‘Crystalline’: For this movement there is a need for a light and hard mallet that suits primarily the rapid grace-note groups, but that still has enough softness in the yarn to accommodate the rolls in the low register. We suggest Encore Mallets, Nancy Zeltsman Series, NZ1 Hard.
‘Fleet’: For this movement there is a need for a light mallet that enables smooth playing of the soft patterns but that has a ‘double-tone’ property to make the louder passage cut through and the accents come out as bells. We suggest Malletech, Leigh Howard Stevens Series, LS15L.
‘Tranquil’: For this movement there is a need for a very soft mallet with a velvet touch that is light enough for the soft rolls and yet has enough weight for the louder fast patterns. We suggest Resta-Jay Percussions, Marimba Choral Mallets - Soft Muted - 01.
'Gently Swelling': For this movement there is a need for a medium, but weighty rubber core and a velvet attack that suits the gentle mood of this movement. No need to overplay the loud passages with mallets that have too much of a hard attack. We suggest Resta-Jay Percussions, Classique Series Marimba, 107 or 108.
'Profound': For this movement there is a need for a light mallet that enables smooth playing of the soft rolls but that has a ‘double-tone’ property to make the louder passage cut through and the accents come out as bells. We suggest Malletech, Leigh Howard Stevens Series, LS15L.
'Relentless': For this movement there is a need for a medium weight, rubber core and a medium-sharp attack that enables the player to play fast and ‘relentless’ throughout the movement. We suggest Resta-Jay Percussions, Classique Series Marimba, 110.
The rolls should always be very fast. To our opinion, a roll is a way for a composer to produce long notes on a marimba, an instrument that doesn’t have the possibility to sustain a note. Therefore it is always advised to roll as fast as possible/necessary in the register you are playing to obtain this sustained effect. This applies to all movements at all times.