Saxophone Quartet No. 1 "The Pentagonal Square" (2001)
|
Program Notes
I dedicated this work to a dear friend of mine, Jennifer Foret. The idea for the title came from a conversation with Jennifer about oxymorons and other types of self-contradicting phrases which led to discussing the impossibility of a pentagonal square as a geometric shape. The piece contains several aspects that are not necessarily intended for the audience to understand. There is somewhat of a strong basis on the fact that this object cannot exist in the physical, geometrical, mathematical form, but may be present in the sense of musical computation. The piece is in 5/4 time/meter, which was originally meant to indicate some sort of pentagonal being, but does not take the final “shape” until measure 92 when 4/4 is then juxtaposed over the duration of five beats. The piece ends with a low, grumbling chord progressing upward to chaos and suddenly screeching to a very shrill halt...
Performances
I dedicated this work to a dear friend of mine, Jennifer Foret. The idea for the title came from a conversation with Jennifer about oxymorons and other types of self-contradicting phrases which led to discussing the impossibility of a pentagonal square as a geometric shape. The piece contains several aspects that are not necessarily intended for the audience to understand. There is somewhat of a strong basis on the fact that this object cannot exist in the physical, geometrical, mathematical form, but may be present in the sense of musical computation. The piece is in 5/4 time/meter, which was originally meant to indicate some sort of pentagonal being, but does not take the final “shape” until measure 92 when 4/4 is then juxtaposed over the duration of five beats. The piece ends with a low, grumbling chord progressing upward to chaos and suddenly screeching to a very shrill halt...
Performances
- April 11, 2005, University of Missouri-Kansas City
- January 2004, Washington, D.C.
- October 31, 2002, Louisiana State University
- October 23, 2002, Louisiana State University (world premiere)