Xylorimba
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The xylorimba (sometimes known as the xylo-marimba or marimba-xylophone) is a pitched percussion musical instrument which is a xylophone with an extended range (and not a combination of the xylophone and the marimba, although the name might imply that).
It consists of a series of wooden bars laid out like a piano keyboard, and it combines the range of the two, usually spanning four octaves from the C one octave below middle C to the C three octaves above middle C. Its music is written in both the treble and bass clefs. The instrument has been used in a number of 20th century classical works.
Classical music with the Xylorimba:
- Olivier Messiaen: La Transfiguration de Notre-Seigneur Jésus-Christ ("The Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ"), large 10-part chorus, piano solo, cello solo, flute solo, clarinet solo, xylorimba solo, vibraphone solo, large orchestra (1965-69)
- Oliver Messiaen: Saint-François d'Assise (Saint Francis of Assisi)
- Oliver Messiaen: Des Canyons aux étoiles… ("From the canyons to the stars…"), solo piano, solo horn, solo glockenspiel, solo xylorimba, small orchestra with 13 string players (1971-74)
- Alban Berg: Three Orchestral Pieces
- Pierre Boulez: Le marteau sans maître
