Unfenced
for alto saxophone and vibraphone
When asked to write a piece that was inspired by the U.S. National Parks, I immediately moved towards the notion of the vastness of many of these parks. With a requested performance length ranging from 5-8 minutes, I knew that it would be difficult to include much disparate material and encapsulate the vastness that I was attempting to conjure. Therefore, I settled on writing an entire piece employing only a short progression of four notes (G-A-F#-G) and the D major diatonic scale.
Through this limited forward motion and simple pitch set, I now needed to move towards vastness. I attempted to depict this visually by writing without a set time signature and eliminating most barlines from the score. The lines that are left were only included for practicality of performance by two musicians simultaneously. The elimination of a set metrical structure forces the performers to focus on each note for itself and not think about how each relates to the whole. This should be the focus of the listener as well. Listen for each individual sound and the instantaneous combinations of the limited harmonic materials, just as each individual tree or rock of any seemingly endless national park vista has its own character and story, completely independent of each other tree or rock.
A recording of Unfenced and purchasing information can be found through Murphy Music Press at
http://murphymusicpress.com/products/c-193.
Through this limited forward motion and simple pitch set, I now needed to move towards vastness. I attempted to depict this visually by writing without a set time signature and eliminating most barlines from the score. The lines that are left were only included for practicality of performance by two musicians simultaneously. The elimination of a set metrical structure forces the performers to focus on each note for itself and not think about how each relates to the whole. This should be the focus of the listener as well. Listen for each individual sound and the instantaneous combinations of the limited harmonic materials, just as each individual tree or rock of any seemingly endless national park vista has its own character and story, completely independent of each other tree or rock.
A recording of Unfenced and purchasing information can be found through Murphy Music Press at
http://murphymusicpress.com/products/c-193.
This work was premiered by Corey and Amy Robinson at the North American Saxophone Alliance National Conference in Cincinatti, Ohio on March 1, 2018.