Samplings – Concerto for marimba and symphonic orchestra – Jean-Luc Rimey-Meille

Description

Samplings – Concerto for marimba and symphonic orchestra – Jean-Luc Rimey-Meille

Full score and parts for sale as hard copy or for immediate download.

Commission by orchestre Victor-Hugo Franche-Comté
Duration ca 16 min 30

For Damien Petitjean and Jean François Verdier

A sample of fabric, material, color, texture, an example… The French meaning of the word “sample” suggests certain sonic possibilities and opens the door to experimentation that allows for the blending of different aesthetics—which is my usual field of inquiry.
The aim of this music is to take an example—a “sample” in English—as a starting point and to juxtapose it with a slightly offbeat aesthetic in order to shed new light on it. The sampling technique – pre-recorded sound sample – allows to loop sound extracts that do not necessarily have a duration calibrated on the tempo. I had some pleasure in recreating this notion of “wobbly” by organizing the music around “asymmetrical” or “compound” measures that can give the illusion of an irregular pulse, making the musical time more complex and perhaps, more agitated?
Some references of “samples” present in this concerto, at random and in the disorder: Maurice Ravel, Steve Reich, Pat Metheny, Bélà Bartok, Frank Zappa… learned music, world music, jazz, electro music, rock…

The concerto is structured in three linked movements.
The first section features a collision of various “samples” and tempos, with the marimba taking the lead and then incorporating elements from the orchestra to develop its own musical narrative. This part concludes with a minimalist, offbeat section, reminiscent of what electronic musicians might create.
A second, slower section, in the form of a three-beat chorale, where the marimba reveals a softer tone, creating the illusion of sustained sounds through the use of the roll technique. This chorale, supported by the orchestra (woodwinds, then strings), ends in a tense, unresolved procession.
The finale is structured as a rondo in which the orchestra and the marimba (at this point reminiscent of the African balafon) call and respond to one another, bound by a “compound” meter where a binary and a ternary pulse coexist, at a fast tempo and with the full orchestra.

Excerpts: