Duration – 7’30”

Written – 2019

for 5 Octave Marimba

Influences – Ivan Trevino, and Vincent Persichetti

About

“Words Spoken at Night” is a piece for 5 octave marimba that I finished writing in the spring of 2019. It is by far the longest timespan from initial ideas to finishing that a piece of mine has undergone. Because of this I often compare the piece and group it in with older pieces of mine from 2015/16.

The idea behind the piece’s title came much longer in the process of writing. Initially I was inspired by themes of masquerade and mystery, flashing colors and mischief of which all had aspects of night life to me. The piece I was writing wasn’t necessarily flashy, the material felt a lot more serpentine and mystic which got me thinking more about subtle aspects of night life and masquerade that slip past the visual and into the emotional. Clearly stated, it became evident that I was writing about the “words spoken” at night rather than the actions and visuals of a masquerade. Elegant and mysterious conversation that by the sheer design of masquerade allows itself to be much more playful in its approach. The people talking become way less prominent than the words themselves. I wanted to write a piece about those words, a piece about the moments you couldn’t forget simply because the conversation, the mischief, the wit paired with the night was too memorable.