It's a perfectly complementary musical combination: the tuned metallic bell tones of the vibraphone and the natural wooden resonance of the marimba. They're both members of the family of mallet percussion instruments, but there's quite a difference in age. The marimba hails from sub-Saharan Africa and is centuries old, while the vibraphone—an updated version of the steel marimba—was invented in Indiana in the early 1920s.
Mallet instruments have been associated with the post-Classical genre of Minimalism since the beginning. They were part of the standard college curriculum in percussion performance, so the early music of TERRY RILEY and STEVE REICH used mallet ensembles to create the precision rhythm patterns in their music.
Today the psychoactive rhythms, consonant harmonies, and simplified elements of Minimalism have influenced many other genres—from post-Classical, Experimental Improvisation, and Contemplative Ambient—to Electronic Dance Music, Techno, and instrumental post-Rock. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we focus on the quiet side of Minimalism, on a program called MINIMAL SERENITY. Music is by the ARX DUO, MAX RICHTER, NICHOLAS CHASE, ADRIÁN DEMOĈ and ENSEMBLE RICERCATA, and the ABEL-STEINBERG-WINANT TRIO plays SOMEI SATO.
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