Programme Note
To me, one of the most challenging aspects in writing for the marimba is the instrument’s small range of timbral variety. In this work, I have attempted to adjust this limitation by using different devices in orchestration; some of them are subtle while other times bold. What I hope to provide is a diversity of tonal shades within the overall monotonic timbre of the marimba –
Colors of Crimson.
The basic thematic material of the work comes from a reconstruction of a love song I wrote during my teenage years. At the time, I was living in Qinghai – a remote province of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in northwest China – where the folk music tradition has always been abundant.
— Bright Sheng