Katarzyna Mycka is also known by critics as “the one who dances
with mallets”. She has recorded a cross-section of her repertoire on
over 10 CDs and commissioned numerous compositions. Perfect touch
technique and a dreamlike rhythmic precision are characteristic for
her playing on the concert marimba, consisting of 60 narrow wooden
plates and resonance tubes made of metal.
Jens Wollenschläger is a professor of organ and vice-rector at the
Hochschule für Kirchenmusik in Tübingen (the University of Church
Music) and the First Organist of Tübingen Stiftskirche (collegiate
church). Raised in Landau, Palatinate, he studied church music
(A-exam) in Stuttgart and organ (concert exam with distinction)
in Hamburg. He has recorded over 95 CDs and is well-known as a
composer, music editor and song accompanist.
Manuela Nägele (*1967)
Come Together
It is exciting how opposites can meet, complement, and play with each
other. Encounters occur daily in different contexts, where they can be
casual or of great significance and depth.
Counterparts move and challenge at the same time. Being open to
engaging with each other can lead to new and unexpected things:
Listening to each other is a prerequisite for constructive confrontation,
which gives way to an interplay of forces, colours and volume, a give
and take, a withdrawing and stepping forward.
All this resonates in the concerto concept – competing, leading and
being led, sounding together. Each instrument contributes its diverse
tonal possibilities.
Come Together invites others to be their own and rejoice in their
difference.
Manuela Nägele
Anna Ignatowicz-Glinska (*1968)
Slady niepewnosci / The Traces of Incertitude
Slady niepewnosci/The Traces of Incertitude was initially written
for harpsichord and organ in 1995. I prepared a new version of the
piece for marimba and organ for Katarzyna Mycka in 2013, released
by NORSK Musikforlag/Oslo. The musical idea I pursued in this piece
was to establish a dialogue between virtuoso instruments stylistically
inspired by the aesthetics of the Baroque era. The new version was
premiered in Berlin in 2013 and performed by Katarzyna Mycka and
Franz Raml.
Jens Wollenschläger (*1976)
schwere los (weight less)
Three Concertante Impressions for Marimba and Organ (2020/22)
In German, the title schwere los (weightless) is intentionally lowercase
and written with a space between the two words to stimulate
reflection and allow for multiple interpretations. First, it includes
weightlessness. However, it also expresses the opposite: Schwere ist
los, meaning something heavy and oppressive is present. In German,
the full expression “das schwere Los” would be a play on words
referring to a hard lot. Indeed, the characters of the individual
movements swing back and forth between these extremes.
Jens Wollenschläger
Paul Creston (1906–1985)
Meditation
Meditation for marimba and organ is the second movement of Paul
Creston’s Concertino for Marimba, written in 1940 and arranged for
this duo by the composer. This particular movement from Creston’s
more extensive work is one of the most beautiful and calming
pieces of music ever written for the marimba.
Kay Johannsen (*1961)
Entre nous
I have always been fascinated by the sound of the marimba and the
almost sporty but certainly dance-like grace with which professional
musicians play it. We also had a marimba at home for a few years
because my son had taken an interest in the instrument. Therefore,
the percussion concerto I wrote for him had to include a separate
movement for the marimba. I also used that instrument once for a
solo in my organ opera Nachtbus.
Writing a piece in which the organ can be perceived as a real
partner of another instrument is challenging. Although the organ
has orchestral qualities – in other words, a wide range of timbres
– it must be used in a highly disciplined and sparing manner when
composing to avoid sounding too overwhelming.
In Entre nous, I have tried to create as many types of dialogue as
possible in a rather cheerful “conversational” atmosphere.
Kay Johannsen
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor BWV 1067
This suite with ouverture and the following concertante dances is
one of the great master’s most famous compositions, a prominent
work in the repertoire for flute with accompaniment. The delightful
badinerie, the last movement, is one of the best-known pieces of
music ever: its driving rhythm engages listeners, with its melody
swinging in their ears for a long time.
The various movements of this Bach orchestral suite act as cheerful
intermezzi in our Mélange. Whereas in the original Baroque
instrumentation, continuo, string section and virtuoso solo flute are
placed opposite each other, the organ and the marimba can now
play out their different characters, compete with and complement
each other: stability and immediacy of sound on the one hand,
percussive-dancing lightness and accentuation on the other.