ウィテカー: マリンバ四重奏曲集

イギリスのコンテンポラリー・アンサンブル、パワープラントのメンバーであり、ガブリエル・プロコフィエフの「バス・ドラム協奏曲」の録音でも話題を呼んだパーカッショニスト、ジョビィ・バージェスが、現代アメリカの作曲家エリック・ウィテカーの人気合唱曲をマリンバ四重奏にアレンジ!
打楽器関係者にはもちろん、合唱ファンやアレンジ作品愛好家にもオススメです!
東京エムプラス

This EP consists of four arrangements of choral pieces by Eric Whitacre, each for marimba quartet. The arrangements are by percussionist Joby Burgess, and one interesting aspect of the release is that Whitacre has achieved a level of popularity, even outside his native U.S., at which people treat his work in strange ways. Listeners may not have had a preexisting desire to hear Whitacres pristine choral works arranged for marimbas, but these performances work better than you might expect, and they come endorsed by the composer himself. The slower Whitacre pieces, most of all the ubiquitous Lux Aurumque, work best here: the marimbas shimmer and take on an almost vocal quality. Several of the pieces seem to fade away into nothingness, and here it is not only the players but the producers, Nick Wollage and Burgess, who are the real stars, lending a magical atmosphere to Londons St. Augustines church. Its worth seeking out some of the videos that were made of these recording sessions, for they give a feel for the impressive feats of coordination involved, often led by Burgess with conductor-like gestures. Theres an X factor here, coming from the fact that one marvels at how anyone could have come up with this idea, and the EP is well worth hearing.