For my first post, I revisited a piece with a lot of personal significance for me. During my first semester of grad school, Joan Tower was doing a residency at my University, including a master class and performance of her solo and chamber works. Remembering her works Petroushskates and Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman that I studied in my undergraduate work, I was so excited to tackle the solo saxophone piece Wings.
Studying twentieth century music involved a lot of what some of us refer to as “bleep bloop” music. While I genuinely enjoy a lot of this music, it refers to the kind of experimental music without audible melodies or motifs, making for difficult listening. When we got around to studying Petroushskates, Tower’s tribute to Igor Stravinsky’s ballet Petroushka, the driving rhythms and folk inspired melodies were a welcome flashback to Stravinsky’s prime in the early 1900’s, but with a lushness of harmonies and a whimsical attitude all her own.
As a solo piece, Wings is a completely different animal. Writing convincing solo music for wind instruments is not easy, but Tower is one of those who can pull it off. Wings is a difficult piece, but it plays to the saxophone’s strengths. The image that inspired this piece is one of a hawk flying, sometimes soaring peacefully, sometimes flapping its wings powerfully, and she takes advantage of the instrument’s flexibility to portray that. We see long, lyrical phrases alongside lightning fast arpeggios spanning the range of the instrument. Still, the greatest challenge for me was not the technical aspect, but to use my air. Tower’s main wish for my interpretation was that I take more time, stretch out those phrases as much as possible. Slowing down some of the passages really brought my performance to the next level, but it took all of my lung power to make it work. Since then, I have mastered circular breathing, a technique where a wind player takes in air through their nose while continuing to produce sound. This allowed me to slow down those phrases and keep the sound quality that I want throughout the piece.
This was the first solo piece that I performed for the composer. The fact that she is such a talented and accomplished composer as well as a barrier smashing woman made it even more of an honor.
Hello Emily, I am the composer of Faustus: A SaxOpera, which you co-commissioned. I have made a revision to m. 73 of the second movement: instead of those insane 64ths. It’s the same fifteen notes,
but preceded by an eighth rest, and the notes grouped as quintuplet 32ds. Also, I’ve made a chamber version of the opera for saxophone, piano, and harp – this version is also exclusive to the co-commissioners until next October. It will be premiered by Tristan de Borba, who is also doing the first Canadian performance of the full version on February 10. If you would like a pdf and midi recording of the score of this version, let me know. It is shorter, and the ending is different, but apart from omissions (and that revision I mentioned) the saxophone part is unchanged. I look forward to hearing from you! Best wishes for a splendid holiday season, John