Five Scenes from the Snow Country is a composition by Hans Werner Henze

Hans Werner Henze

Hans Werner Henze is a German composer of prodigious output best known for "his consistent cultivation of music for the theatre throughout his life"...

 for marimba

Marimba

The marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It consists of a set of wooden keys or bars with resonators. The bars are struck with mallets to produce musical tones. The keys are arranged as those of a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural keys ...

 solo. The work was written in 1978 for Japanese percussionist Michiko Takahashi. An ordinary performance of the piece lasts about 15 minutes.

Composition

Henze has said that continuous snowfall inspired the composition, adding "Twice during short pauses in the storm I went into the woods and noticed the effect of drifts and the collection of snow crystals that sparkled in the sun." In terms of dynamics, the piece is mostly very quiet, especially in the third scene, which shifts between pppp

Pianissimo

Pianissimo is an Italian word, meaning "very soft". It can mean:*Pianissimo, refers to the volume of a soft sound or soft note.*Pianissimo Peche, a brand of Japanese cigarettes made by Japan Tobacco....

and pp

Pianissimo

Pianissimo is an Italian word, meaning "very soft". It can mean:*Pianissimo, refers to the volume of a soft sound or soft note.*Pianissimo Peche, a brand of Japanese cigarettes made by Japan Tobacco....

.

Structure

As indicated by its title, the composition has five movements:

First scene: Mysteriously, tempo of a funeral march

Second scene: Very fast

Third scene: Very slowly, extremely quiet, whispering

Fourth scene: Allegretto

Fifth scene: Andante cantabile