Hightide Yuletide by Yukiko Nishimura

Hightide Yuletide for bass clarinet and marimba was commissioned by Duo Stanza (Akihiko Uwabe, bass clarinet and Tomoko Inaba, marimba) and premiered in 2004, Purchase, New York. This is a kind of rare combination of instruments, but the resonance of each instrument compliments one another.

In the first movement “Purely,” the marimba supports the melody of clarinet with slow and thick harmony. The sound of the marimba represents the expanses of an outer space. The clarinet part should be played simply like a cool breeze. In the second movement, some dialogues of these two instruments are fun to play. There is a light atmosphere in this movement.