La Marimba The Conservatorium opens a new era in the marimba history

The Conservatorium opens a new era in the marimba history.

La Marimba:

From this academic year 2009-2010, the Artesis Hogeschool Antwerpen Royal Conservatorium offers a unique opportunity and a new study program in marimba with international acclaimed marimba virtuoso Mr. Ludwig Albert. The next generations of keyboard percussionists can specialize on this instrument from master degree. It is an extraordinary achievement in the Belgian music education and a significant development in the marimba history.

The marimba is related to various instruments in the traditional music in Africa and South and Latin America such as balafon, Rimba, shilimba and many others. This instrument is typically played in large ensembles to accompany the dancers. The traditional instrument is very popular in Chiapas, Mexico and Guatemala where it is a national symbol of culture and strongly established in southern and Central America.

The “Marimba Sencilla”, developed from the decedent of African xylophone, has about forty five keys, each with a gourd resonator. It is played by three to five players. According to Dr. Vida Chenoweth, the first chromatic marimba was made by Jose Chaquin and Manuel Lopez. It was presented to the public in Guatemala in 1874. The chromatic marimba was refined by Sebastian Hurtado. This six and a half octave marimba is the national musical instrument of Guatemala.

In 1901, the marimba is scheduled for its North American debut in Buffalo at the Pan-American Exposition. It was cancelled due to the assassination of President McKinley in that city. The marimba was first introduced to North America in 1908 by the Hurtado family marimba band. In the U.S., Europe and Japan many 20th century composers have created large works for the marimba such as Olivier Messian - La Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ, Saint-François d'Assise; Steve Reich – Six marimbas, Nagoya marimbas , Paul Creston - Concertino for Marimba; Philip Glass - Opening Silhouettes , Toru Takemitsu – Gitimalya, Rain Tree, Keiko Abe – Prism Rhapsody, Variation on Japanese Children’s Song and other prestige composers. A solo marimba performance can be a compelling experience. The instrument itself has a striking appearance, and the range of sounds it is capable of producing rich and unique beautiful sonority.

The first musician that had a great influence on the development of marimba was John Calhoun Deagan (1982-1932) who founded the company producing percussion instruments. Though John was a clarinetist by education in the USA he became famous as a designer and producer of tuned percussion instruments: bells, different types of xylophones, vibraphones, etc. He was also well-known for his theoretical and experimental researches in the field of musical acoustics. In 1897, he founded the company based on Chicago that was later on transformed into one of the biggest and authoritative companies in the USA specializing on production of percussion instruments - “J. C . Deagan, Inc”.

In 1910 Deagan produced the first in the world model of marimba that was suitable for solo, ensemble and orchestra performance. As a model he took a chromatic Latin-American marimba and substituted wooden resonators with metal ones. One of the first models of his marimbas, called “namimba”, had inbuilt membranes – mirlitons - in resonators, but later Deagan completely abandoned that idea. Deagan was the first person who claimed that the quality of Honduras rosewood is the best for production of marimba and xylophone bars. Marimba models produced by his corporation (about 50) vary in shape, size, ranges (from 2 to 5 octaves) and are very original by design.

However, the real popularization of marimba depended not only on companies producing musical instruments but mostly on marimba performers and composers. They needed to adore this instrument. They began the struggle for the acceptance of marimba on the same level as other musical instruments of “higher art” and the struggle by the percussionists. A lot of time was needed in order to make it happen and spent on adaptation of marimba in a mass music consciousness.

The first step was made by Latin-American entertainment music. Marimba was an integral part of various orchestras and bands. Mainly, they play popular music including arrangements for hit songs. They perform in clubs, restaurants, record their music. A famous jazz musician Red Norvo (1908 – 1999) also started his career in one of such ensembles. It is important to mention that thanks to his works and influence mallet percussion instruments switched from “light” entertainment music to the sphere of intellectual jazz.Unfortunately, all these changes took place within so called “The third layer” of musical culture. When speaking about marimba’s leaving the sphere of mass music and entering the sphere of “the higher art”, it’s worth mentioning that the first effective steps in that direction had been made in the 1930s-50s.

Concerning the level of development of some musical instruments are mainly based on judgments of composer’s works. This is quite true when speaking about classical European culture in which a musician is a performer and a composer in one person. When one speaks about the history of “Western marimba “ he also starts with composers who first wrote for this instrument - P.Creston, D. Miyo , R. Kurka, etc. However, while analyzing the 20th century marimba it will be observed to start with marimba players. They, together with composers, stimulated the interest of musical society in their instrument. They were also initiators of many other marimba compositions.

Extremely important actions, which attracted public attention to marimba, were made by Clair Omar Musser (1901-1998). Creative ideas of this famous American man of art of the 20th century had been various and up to the time. His inexhaustible energy was seen in different spheres of music: playing on a xylophone, vibraphone and marimba, conducting and composing, pedagogy, design of musical instruments, science – from acoustics to cosmos researches, as well as in his own business, social work and others.

First, in 1927, he was known as a designer and a promoter of one of Deagan’s works – so called “marimba-celest”. He was performing arrangements of piano compositions on this experimental musical instrument with symphonic orchestras. But the greatest fame was achieved by Musser, the marimba player and conductor, thanks to his concert projects for a realization of which a great number of marimba ensembles needed to be formed. Initially, it was a group of ten musicians. However, in 1933 Musser gathered a marimba orchestra that consisted of 100 players - “Century of Progress Marimba Orchestra” - for a concert in Chicago at the Century of Progress Exposition.

The performance was a great success, and Deagan together with Musser decided to start the other projects in order to promote marimba not only in the USA as well as in other continents. In 1934 they formed a new ensemble of 100 marimba players and started preparations for a tour around Europe and the USA. This most famous Musser’s orchestra had two names: “International Marimba Symphony Orchestra” and “Imperial Marimba Symphony Orchestra”. However, the abbreviation for both of them was “IMSO”. The second name was more suitable for the orchestra because it was really imperial but not so “international “as in the first definition.

During the year 1935, the ensemble has traveled in Paris, the opening of the International Exposition in Brussels, and many other European cities. It’s important to mention that the orchestra didn’t have a possibility to engage all 100 people of the ensemble because of a lack of stages capable of fitting the whole orchestra. That’s why Musser was making some small “changes” even during concerts. The concert of a historical importance took place in Carnegie-Hall, New York on16th May, 1935, on Thursday.

The second half of the 20^th century was characterized by a breakthrough of percussion instruments to the sphere of concert solo performance. The leading place is occupied by the marimba and its intensive development as a solo concert instrument. During last 30 years several respected schools of concert marimba were established: An impressive cohort of American marimba players that includes famous musicians as Leigh Howard Stevens, Gordon Stout, Michael Burrit and Nancy Zeltsman, the influence of the Japanese school of marimba conducted by Keiko Abe, Michiko Takahashi and other leading performers of the younger generation as Nanae Mimura, Naoko Takada and Momoko Kamiya. European performers joined the constellation of world-famous marimba players, including Nebojsha Jovan Zivkovic (Germany), Eric Sammut (France), Dame Evelyn Glennie (England), Peter Prommel (Holland), Katarzyna Mycka (Poland), Ludwig Albert (Belgium) and Bogdan Bacanu (Austria).

Two legendary marimbists cross the Pacific Ocean:

There are two legendary marimbists who are very important in the development of the modern classic marimba. Dr. Vida Chenoweth, the first concert marimbist who played in the Carnegie Hall with distinguished success, has premiered many concertos for solo marimba and orchestra. She is not only one of the greatest marimbists, but also lived among the Usarufa tribe in New Guinea...later developed a program in ethnomusicology for the Wheaton Conservatory of Music, based on her own theory of melodic perception and analysis – The marimba of Guatemala, Information on the marimba. Chenoweth was acclaimed by New York and European critics as the one who elevated the marimba to concert status. For her contributions to music, she has been inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame (1984) and the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame (1994), and in 2001 was selected by the International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, England, as one of 2000 outstanding musicians of the 20th century.

Ms. Vida Chenoweth, originally from Enid, Oklahoma, grew up in a musical family, that’s why she had been interested in marimba at a very young age. Musser was a friend of her father, the owner of a music shop, who organized marimba concerts in Enid. At that time she decided to learn how to play marimba with Musser and to be a marimba player with her own solo repertoire. In 1951 she left her music school. Later she studied professional management and concert booking services at the Columbia Lecture Bureau, and by the mid-50s she had moved to New York City. The Columbia Lecture bureau booked and publicized Chenoweth’s Town Hall debut concert, which she had performed on November 18, 1956. The peak of Vida Chenoweth’s fame was in the 1950-60s. During that period she gave about 1000 concerts in Europe and the USA, performed with well-known orchestras in the world.

The marimba was first introduced to Japan around 1950 by the American missionary, Dr. Lawrence Lacour, a formal member of Musser’s International Marimba Symphony Orchestra in 1935. The musical environment of Japan began to accept the instrument after several showcase recitals were given by missionaries. As the marimba became more and more popular in Japan, Keiko Abe felt it is important to have original works written for marimba. She began to commission, and encouraged well-known Japanese composers for the instrument. In 1968, Ms. Abe planned a concert of new commissioned works for the marimba, including both solo and chamber music works such as Divertimento for marimba and alto Saxophone (1968) by Akira Yuyama, The two movements for marimba (1965) by Toshimitsu Tanaka, Time for marimba (1968) by Minoru Miki, Torse III (1968) by Akira Miyoshi, Quinter for marimba, contrabass and three flutes (1968) by Teruyuki Nuda.

Abe’s virtuoso performance has inspired many composers to write new works for marimba. Fifty-four pieces have been written for her by thirty-two composers between the year 1964and 1986. These new works have great contributed to the development and expansion of marimba literature. She has composed more than seventy pieces for marimba. She has received awarded at the Hall of Fame in the USA and by The New York Times as one of the 50 greatest musicians of the 20th century. Several pieces have been written in the United States and Europe at the same time Abe’s impact on the Japanese marimba repertory. However, those compositions were mainly written by marimbists.

The marimba ensembles:

Aside of solo performance, the form of the marimba ensemble is known for the original style in the traditional music. In 2006 the Flanders Marimba Ensemble was founded by the Professor Ludwig Albert at the Conservatorium. This first European marimba ensemble has been performed at the international events such as the International Percussion Ensemble Week 2008 (Croatia) & Seoul Drum Festival 2007 (Korea), is acclaimed with great critics, received future tour invitations for festival in the USA & Asia. In the year 2000 the marimba ensemble Cadendia was raised by Keiko Abe at the Toho University in Japan, the ensemble plays mainly works from Japanese composers or arrangements from Keiko Abe. In addition, her formal students founded also the marimba ensemble Drops.

Besides International Marimba Symphony Orchestra in 1935, the marimba has been focused on solo performances during the year 40s and 90s. Until 1998, the revival of the marimba orchestra culminates in a performance at West Point, New York on March 28, 1998 with 134 marimbas on stage being simultaneously played upon by 184 marimbists, conducted by Dr. Frederick Fennell. In 2002, an Australian Marimba Ensemble was conducted by American marimbists Leigh Howard Stevens at the Australian Percussion Symposium 2002, the latest marimba orchestra was organized by Ju Foundation in Taiwan. More then 75 marimba players from all over the world played at the National Concert Hall conducted by the American marimbist Gordon Stout at the Taipei International Percussion Convention 2008. However, these ensembles only appeared for certain occasions.

Past and the new era:

There are not many universities or conservatories where you can receive a marimba diploma. Most of them offer a special study program such as the Boston Conservatory (U.S.A), the Berkeley College of Music (U.S.A), the Royal College of Music (U.K.), the Paris Regional Conservatory (France), the University College of music Detmold (Germany), the Toho University (Japan) and the Artesis Hogeschool Antwerpen Royal Conservatorium.

Formal marimba students at the Conservatorium are teaching at universities abroad, or have won many prestigious international marimba competitions, established with well-known CD label companies, performed at international festivals and established a career as marimba soloist. We hope that we will be able to enlarge the marimba or percussive keyboard program in bachelor or music academy level. Moreover, with the new facilities and international recognition, the marimba department of Artesis Hogeschool Antwerpen Royal Conservatorium is ready to make a master landmark on the new page of the music history.

”Nowadays, when we have some achievements and we are in the middle, it’s difficult to calculate our contribution to the development of marimba, but, who knows, maybe after 50 or 100 years, people will say that this was “the Golden Age.” for marimba” - Lee Howard Stevens

“The marimba has a great potential. No other musical instrument has such a wide spectrum of performing. Percussionists could express music by a simple touching of bars. This allows us, without changes in primary musical emotions, to make new achievements not only in traditional musical folklore but in modern music as well.”- Keiko Abe

“The 21st century will surely be rich in new musical discoveries and development. This will require quality pieces, competitions, concerts and most of all marimbists capable of communicating musical sensations with their listeners. Study programs, designed to allow students to study intensively on the marimba as a principal instrument, will be an important pedagogical requirement to come forward into the nowadays successful development of the marimba , its performers and pedagogues.” – Ludwig Albert

Chin-Cheng Lin

Is a doctoral student in performing arts at the University Antwerp in association with the Artesis Hogeschool Antwerpen Royal Conservatorium. This article is related with his research “A study of movements in marimba playing”. The following marimba recital “Marimbaroque I” will be taken placed on 19:00 pm, Wednesday 23 September 2009 at Kleine Zaal, de Single.