Yellow After the Rain

"Yellow After the Rain" is a composition for solo marimba, written by former Los Angeles Philharmonic principal percussionist Mitchell Peters. Peters reportedly wrote the work for his own private students, for whom he was unable to find musically interesting material that introduced four-mallet techniques. The work is modal and employs many basic skills, introduced in a sequential manner.

After a metrically deceptive introduction, the main melody is stated in the right hand, with left hand accompaniment. This is immediately followed by a repeat of the melody with the left hand taking over the tune and the right hand assuming the accompanimental role. Throughout, the performer is able to maintain a consistent interval in the accompaniment (parallel P4). Chordal rolls form a transition to the work's exciting "B" section, which utilizes single independent strokes with each hand fixed in the interval of a perfect fifth. The consistency of these intervals allows the performer to concentrate on the wrist and hand motions involved in the strokes without worrying about changing the spatial relationship of the mallets. After a recap of the right hand melody, the theme is stated in four-voice homorhythmic style, again maintaining the perfect fourth relationship (spaced a major second apart). A brief coda ends the work.

Virtually an entire generation of marimbists has been introduced to four-mallet techniques with this work, and it is likely that this legacy will continue, even as a wealth of excellent material joins it in the repertoire.