Kingdom Lore Fanfare by Mark Ford

“Requiring a five-octave marimba, Mark Ford’s rhapsodic “Kingdom Lore Fanfare” has a dramatic opening, emphasizing a heroic, fanfare like, three-note rhythmic cell that returns several times throughout this six-and-a-half minute composition. This 18-measure opening transitions to a faster section in which the left hand rolls in octaves (one-handed rolls) with the composer’s instruction of “nimbly.” The third section is more linear and lyrical, taking the marimbist through several metric changes from 5/8 to 6/8 to 9/16 to 3/8. Obviously, this third section demands precise rhythmic internalization as well as total control of each mallet because of the tempo demands. This third section leads to an even more difficult fourth passage, which involves sextuplets with wide intervals, stretching the performer’s tessitura from the lowest portion of the marimba to its upper register. The tonal references in “Kingdom Lore Fanfare” are somewhat vague—yet not offensive to the traditionalist. An eight-measure cadenza leads back to a coda that references the opening “fanfare” before ending very mysteriously with a soft arpeggiated passage from the lowest register of the marimba to its highest. “Kingdom Lore Fanfare” takes the marimba repertoire a notch higher in difficulty and in overall sensitive beauty.” 

– Jim Lambert, Percussive Notes October 2006