Duo pour deux saxophones - Premiere Recording
Program Notes
A lot of the time whenever I'm writing, I never usually have a specific image in mind and let the music speak and form itself. Often this results in pieces where the music does its own thing and develops naturally from itself. At the same time, the saxophone as an instrument has always fascinated me since it has a very rich sound and has the capability to be so energetic, and yet so lyrical as well. Listening to saxophone solos, ensembles or when they're apart of an ensemble (like wind band or the sax section of big band), it really shows how versatile the instrument is.
With the combination of these two interests and a request from two of my fellow classmates, Duo pour deux saxophones came about and has been quite a fun and interesting process to write. The work itself is structured in 3 big sections which you could layout as ABCA'B' and Coda. The first of these big sections is a slow and tense movement with lots of chromaticism and a sense of suspense that persists throughout. Once it settles a bit, what follows is a much energetic and chaotic section that takes the listener on quite the face-paced journey. This all culminates in a slow-down with the saxophones revisiting the themes from the 2nd section and taking on a more relaxed feel. With this, we transition to the 3rd large section which is a much more flowing and sing like section, showcasing the sax's expressive capabilities. This climaxes and then once again slows off and pauses, leading to the reprise of the 1st section. Seemingly now in the same mood as the slow section, the reprise is immediately interrupted by the tense chromaticism and the 1st and 2nd sections return. In the middle of the reprise, however, the 2nd section suddenly takes on a more energetic and ecstatic feeling, coming away from the tense chaos from before. This energy builds and builds until we pause for a moment, being followed by a Coda that builds and really ramps up the energy. From here we speed to the end and conclude with a quick and bright gesture from both saxophones.
Being my first work for these instruments, I hope to continue exploring the saxophone and to write more for this marvellous instrument!
- Composer