"Myopia II"
Instrumentation:
12 saxophones (3 soprano, 3 alto, 3 tenor, 3 baritone)
Duration:
approximately 10'
Dates of Composition/Revision:
November 2003
Premier Performance:
March 9, 2004 - Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
The Boston Conservatory Saxophone Ensemble - Eric Hewitt, conductor
Score:
available immediately
Parts:
available on short notice
Recording:
Live recording of premiere performance (3/9/04) available on request, OR download the MP3.
Notes:
"Myopia II" was written on a request from Ken Radnofsky.
Program note for the premiere performance (3/9/04):
Myopia II, written in response to a suggestion from Ken Radnofsky, is the second in a projected series of works, the first of which (Myopia I) was written for a smaller ensemble of clarinet, viola and cello. The two compositions are unrelated thematically, but they both feature a kind of music that tumbles forward, seemingly blindly, until certain goals are reached, the clear paths to which are only fully comprehensible in retrospect. Myopia I was a narrative of a sort about individuals, pursuing a tangled path to unknown destinations, with vehement disagreements about how to get there. In Myopia II, however, in which there is a large, homogeneous ensemble of 12 saxophones, individuality is subsumed into a larger mass of sound, so that the musical direction may actually be more immediately apparent to the listener, even if each instrument's voice seems to perpetually lose itself amidst a collective harmonic drifting. Writing for 12 saxophones also enabled me to explore some very lush harmonies and textures that are best described as large conglomerations of finely detailed individual events, though there may also be the occasional illusion of a single organism, breathing in unison like a giant accordion. At other times, solos, duos or trios emerge from the ensemble temporarily into the foreground to carry on conversations. Ultimately, though, the collective momentum of all 12 saxophones is what pushes the music forward, culminating in a massive wall of sound, at the last moment surging into a unison line with all the angry optimism of a political movement whose time has come. The relatively gentle coda to the piece is nearly the only passage of relative stasis to occur.
Myopia II is dedicated to Ken Radnofsky and Eric Hewitt, with great thanks for their support in bringing this music to fruition.
