Anne-Julie Caron - Marimba Recital: Caron, Anne-Julie – Spencer, J. / Metheny, P. / Lozowchuk, O. / Sejourne, E. / Espel, G. / Abe, K. / Piazzolla, A. (2009)

This CD brings together pieces by contemporary composers, such as Keiko Abe, Guillo Espel, Oleksa Lozowchuk, Emmanuel Séjourné and Julie Spencer. The disc also features Letter from Home, by guitarist Pat Metheny, as well as Cinco Piezas, by Argentinian Astor Piazzolla, in transcriptions by Anne-Julie Caron. Played on a five-octave marimba, this finely tuned music demands exceptional musicality and high-flying technique from the instrumentalist: a challenge brilliantly met by Anne-Julie Caron.

The origins of the marimba go back to the primitive instruments developed in Asia, Africa and pre-Columbian America. Also called the African xylophone, it would have been brought to Latin America by the slaves of the black continent in the 16th century. The marimba has become part of Latin culture to the point of becoming the emblematic instrument of Mexico and Guatemala.