After attending an audition of young percussionists in June 1996, at which a talented student attempted to perform Bach's A minor Invention alone on the marimba, Bertold Hummel felt inspired to arrange the same Invention for 4 marimbas, although he could also imagine the instrumentation for 2 vibraphones and 2 marimbas. His comments on this: The parts in brackets are original and should be played louder than the "counterpoints" I invented, which mostly use Bach's harmony (i.e. could be created by any other composer). The whole thing is an experiment - a gimmick - perhaps it will be fun to play. I came up with it because the inventions are very well known (in the original) and are much more difficult on marimba alone than on the piano.

Preface (Zimmermann Frankfurt ZM 35450)

The present Invention in A minor for 4 mallet instruments by Bertold Hummel originated from the idea of an attempt at musical playfulness and refers to the well-known A minor Invention by Johann Sebastian Bach. J.S. Bach originally published these musical ideas as early as 1723 as instructional pieces and instructions "to achieve a cantabile way of playing". The collection of these piano pieces has now been available for almost 300 years as ideal material for the musical education of young artists.

In his arrangement, B. Hummel presents the original two-part piano piece in a patchwork-like distribution over four parts, thus giving four percussion players the opportunity to practise playing the mallets in a cantabile manner at the same time. In his draft score, B. Hummel prescribes the use of 4 marimbas (possibly also 2 vibraphones and 2 marimbas). He explains: "The parts marked with brackets are original and should be played louder than the 'counterpoints' I invented." As is well known, J.S. Bach refrained from using dynamic markings in his inventions, and so a musical interpretation is indicated in the first 4 bars of the arrangement by means of exemplary dynamic markings. As with the original, the performers are given complete freedom to use their musical creativity as the composition progresses.

A carefully considered hand-setting was subsequently placed under the individual parts, which is particularly recommended in terms of organic lines. These hand movements are used as sparingly as possible, but wherever helpful and necessary, and they always lead to the alternating beat. With its references to alternative instrumentation, the piece is also recommended as teaching material.

The original performance of this score is required:
Soprano: c-Marimba (4-octave)
Alto: c-marimba (4-octave)
Tenor: A marimba (4 1/3 octaves)
Bass: C marimba (5 octaves)
Alternatively, B. Hummel suggests the use of vibraphone 1 (soprano) and vibraphone 2 (alto) for the 2 marimbas in the upper part.
In order to guarantee a homogeneous voice leading during the performance, special attention should be paid to the different durations of the marimba and vibraphone in this version.

The following is another alternative suggestion for performance practice in music schools:
Soprano: xylophone
Alto: marimba (together with the bass)
Tenor: vibraphone
Bass: E, F or A marimba
By shifting a few notes, it is possible to realise the score on only three mallet instruments.

Thomas Keemss