Composer’s Note:

Like Debussy’s fourth piano etude, from which I borrowed the title and paraphrased a brief and much-loved fragment, this piece is constructed almost entirely from sixths. The vibraphone and marimba share most of the musical material as equals, constantly imitating and interlocking, only rarely assuming the roles of lead voice and accompanist. They should blend so fully that it may not always be easy to perceive the separate colors of wood and metal in the kaleidoscope of sound.