Beads Of Glass by Gordon Stout

 One of Gordon Stout’s most recent compositions for solo marimba, Beads of Glass, is a beautiful tapestry of tonal sounds for a five octave marimba. It’s level of difficulty is comparable to Stout’s Astral Dance. The work is about 8 minutes long, and provides the marimbist the chance to showcase the beautiful sounds of the marimba, mostly in the middle and low registers. It is dedicated to Leigh Howard Stevens, because the music was initially considered as material for a commission from Leigh for marimba solo and percussion quartet. As the work progressed however, it became clear that adding percussion was not appropriate for the nature of the music, and that it would be better suited for marimba alone.

This beautiful piece should become a favorite for marimbists who want to showcase the sound of the marimba and their musical artistry.