Marimba Montuño

This new arrangement for organ created by Pedro Monteiro gives Marimba Montuño a completely different sound that is haunting, lush and powerful. Mr. Monteiro has chosen certian "stops" or pipes introducing unusual acoustic phenomena which give his arrangement a unique sound.

A note from Pedro Monteiro:

The challenge of creating an arrangement of Marimba Montuño by William Susman was quite fascinating. In a context where the tension of trans-cultural relations steadily grow, this piece offers significant contributions: primitive counterpoint techniques, Afro-Cuban rhythms, percussion instruments, and, above all, the interaction of the Americas, Europe, and Africa. This interaction is marked by cultural contrasts and conflicts which take a great amount of time to resolve.

On the other hand, the pipe organ, with its vast timbral variety, is traditionally confined to religious spaces and bound by a set of ancestral practices and rules which must be updated. Culture is not a static entity; it is a stage for possibilities and imagination.

In this version of Marimba Montuño, I seek to interconnect all of these elements, paying proper tribute to both the marimba and the organ, but above all, to the composer and his extraordinary vision. Through his work, elements so distant in time and space can collaborate in a peaceful and constructive environment.

– Pedro Monteiro, Porto, Portugal

First Performance of the organ arrangement by Pedro Monteiro: Igreja Paroquial de São Martinho de Cedofeita, Porto, Portugal, September 24, 2024.

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The following liner notes from multi-percussionist Joseph Gramley's CD Global Percussion: 

Marimba Montuño owes its harmony to the Fibonacci series and its pulse to Afro-Cuban rhythms, particularly the montuño, a motif that's repeated continually in the same pitch and voice. "I compose in small sections or chunks and then organize the sound into a fixed order," says Susman. The end result is rhythmically supercharged—a test of dexterity and speed for the marimbist. 

Gramley's unflagging ability to play the rhythms simultaneously in both hands—a relatively new feature of 4-mallet marimba technique and composition—led Susman to dedicate the finished Marimba Montuño to the performer. But even before that Gramley had made the work his own. "I usually know within the first page if something I want is a keeper. Marimba Montuño is that kind of piece."

-Thomas Mallon

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First Performance of the 2024 organ arrangement by organist Pedro Monteiro: Igreja Paroquial de São Martinho de Cedofeita, Porto, Portugal, September 29, 2024

First Performance of the original marimba version by multi-percussionist Joseph Gramley: Nardin Park United Methodist Church, Farmington Hills, MI, October 31, 2004