Thapen I, II et III by Regis Famelart

In the spirit of American repetitive music, these pieces were created in Valbonne (French Riviera) in May 2011 with twenty-five keyboards.

On the basis of an ostinato, ten cells are linked together but it is up to you to establish the rules of the game. From the simple duo you can multiply the other keyboards at will.

Here are some examples: – 4 x each reprise – 7 x each reprise – from 4 to 7 x each reprise in a random way – chain the ten cells and come back to cell 1 (mirror) – make several groups of keyboards (wood, metal…) etc…

Each cell corresponds to a specific atmosphere and deals with a technical aspect of playing with two or four sticks: alternate strokes, doubled strokes, double tones, accents, piqués, lourrés…

NB: The ostinato, if played on the marimba, can be done one octave below. The three versions can be combined and played simultaneously.

Thapen 1 : intermediate, 2 mallets ; Thapen 2 : easy, 2 mallets ; Thapen 3 : intermediate-difficult, 4 mallets.