The Merging of Stasis and Forward Movement in Marimba for Solo Flute by Hendrik Hofmeyr

Abstract

Hendrik Hofmeyr’s Marimba for solo flute demonstrates various kinds of growth that generate a musical force that drives the work  towards its conclusion. This article focuses on a kind of musical force that originates in the initial contrast between stasis and forward  movement followed by the systematic merging of the two agents in the course of the work to eventually arrive at its final climax.  Although the two sections that represent stasis and forward movement are based on the same pitch material, the contrast manifests as  the result of the diverse ways in which pitch is ordered in time and the resulting melodic patterns articulated when performed according to the composer’s directions. In the work as a whole the musical force is created by the way in which pitch, shape of melodic motifs,  register, horizontal density, tempo, metre, dynamics, articulation, performance directives provided, ornamentation, and length of  sections are dealt with in an artistic manner. In the course of the four alternating stasis and Danzante sections, two- and three-note  melodic patterns from motivic material are used in an artistic manner as the music unfolds in time. Through the implementation of  various compositional strategies, the original contrasting patterns of the stasis and the Danzante sections eventually merge in the final  climax of the last eight bars