Nozny-Thief-M / Tuned Pipes

Thief is a marimba solo that includes a set of metal pipes (same as used in Paul Lansky's percussion ensemble piece Threads) laid on the marimba. The idea of the work, as described by Brian Nozny, is as follows: "The focus of Thief is the melding of the natural with the artificial. When this work was originally commissioned by Omar Carmenates, his request was for a piece for solo percussion where ideas of the environment and environmentalism were represented. In more talks with Omar, the subjects of the natural elements we use in percussion (most notably Rosewood used in the making of marimba bars) came up, helping to move me in the direction of writing a piece for solo marimba.

At the same time of the commission, I had the opportunity to perform Paul Lansky's percussion cantata Threads, a piece that for my part required the use of tuned metal pipes. The sounds of these pipes were so beautiful and unique that I wanted to explore that color in my own compositions. This commission presented the perfect opportunity. By using the man-made metal pipes in tandem with the natural rosewood marimba bars, I was able to create a soundscape that combined natural elements and man-made elements into a single homogenous instrument; something that I feel is one of the core aspects of environmentalism, the co-existence of man-made and natural materials."

Number of players: 1
Difficulty: Advanced

Instrumentation: Marimba (5 octave), tuned metal pipes