Silhouette by Josh Gottry

The title of this work, Silhouette, is taken from my idea to create a short piece in the style of Mozart or Haydn, but certainly not an exact picture. Set in a moderate 2/4 time and opening with the primary melodic statement in marimba 4, the piece develops quickly into a canon as a new voice enters every eight bars. After a brief interlude of trading sixteenth notes between voices, the original statement returns for development before moving into a contrasting 3/8 section. An accompanimental ostinato is established in the lower marimba voices over which the upper voices play in thirds. This new idea is taken over by the lower voices as the upper marimba parts accompany with sixteenth-note arpeggiated figures. The original material returns via another interlude for a final statement and brief coda. This piece in an excellent selection for high school or college percussion ensembles and may be performed as a marimba quartet or mallet quartet with vibraphone as a substitute for the third marimba part.