Kosmos: Anaximander

Composer: Valentin Kervadec

Instrument: Marimba

Level: Advanced

Published: 2022

• Description

  In this first instalment of the Kosmos Series, we are asked to ponder the question: what is our place in the Universe? Are we specks of matter drifting aimlessly across space, or are we maybe made for a more mystical and distant purpose?
  
  Based upon the foundational work of pre-socratic philosophers, this piece conjures up the idea of a world filled with natural phenomena that are all linked within one cosmology. As it is building patterns of notes on top of each other, so is the universe made up of winds, rains, clouds, and beings, all connected the same way, their existence being tightly intertwined.
  
  This presupposition may be exemplified by the Butterfly Effect, but the Ionian philosopher was one of the first to conclude beings were all linked in a perfect ever-evolving cycle, coming out of earth and then going back to earth.
  
  The cosmological concepts exposed here are reproduced in the piece, as its introduction builds and creates the musical skeleton undergirding the whole rhythmic and melodic structure of the next two parts. And according to Anaximander, it is under one sky, one God, that all living beings are connected and share the same condition: to look at the heavens and wonder where they come from.
  
  Valentin Kervadec

• Percussive Notes, February 2023
  
  “Kosmos: Anaximander” is an expansive, virtuosic piece for the marimba meant to evoke all the wonder and vastness of the cosmos. As Valentin Kervadec says in his program notes: “The cosmological concepts exposed here are reproduced in the piece, as its introduction builds and creates the musical skeleton undergirding the whole rhythmic and melodic structure of the next two parts.” The hauntingly simple opening melody, played in open octaves in the high register of the marimba, paints an airy, atmospheric texture. The high-register octaves continue to be a theme throughout, almost as if there were heavenly voices singing.
  
  The piece develops the melodic theme, first adding a simple accompaniment in the left hand and gradually fleshing out a more lush arpeggiated accompaniment. The texture is very pianistic, with the octaves in the right hand serving as melody while the left hand plays accompaniment material, usually arpeggiated figures or a chorale-like setting. While not exactly a theme-and-variations structure, the piece is made up of discrete sections with vastly different tempi, dynamic ranges, and structure, giving it a rhapsodic or toccata-esque feel. There is much room in this solo for a performer to showcase individual musicianship and expression, with numerous virtuosic runs up the marimba, sections of rubato, and expressive chorales.
  
  This piece would be best suited for an advanced undergraduate student or graduate student. The technical demands include one-handed rolls over acrobatic runs, extended passages with the hands interlocking in octaves, and fast runs up the whole length of the instrument. In addition to the technical control required to master this piece, the performer needs a mature sense of pacing and phrasing to be able to sculpt the rapidly changing sections and tempos. It would serve as a lovely recital piece or competition piece, as it showcases both technical and musical prowess.
  
  —Hannah Weaver