Clair Omar Musser wrote numerous etudes, as many marimbists know. It is assumed that each numbered opus consisted of 20 pieces, but there is no surviving evidence of them now. The version of Opus 11, Number 3,published in 1948, had some issues with the chords, as well as with expression markings like accents, staccatos, dynamics, etc. I made some corrections and consistencies in this new edition, but I tried to keep Musser’s notation intact as much as possible. Examining several of the original manuscripts helped clarify his personal approach to notation.

— Yurika Kimura

Instrumentation:

Marimba 1 (solo) part — 4oct marimba

Marimba 2 (accompaniment) part — 5oct marimba

The marimba 2 part is an arrangement of the original piano accompaniment. I developed this part to embellish Musser’s elegant style and maintain a classical expressive approach.