Four Mallet Duos

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Description +
- Duration: 20 min.
  
  My passion for chamber music started when I played my first pieces for percussion duo. To create something of its own together and find a personal means of expression has since led me to new ways and new combinations of instruments. I hope these four duets may inspire you to play more chamber music focusing on percussion.
  
  Presently, I give about 100 concerts a year with any of my chamber music formations. Organ and percussion with Johannes Landgren, guitar and marimba with Christer Brodén, violin and marimba with Tobias Granmo, and percussion duo with Fredrik Duvling (www.rhythmartduo.com).
Instrumentation +
- Marimba and Vibraphone
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About the composer +
- Daniel Berg is a Swedish composer, musician and professor in classical percussion. He combines the role of writing music with being a versatile musician and teaches solo percussion and chamber music at the University College of Music in Gothenburg, Stockholm and Örebro in Sweden.
  
  In his passion to promote the marimba as a solo- and chamber music instrument, Daniel has worked intimately with a number of composers who have written original music for the instrument. This includes more than 250 world premieres for solo and chamber works. Daniel Berg is an artist of Bergerault Marimbas and Elite Mallets.
  
  As a composer Daniel has written a lot for percussion published by Edition Svitzer like his Kroumata for percussion sextet, Images for Percussion Duo and Yán Jiāng (Magma) for solo marimba - a commission from the Taiwan World Percussion Competition 2020.
Reviews +
- Percussive Notes, November 2016
  
  Duo performances have been common throughout much of the history of Western music. Most of these have been a pair of violins, or violin and cello, or even flute and harp. Not until the 20th century did music for two melodic percussion instruments become a medium for which composers would write. This publication presents four selections that are quite unique in style, texture, and musical concepts. The first piece, “Tango,” is scored for two marimbas and the other three are written for marimba and vibraphone.
  
  Melodic material in the “Tango” is true to the Argentine dance style. The musical lines for both players is mostly single notes, but occasional four-note chords require four mallets. The meter alternates between 5/4 and 4/4. In the B section, unusual meters are used, and unusual rhythmic grouping patterns make this quite fresh and interesting. The “Chanson” is set in 4/4 with the marimba executing chordal figures while the vibraphone performs a lyrical melody. The second section has a written melody for the vibraphone, but chord symbols are added, which permits the performer to improvise if desired. “Nightmare” begins with long rolled chords that range from triple piano to forte. The close harmonies make the texture fit well with the title. At measure 37, the vibraphone is tacet and the marimba plays interlocking sixteenth notes, which are notated in the style of “Wooden Music” by Rich O Meara. The piece concludes with the long chords similar to those in the beginning. “Moonlight” is characterized by long tones and utilizes material in varying modes, including the Phrygian, Lydian, and Dorian. These are clearly marked in the score.
  
  I find these tunes to be interesting, and the freedoms permitted make this a work that may be appealing. Give it a try.
  
  —George Frock
Credits +
- Front Cover layout: Gaia Gomes
  Enamel painting: Bengt Berglund
  Photo: Per Buhre
  Engraving: Ary Golomb
  Printed in Copenhagen, Denmark
  Copyright © Edition SVITZER
  www.editionsvitzer.com

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