{"product_id":"westlake-kalabash-sp-2m-p","title":"Westlake-Kalabash (SP)-2M\/P","description":"\"Kalabash\" for four percussionists, was composed as part of the HC Coombs Creative Arts Fellowship for the ANU School of Music's student percussion ensemble \"Drumatix\" \u0026amp; was premiered by them at the National Art Gallery in July 2004.\u003cbr\u003eTwo marimbas \u0026amp; a selection of splash cymbals \u0026amp; log drums are shared amongst the four players who engage in a virtuosic interplay reminiscent of the balofon music of West Africa. \u003cbr\u003eThe balofon is the forerunner of the modern marimba \u0026amp; shares many physical characteristics with its modern counterpart, the main difference being that the wooden bars (or notes) are suspended above a collection of different sized kalabash gourds instead of aluminium resnonators. In some instances these gourds have spiderwebs stretched over their openings which create a fantastic buzzing resonance when the bars are hit with mallets. \u003cbr\u003eThe traditional music of West Africa frequently features the balofon \u0026amp; there are many accomplished exponents of dazzling virtuosity amongst the tribes of Northern Ghana.It is the musical gestures \u0026amp; celebratory nature of this folk music which in some ways informs the language of Kalabash \u0026amp; though there is no direct borrowing of musical themes or techniques, this exotic sound world has become a departure point for the compositional process. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- Nigel Westlake\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNumber of Players: 4\u003cbr\u003eDifficulty: Grade 5\u003cbr\u003eInstrumentation:    \u003cbr\u003e\u003cli\u003e Player I: Marimba (Shared) Log Drum, Woodblock\u003c\/li\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cli\u003e Player II: Marimba (Shared) Log Drum, Woodblock\u003c\/li\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cli\u003e Player I: Marimba (Shared) Cowbell, Woodblock\u003c\/li\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cli\u003e Player I: Marimba (Shared) Cowbell, Woodblock\u003c\/li\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNigel Westlake's career in music has spanned more than 3 decades. He studied the clarinet with his father, Donald Westlake (a prominent Australian musician \u0026amp; principal clarinetist with the Sydney Symphony orchestra 1961-1979) \u0026amp; subsequently left school early to pursue a performance career in music. Nigel toured Australia \u0026amp; the world playing with ballet companies, a circus troupe, chamber music groups, fusion bands \u0026amp; orchestras to the cities of London, New York, Rome, Washington, Tokyo, Beijing, Paris, Amsterdam, Vancouver, Moscow, Hong Kong, Berlin, New Delhi \u0026amp; Singapore to name but a few. His interest in composition dates from the late 1970's when he formed a classical\/jazz-rock\/world-music fusion band to play original music. During this time he started to receive offers to compose for radio \u0026amp; circus. Commissions for TV \u0026amp; film soon followed.","brand":"Steve Weiss Music","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43826967281718,"sku":"WESTLAKE KALA","price":80.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0563\/3055\/1350\/files\/westlake-kalabash-sp-2m-p.jpg?v=1773490932","url":"https:\/\/www.steveweissmusic.com\/products\/westlake-kalabash-sp-2m-p","provider":"Steve Weiss Music","version":"1.0","type":"link"}