Astral Dance by Gordon Stout is a difficult work for four mallet marimba solo, based on a single theme and its variations. Most frequently,Stout performs this work with the Two Mexican Dances as a set titled "Three Dances for Marimba". It is a marimba dance in his mind because it combines melody and harmony through the rhythmic alternation of the two hands. He couldn't determine a nationality for the piece, as Warren Benson did with the Two Mexican Dances, so the "astral" in the title implies of a different world.Number of Players:1Difficulty: Grade 5Instrumentation: Player I: MarimbaGORDON STOUT (b.1952) is currently Professor of Percussion at the School of Music, Ithaca College, Ithaca, N.Y. A composer as well as percussionist who specializes on marimba, he has studied composition with Joseph Schwantner, Samuel Adler and Warren Benson, and percussion with James Salmon and John Beck.As a composer-recitalist he has premiered a number of his original compositions and works by other contemporary composers. Many of his compositions for marimba are published, and have already become standard repertoire for marimbists world-wide. His recordings are devoted not only to his own music, but also that of the general standard repertoire by important American composers.
