Five Pieces for Saxophone Quartet (1975)
1: Anticipation
2: Reciprocation
3: Concatenation
4: Interpolation
5: Precipitation
This is the closest I ever came to textbook 12-note serialism, all five pieces being based on the same row, which is stated most explicitly at the start of the final piece. Stylistically, however, they owe a lot more to post-Rite, pre-neoclassical Stravinsky than to Schoenberg or Webern, and the last piece can be seen as a precursor to my Bebop, which followed eleven years later. The five titles, each a five-syllable word ending in ‘-ation’, are not only a verbal conceit: they do actually have some relevance to the nature of the music.
It’s playable as is, without transposition, as Five Pieces for Inverted String Quartet (violin, viola and two cellos), and I’ve also made arrangements for guitar quartet and brass quintet. The latter, Five Pieces for Brass Quintet is published by Warwick Music.
Instrumentation
- soprano saxophone
- alto saxophone
- tenor saxophone
- baritone saxophone
Performances / broadcasts / ‘real’ recordings
Listen to MIDI version (8:02)
This is the identical recording twice, the choice being offered in case of technical hiccups on either of the ‘mother ships’. Note: these two players will run simultaneously, so unless you fancy a double dose (out of sync) of my ‘spiritual output’, I recommend that you take care to avoid this happening!
Standard disclaimer
This a computer-generated mockup of music entirely or partially for ‘real’ instruments. Clearly it is no substitute for a live performance, but it’s all I’ve got — or perhaps all I can make public for various reasons. There’s a fuller disclaimer on the Listen page.
YouTube
...with a sneak preview of the score
Or just in case YouTube isn’t co-operating today...
Technical information
- Sequencer: MOTU Digital Performer (Mac)
- Each part recorded to a mono audio track using the instrument’s built-in reverb, then positioned for final stereo mix.
- All parts: Sample Modeling Saxophones (host: SWAM engine)
- Score: MakeMusic Finale
- Movie: Apple iMovie
close technical information...