I began writing this marimba quartet while temporarily teaching at Virginia Tech University in the Fall of 2019. While living away from family and friends, I spent my spare time binge watching movies. Consequently, each movement title has a cinematic association. The first movement was inspired by 1973’s The Wicker Man, directed by Robin Hardy; “Rain” is inspired by the films of Akira Kurosawa and his frequent use of rain to depict specific emotional states; the third movement is inspired by the 1963 Ingmar Bergman film of the same name.

-B. Blackard