Mallets & Melodies

The VocalEssence Chorus & Ensemble Singers and twenty marimbas will surround the audience as they perform Gabrieli’s Magnificat à 33 — a stunning work with 33 separate melodic voices spread throughout the Cathedral of Saint Paul.

This collaborative performance, in conjunction with the Marimba 2010 Festival & Convention, also features three world premieres — Jorge Córdoba is commemorating the Mexican Bicentennial with a new work, and Stephen Paulus is composing a piece for chorus and marimba as well as a new arrangement of his celebrated “Pilgrim’s Hymn.” Join VocalEssence and conductor Philip Brunelle for a sensational surround sound experience!

Mallets & Melodies Performance Repertoire

(not in program order)
Giovanni Gabrieli, Magnificat á33 – 20 marimbas and chorus
Stephen Paulus, Vision (world premiere) – four marimbas with VocalEssence Ensemble Singers
Stephen Paulus, Pilgrim’s Hymn (world premiere) – arranged for two marimbas and chorus
Jorge Córdoba, Aqui Ha Nacido El Tiempo  (world premiere) – Marimba Nandayapa (quartet) and chorus
Samuel Barber, Adagio for Strings – arranged for 20 marimbas
Peter Klatzow, Return of the Moon (selected movements) – marimba and VocalEssence Ensemble Singers
arr. Sowa Mensah, Bawa, a Dagara Harvest Dance – all performers