Cheryl Graham: MUSIC ON THE MARIMBA DURING FIVE YEARS OF WORSHIP SERVICES

1. 3/26/06: Sonata II in A Minor for Violin, Andante by Johann S Bach Madrigal To My Lady White by David Maslanka The Offering by Michael Burritt 2. 7/23/06: Sea Refractions by Mitchell Peters Marimba Spiritual, part 1 by Minoru Miki 1 3. 5/13/07: Piano Sonata #8, Adagio Cantable by Ludwig von Beethoven Dance by Michael Burritt 4. 8/26/07: Ballad by Michael Burritt Morning Prayer by Peter Tchaikovsky 5. 11/16/08: Wer Nur Den Lieben Gott Laesst Walten by Johann S Bach 2 Goodbye by Emmanuel Sejourne 3 6. 7/12/09: Enchanted Dawn by Ravi Shankar nd 3 Suite for Flute & Marimba, 2 movement by Alec Wilder 4 7. 9/6/09: Spiegel im Spiegel by Arvo Part 8. 5/16/10: Etude for a Quiet Hall by Christopher Deane Fire by Donald Skoog Reflections on the Nature of Water: Crystalline by J Druckman Reflections on the Nature of Water: Relentless by J Druckman Cello Suite #1 by Johann S Bach
1. acc. by Janet Alexander, piano; ; 2. acc. by John Blegen, clarinet & John Tuck, bass 3. acc. by Sarah Meyers, flute 4. Cheryl Graham, vibraphone, acc. by Betsy Arsenault, flute Lake Street Church of Evanston / 607 Lake Street; Evanston, Illinois 60201 / (847) 864-2181

What is the Marimba?

Origin of the Marimba is not known, but it seems it started off as wooden bars laid over a hole on the ground which was struck with sticks. In the myth of Zulus (of South Africa), there is a tale about a goddess called "Marimba" who made an instrument by hanging gourds below wooden bars. It sometimes is referred to as the source of the name of the instrument. The Marimba, which was born in South Africa, was brought to South America in the early 16th century by the Africans who were taken there as slaves(*). There, a Guatemalan called Sebastian Hurtado made a Marimba with a wooden resonator pipe instead of gourd. This formed the basis of the modern marimba. The Marimba, which was improved in South America was brought to the United States eventually, and they started to make marimba around 1910. Deagan of Chicago changed the wooden pipe to the metal pipe. Numerous other improvements were made since then including the rearrangement of the keytop to resemble the piano. The modern Marimba is now treated not only as an orchestra instrument but also as a solo instrument, thanks to the louder sound achieved by the pipe. The modern instrument usually has rose wood keyboard with brass pipe resonators. Range differs from an instrument to another, but 4+1/2 to 5 octaves ones are most popular. Major makers of the modern marimba includes Musser, Yamaha, Korogi, Saito, Marimba One, and Malletech.
(*) There are opinions that the marimba was independently invented in several places like Thailand, Indonesia and the Amazon.