WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO PROMOTE THE FOUR-OCTAVE VIBRAPHONE?From Dr. Brian Graiser:

Despite its status as a relative newcomer to Western Art Music, the standard-range (3-octave, F-F) vibraphone is now considered an

essential component of any percussion section. While performers, composers, and audiences have begun to realize that the

extended-range vibraphone (most commonly reaching 3.5 [C-F] or 4 [C-C] octaves) is an increasingly common modern instrument,

most people are unaware that music has been written for the four-octave vibraphone for , dating back to the very first

composition ever to include the vibraphone (see the essay below for more information on this fascinating historical surprise)!

Considering that a growing number of professional orchestras, university studios, and even some high school music programs now

possess extended-range vibraphones, I feel it is only a matter of time until, much like the acceptance of the five-octave marimba, the

four-octave vibraphone is adopted as the new standard model of vibraphone, bringing with it an expanded repertoire and further

means of artistic expression. Were it not for the vibraphone's limited range, I believe that its many unique capabilities (e.g. sustain,

pedaling, mallet-dampening, vibrato, and numerous extended techniques such as harmonics, bowing, and pitch-bending) would likely

have placed the vibraphone, and not the marimba, at the forefront of solo keyboard percussion literature long ago. Fortunately, this

constraint may one day be a thing of the past, as a small but growing number of companies are producing four-octave vibraphones,

including Bergerault (France), Marcon (France), Studio 49 (Germany), VanderPlas (Netherlands), DeMorrow (USA), Yamaha (Japan),

and Saito Gakki (Japan).

There will of course always be a need for the 3-octave (F-F) instrument, particularly in the trunk of the gigging vibraphonist or the

cramped quarters of the orchestra pit, but I believe that the next natural step in the evolution of the vibraphone and its repertoire is

DR. BRIAN S.GRAISER:PERCUSSIONIST,COMPOSER,EDUCATOR

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80 years

the acceptance of the extended range as the new normal. To that end, I have engaged in a number of projects to promote the 4-

octave vibraphone, including arranging and transcribing several works for use on the 4-octave vibraphone (such as Claude Debussy's

), commissioning other composers to write new works for the instrument (such as Christien Ledroit's

[2010] for 4-octave vibraphone and electronics), and composing new works myself (such as my

[2015], the world's first concerto for the extended-range vibraphone, as the culmination of my doctoral

dissertation/project). However, the fate of the extended-range vibraphone truly lies in the hands of the broader community of

percussionists and composers, who I hope will take up the challenge and join me in exploring the untapped potential of the

instrument.

I have created this webpage to assist those individuals who share my desire to research and/or promote the four-octave vibraphone.

Here, I have compiled a number of resources (which I hope to update on a regular basis), including a visual index of existing 4-octave

models, historical essays, and repertoire lists. I welcome any questions or comments via my contact page, and I wish you the best of

luck in your musical pursuits. Thank you for stopping by!

Sunken Cathedral serenity,shattered Concerto No. 1 ["Lulu"] forFour-Octave Vibraphone

FOUR-OCTAVE VIBRAPHONES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

SELECTED REPERTOIRE FOR THEEXTENDED-RANGE VIBRAPHONE

Berg, Alban: (opera) and for

orchestra, 1935 (in modern editions and performances,

most passages in the extended range are considered ).

Messiaen, Olivier:

for choir and chamber orchestra, 1944 (actually for 3-

octave [C4-C7] vibraphone).

Milhaud, Darius:

for soloist and orchestra, 1947 (only the the high

G#6 is used, and then only fleetingly; it is highly likely its

inclusion was actually a compositional oversight).

Bernstein, Leonard:

for orchestra, 1957 (only the high F#6 is used, and

AN ESSAY ON THE SURPRISINGHISTORY OF THE FOUR-OCTAVEVIBRAPHONE(excerpts from Graiser, Brian. "

: A Guide to the World’s First Concerto for

Extended-Range Vibraphone," supplemental document to the

DMA project "Creating the First Concerto for Four-Octave

Vibraphone," University of Cincinnati, 2015, p. 6-8.)

, the First Four-Octave Vibraphone, and the Impact of

World War II (1935-1945)

The vibraphone’s arrival in Western Art Music finally

came in 1935 with Alban Berg’s avant-garde opera (and its

sibling ), premiered as an incomplete work

in two acts in 1937 in Zurich (Berg died in December 1935

before orchestrating the final act, although he had completed a

meticulously annotated short score that was later used to

complete the opera posthumously). Prior to that point, the

vibraphone had been the exclusive tool of jazz musicians (such

as Lionel Hampton, who first encountered and recorded on the

instrument in 1931). Darius Milhaud incorporated the

vibraphone to a small degree in 1932 with incidental music to

Paul Claudel’s play “L’Annonce Faite a Marie,” but it was Berg’s

ambitious opera that first placed the vibraphone on the concert

stage. Reactions were mixed; some critics found the unusual

timbre jarring, while others were more concerned with the

impact Berg’s serial techniques would have on modern music

(one reviewer for the bemoaned Berg’s “entirelyugly, unfertile, unvocal and inexpressive style…To us Mr. Berg

and his ilk are becoming tedious, rather childish and distasteful.

Isn’t it time that we say ‘enough’ to music which bluffs itself and

will bluff us too, if we allow it do so? Who wants to be such a

dupe of an artistic deception?”). When asked in an interview if

there were any instruments he disliked, Igor Stravinsky

responded, “Well, I am not very fond of the two most

conspicuous instruments of the orchestra, the vibraphone

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Trois Petites Liturgies de la PresenceDivine

Concerto pour Marimba, Vibraphone, etOrchestra

Symphonic Dances from West SideStory

Concerto No. 1 ('Lulu') for Four-Octave Vibraphone

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Bergerault VP4 (France)

then only once; it is likely that the note was an oversight, but

the part is now given as an ).

Berio, Luciano: for voice, harp, and two

percussionists, 1961 (only a single low E3 is used; this is

likely an oversight and is commonly omitted in

performances).

Henze, Hans Werner: (1970) and

(1971) for orchestra (the vibraphone parts extend

up to G6 but not below F3).

Husa, Karel: for wind ensemble, 1973 (the

vibraphone part extends well past the low F3 but does not

go above the high F6).

Henze, Hans Werner: for orchestra,1992 (the

composer's use of the extended range must be brought into

question, as it extends as low as D3 [within the 4-octave

range] but also as high as D7 [which is outside the 4-octave

range]).

Tippett, Michael: for orchestra, 1993 (the

vibraphone part includes F#6 and G6 but does not extend

below Bb3).

Debussy, Claude: , transcribed for 4-

octave vibraphone by Brian Graiser, 2009.

Ledroit, Christien: for 4-octave

vibraphone and electronics, 2010.

Olsen, Peter: for 4-octave vibraphone and

electronic delay, 2010.

Graiser, Brian:

, 2015.

Graiser, Brian: for solo 4-octave

vibraphone, 2015.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY FORFURTHER RESEARCHBlackshere, Lawrence Douglas.

. Thesis (M.A.

in Music)—Calif. State College, Hayward, 1971.

Cheesman, Brian S. “An Introductory Guide to Vibraphone: Four

Idiomatic Practices and a Survey of Pedagogical Material and

Solo Literature.” DMA diss. University of Southern Mississippi,

2012.

Culhane, John. “Henry Schluter: Vibraharp originator. Bell expert

rings up 60 years.” 4/2 (December 1965): p. 4

[reprinted from the Chicago Daily News of March 27, 1965].

Daniels, Sean E. “Vibraphone Concerti: Published and

Unpublished Works from 1947-2001.” DMA diss., University of

North Carolina at Greensboro, 2004.

Friedman, David.

and the alto saxophone. I do admit, however, that the

vibraphone has amazing contrapuntal abilities; and the

saxophone’s juvenile-delinquent personality floating out over all

the vast decadence of is the very apple of that opera’s

fascination.”

Berg’s inclusion of the vibraphone in the opera as

well as the five-movement was no fleeting

whim; the vibraphone can be heard throughout all phases of

both works, and the composer fully explored the then-cutting-

edge capabilities of both the instrument and the performer.

Berg paid close attention to the use of motorized vibrato, agile

pedaling, and two-, three-, and four-mallet playing, in addition

to making use of the instrument’s entire range. As a matter of

fact, Berg’s exploration of the vibraphone’s range in is itself

the most noteworthy aspect of the part: in both the opera and

the , the part is clearly written for four-octave

(C-C) vibraphone! On several occasions, the part ventures

outside the standard three-octave (F-F) range but never strays

beyond the extended four-octave range, going as low as C#3

and as high as B6 (in later editions, some of this material is put

in parentheses as an ossia). At first glance, most percussionists

attribute the extended-range material in to compositional

error. This, of course, begs the question: how could Alban Berg,

one of the esteemed champions of the Second Viennese School,

be accused of making such an egregious oversight as to write

outside of an instrument’s range on several occasions? Or,

perhaps, did such an instrument actually exist at the time?

Despite a heady flow of design improvements, no four-octavevibraphones suited to the part in were being built… at

least, not officially.

English percussionist Michael Holloway’s letter to the editor

published by the Percussive Notes Research Edition in 1977 in

response to an earlier article on the history of the vibraphone

opens up the possibility of a much earlier origin for the

extended-range instrument, stating that “in their 1939

catalogue, Boosey & Hawkes advertised a 4 Octave (C to C)

instrument but few, if any, of these monsters were built before

the outbreak of War in 1939 stopped all musical manufacture in

England & the Writer never saw or heard one of these ‘in

action.’” Another piece of historical trivia both illuminates and

obscures the issue: although the opera was premiered in

1937, the (also written for four-octave

vibraphone) was premiered two years earlier, in 1935, prior to

Berg’s passing. As it happens, the first time Berg heard any of

his material for performed was via the 1935 radio

broadcast of the BBC Symphony Orchestra performing the

in London. Although no evidence has yet been

found to confirm this theory, it is entirely possible that a

representative of the BBC Symphony Orchestra approached the

builders at Boosey & Hawkes (both entities being based in

London) to commission the construction of a custom-made

four-octave vibraphone for use in Berg’s work, and that after

refining the design for a few years, Boosey & Hawkes made their

ossia

Circles

El Cimarron Second ViolinConcerto

Al Fresco

Requiem

Rose Lake

La Cathedrale Engloutie

serenity, shattered

Inner Structure

Concerto No. 1 ("Lulu") for Four-OctaveVibraphone

Winter Meditation

Considerations on the ConcertoPour Marimba et Vibraphone (Un Seul Executant)

Percussionist

Vibraphone Technique: Dampening and

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. Boston: Berklee Press Publications, 1973.

Graiser, Brian. "

: A Guide to the World’s First Concerto for Extended-

Range Vibraphone," supplemental document to the DMA project

"Creating the First Concerto for Four-Octave Vibraphone,"

University of Cincinnati, 2015.

Holloway, Michael. Letter to the Editor, 14, no. 5

(Winter 1977): 104-105.

Howland, Harold. “The Vibraphone: A Summary of Historical

Observations with a Catalog of Selected Solo and Small-

Ensemble Literature.” [Part 1] 14, no. 3 (Summer

1977): 77-93; [Part 2] 51/1 (Fall 1977): 20-40.

Howland, Harold. “The Vibraphone: A Summary of Historical

Observations with a Catalog of Selected Solo and Small-

Ensemble Literature.” MA diss., Catholic University, 1976.

Meyer, Jacqueline. “Early History and Development of the Vibes.”

13, no. 2 (Winter 1976): 38-47.

Meyer, Jacqueline. .

Thesis (M.A.)- Indiana State University, 1973.

Siwe, Thomas. . Champaign: Media,

1998.

Smith, Joshua D. “Extended Performance Techniques and

Compositional Style in the Solo Concert Vibraphone Music of

Christopher Deane.” DMA diss., University of North Texas, 2008.

four-octave model publicly available in 1939.

Despite the mixed critical reception of , it appeared that the

vibraphone itself had gained the interest of modern musicians

and was poised to survive the death of Berg, its earliest

proponent, and become an international sensation. In 1937

(after the premiere of the opera), Premier added a three

and a half-octave (F-C) model to its line of vibraphones. Also in

1937, an ambitious young Deagan employee named Clair Omar

Musser (who would later leave Deagan to start his own

company) developed the model 55 “Imperial” vibraphone, which

boasted several improvements to form and function which

would influence vibraphone design for decades to come. The

next year saw two more additions to Deagan’s catalog, the two

and a half-octave (C-F) model 30-W and the three-octave (F-F)

model 35 “Mercury.”

However, as the 1977 letter to the editor pointed out, the advent

of World War II had a profound impact on the trajectory of the

arts, including instrument design and production. Several

instrument manufacturers had to significantly restrict or

altogether halt production: in addition to the halt of Boosey &

Hawkes’ operations (and the subsequent loss of their Ajax four-

octave vibraphone), Premier’s three and a half-octave

vibraphone was discontinued in 1938, and the Leedy drum

division at Conn was completely disrupted. Even Deagan, the

strongest firm at the time, was greatly affected by the war: all of

Deagan’s pre-1937 vibraphone models were discontinued by

1939, and the rest (including the model 45 “Diana,” which

Deagan attempted to introduce in 1940) were discontinued in

1942 after America entered the war. No new vibraphones were

made until 1945, when Deagan reintroduced the “Mercury” as

the model 35 “Rondo.”

Composers and performers were similarly affected, and any

momentum the vibraphone had gained by its inclusion in Berg’s

work was completely lost. The lone bright spot during this

period was Olivier Messiaen’s

, written in 1944 for women’s choir, piano,

ondes martenot, vibraphone, strings, and percussion. Today,

most modern ensembles opt to use a four-octave vibraphone,

as the part extends past F6 during three separate sections of the

work (reaching as high as Bb6). However, unlike Berg,

Messiaen’s intent was not to make use of an extended-range

instrument; the vibraphone part does not extend below C4

(middle C), thus requiring only a three-octave (C4-C7)

instrument. At the time of the piece’s composition, three such

instruments (Deagan’s model 144 “Radio,” Premier’s “New

Sterling,” and Ludwig’s “Vibra-Celeste”) would have been around

for a number of years and were likely available to the composer.

Unfortunately, no other composers joined Messiaen in writing

for the instrument, and any hope of establishing the four-octave

range as the standard was lost with Berg’s death and Boosey &

Hawkes’ decision to not resume production of their Ajax four-

octave vibraphone after the conclusion of World War II.

Pedaling

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Percussionist

Percussionist

Percussionist

The History and Development of the Vibes

Percussion Solo Literature

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