Francesco Mazzoleni / Isola mente / Solo marimba

“Isola mente” was created during the pandemic period of 2020, when everyone was feeling more and more isolated from the external world. It was a very self-reflexive period for me as well, so while being in the first self-isolation, I decided to compose a piece for marimba solo. The project turned out to last a bit longer than one self-isolation, taking me on a journey through composition, resulting in what stands before you today.
 
Isola mente combines musical minimalism with techniques used in marimba repertoire I've studied and played through the years. The piece starts off with a motif of four notes, which is then repeated and transformed throughout the piece, and represents one's own mind ruminating on a thought, an idea. It creates various parts of the composition, just as an idea creates its own worlds. Isola mente, an isolated mind, is like a rhapsody - made of more parts that slowly build tension, reaching its peak right before a coral, representing the moment of realization that one has to let go. The piece is concluded in a meditative tone, with a final repetitive, mantric section.
A thought released.