Marimba and wind ensemble by david gillingham, xl

Theoretical Analysis
The following is a theoretical analysis of XL Plus One, by Alvin Etler. The National
Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors commissioned XL Plus One in 1969,
and the work was published in 1970. The terms of the commission were a multiple percussion
solo of approximately ten minutes in length. 24 It is one of the last works Etler composed prior to
his death in 1973, and possesses many of the twentieth-century characteristics that exemplify his
mature stage of compositional output.
Sound
Composed for forty-one percussion instruments, XL Plus One provides a great deal of
variety in timbre, even for a multiple percussion solo. Timbre is the primary organizational
element utilized in the piece, with instruments being divided into categories of skin, wood, and
metal. A complete listing of instruments by category, excerpted from the score, is shown in
figure 2.1.
Figure 2.1 – Forty-One Instruments in Three Groups
Throughout much of the piece the focus is on a single timbrel group. The work
occasionally calls for the performer to utilize instruments from different timbrel groups in quick
succession, although these instances usually function as transitions. Etler exercises further
control over timbre by specifying the use of hard mallets, sticks, soft mallets, a small triangle
beater, rubber-covered mallets, and medium-hard timpani mallets.
24 Randall E. Faust, “Composer Profile: Alvin Etler,” NACWPI Journal, 42 no. 1 (1989): 33.
16