instruments:

Flute and flute ensemble

Read More
Buy

Les quatre éléments
Sophie Lacaze

Instruments:

Flute, Children Choir & Percusion

Read More
Buy

Piece for two Marimbas
Marcin Blazewicz

Instruments:

Marimba duo

Read More
Buy

Sonata for Marimba
Marcin Blazewicz

Instruments:

Marimba

Read More
Buy

Concerto for Flute and String Orchestra
Marcin Blazewicz

Instruments:

Flute and String Orchestra

Read More
Buy

Concerto for Brass Instruments and Orchestra
Marcin Blazewicz

Instruments:

Concerto for Brass Instruments and Orchestra

Read More
Buy

Sahay Manush
Marcin Blazewicz

Instruments:

Percussion duo

Read More
Buy

2nd Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra
Marcin Blazewicz

Instruments:

Marimba

Read More
Buy

Jia Jia Qiao - The Alchemist CD
Various

Instruments:

Percussion

Read More
Buy

Album for the Young
Robert Oetomo

Instruments:

Marimba

Read More
Buy

Two Lullabies
Robert Oetomo

Instruments:

marimba

Read More
Buy

Rainbow
Robert Oetomo

Instruments:

marimba

Read More
Buy

Three Chorales (vol. 1)
Robert Oetomo

Instruments:

marimba

Read More
Buy

2x2
Taiki Nishihara

Instruments:

marimba quartet

Read More
Buy

Rush Out
Taiki Nishihara

Instruments:

marimba and percussion

Read More
Buy

HesseIndia
Rafael Reina

Instruments:

Soprano voice, South-Indian/regular & contrabass flutes, Alto & contrabass Recorders, Indian nagaswaram & oboe, bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, Trumpet & flugel, vln.vla, cello, bass , Prepared piano and 2 percussionists (Asian & African percussion)

Read More
Buy

The Alchemist's Wisdom
Rafael Reina

Instruments:

Percussion and Piano

Read More
Buy

Ubangi Djembe
Rafael Reina

Instruments:

For six percussionists

Read More
Buy

Mirrors of Emptiness
Grigory Smirnov

Instruments:

marimba and digital delay

Read More
Buy

Fantasia
Grigory Smirnov

Instruments:

Flute and piano

Read More
Buy

4 Préludes - Book No. 1
Jeremy Brunk

Instruments:

Marimba

Read More
Buy

4 Préludes - Book No. 2
Jeremy Brunk

Instruments:

Marimba

Read More
Buy

The Firebird (Suite)
Igor Stravinsky

Instruments:

Quartet (2 mar. + xyl. + vib.)

Read More
Buy

The Marriage of Figaro
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Instruments:

Percussion Ensemble

Read More
Buy

Symphony No. 8 in B Minor
Franz Schubert

Instruments:

Percussion Ensemble

Read More
Buy

The Four Seasons
Antonio Vivaldi

Instruments:

percussion ensemble

Read More
Buy

Selected works by Prokofiev for percussion ensemble
Sergei Prokofiev

Instruments:

Percussion Ensemble

Read More
Buy

Selected works by Grieg for percussion ensemble
Edvard Grieg

Instruments:

percussion ensemble

Read More
Buy

Selected works by Debussy for percussion ensemble
Claude Debussy

Instruments:

percussion ensemble

Read More
Buy

Fantasia Zhuáng-Jin
Yong-xin Wang

Instruments:

Flute & Piano

Read More
Buy

French Flute music
The Svitava Duo

Instruments:

Flute and Piano

Read More
Buy

Aurorale
Federico Cumar

Instruments:

flute

Read More
Buy

Dances on Flowers
Yevhen Stankovych

Instruments:

Flute and Piano

Read More
Buy

Amazonka
Yevhen Stankovych

Instruments:

marimba solo

Read More
Buy

Ancient Mountain Dances of Verhovyna
Yevhen Stankovych

Instruments:

Piano - for four hands

Read More
Buy

Labyrinth
Yevhen Stankovych

Instruments:

solo marimba & 3 percussionists

Read More
Buy

Ukrainian Poem
Yevhen Stankovych

Instruments:

Violin

Read More
Buy

Sonata of the Serenades
Yevhen Stankovych

Instruments:

flute and piano

Read More
Buy

Idyll
Yevhen Stankovych

Instruments:

Flute and piano

Read More
Buy

Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra
Christopher Swist

Instruments:

marimba and orchestra

Read More
Buy

Magic Mirror
Christopher Swist

Instruments:

Marimba

Read More
Buy

Duality
Christopher Swist

Instruments:

Violin and tape

Read More
Buy

Intermezzo
Christopher Swist

Instruments:

Vibraphone

Read More
Buy

Variations on the Housatonic
Christopher Swist

Instruments:

Marimba

Read More
Buy

Prelude for marimba
Christopher Swist

Instruments:

Marimba

Read More
Buy

Life of the Dead
Amit Poznansky

Instruments:

Female Choir

Read More
Buy

Waltz, for flute & piano
Amit Poznansky

Instruments:

flute & piano

Read More
Buy

Bones
Per Andreasson

Instruments:

Percussion Quintet

Read More
Buy

Tinplay
Per Andreasson

Instruments:

Percussion

Read More
Buy

Spirrevippen
Tom Nybye

Instruments:

Marimba and piano acc.

Read More
Buy

Snares On
Tom Nybye

Instruments:

Snare drum

Read More
Buy

Danish Tapto
Břrge Ritz

Instruments:

Snare drum

Read More
Buy

Styx
Anders Lynghřj

Instruments:

Snare drum

Read More
Buy

Social Etudes
Nils Vigeland

Instruments:

Percussion ensemble

Read More
Buy

Monologue
Gunnar Berg

Instruments:

Trumpet

Read More
Buy

Triedra
Gunnar Berg

Instruments:

Recorder or Transverse Flute

Read More
Buy

Pastourelle
Gunnar Berg

Instruments:

flute

Read More
Buy

Mouture
Gunnar Berg

Instruments:

7 Percussionists

Read More
Buy

Guro
Olaf Tzschoppe

Instruments:

Percussion and Viola

Read More
Buy

Melodie Op. 10
Emil Reesen

Instruments:

Violin and Piano

Read More
Buy

A Propos
Alexey Voytenko

Instruments:

Flute quartet

Read More
Buy

Souvenir from Chisinau
Daniel Galay

Instruments:

Marimba

Read More
Buy

Friend-Ships, in the oceans of hearings
Frédéric Hartmann

Instruments:

Flute

Read More
Buy

Accordion Concerto No. 1
Branko Djordjevic

Instruments:

Accordion & Orchestra

Read More
Buy

DOINA in C major
Daniel Galay

Instruments:

Percussion and Piano

Read More
Buy

La Sirena
Giulio Briccialdi

Instruments:

Fl., Vln. (2), Vla., Vlc.

Read More
Buy

Selected pieces for flutes
Friedrich Kuhlau

Instruments:

Flute ensemble

Read More
Buy

Stratocumulus
Ludwig Albert

Instruments:

marimba duo

Read More
Buy

Sonata Opus 77
Georg Abraham Schneider

Instruments:

flute and piano

Read More
Buy

Octet for Flutes
Ketil Hvoslef

Instruments:

Flute Octet

Read More
Buy

Sonatina
Friedrich Kuhlau

Instruments:

Piccolo, 7 Flutes and 2 Alto Flutes

Read More
Buy

Elverhřj
Friedrich Kuhlau

Instruments:

11 Flutes and Harp

Read More
Buy

Nereus Sonata
Jeffrey Holmes

Instruments:

Marimba

Read More
Buy

Chamber Symphony No. 3
Yevhen Stankovych

Instruments:

Flute and Orchestra

Read More
Buy

Cinq Pičces
Renaud François

Instruments:

for flute and piano

Read More
Buy

Un Tout
Yevhen Stankovych

Instruments:

Flute and Orchestra

Read More
Buy

Sonata No. 1 in D Minor OPUS 75
Camille Saint-Saëns

Instruments:

Flute and Piano

Read More
Buy

Sonate opus 9
Carl Nielsen

Instruments:

Flute and Piano

Read More
Buy

Introduction and Variations on a Theme from Kuhlau’s „Elverhřj“
A. B. Fürstenau

Instruments:

Flute and Piano

Read More
Buy

Variations on a Danish National Anthem
Louis Drouët

Instruments:

Flute and Piano

Read More
Buy

Occasus
Jeffrey Holmes

Instruments:

Percussion Ensemble

Read More
Buy

Three Poems
Jon Laukvik

Instruments:

Choir and Organ

Read More
Buy

Lamento
Jon Laukvik

Instruments:

Trumpet and Organ

Read More
Buy

Ludus
Hans Magne Grćsvold

Instruments:

Marimba quartet

Read More
Buy

Helios
Daniel Berg

Instruments:

marimba

Read More
Buy

Twilight Garden
Daniel Berg

Instruments:

marimba

Read More
Buy

Etude Classique
Einar Nielsen

Instruments:

snare drum

Read More
Buy

Timbres
Daniel Berg

Instruments:

marimba

Read More
Buy

Spirit Dance
Graham Instrall

Instruments:

Flute and Marimba

Read More
Buy

Grand Duo
Friedrich Kuhlau

Instruments:

Flute and Piano

Read More
Buy

Flute Orchestral Excerpts I
Various

Instruments:

Flute quartet

Read More
Buy

Flute Orchestral Excerpts II
Various

Instruments:

Flute quartet

Read More
Buy