First Movement from Concerto in G Minor........................................................................David Bennett
This piece, published in 1939, is similar to many of Bennett’s other works, utilizing diverse dynamics and tempos. The piece also requires detailed articulation in many passages. The selection moves quickly from one style and tempo to another, ranging from rapid to placid, ending with a detailed cadenza. While most classical solos are transcribed to accommodate the saxophone, Bennett’s piece was compose specifically for the instrument.
Romance No. 1 from Three Romances for Oboe (Op. 94)...............................................Robert Schumann
1849 was a productive year for Robert Schumann. That August was Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s 100th birthday, and thus, an important time for Schumann’s settings of Goethe’s Faust, although the entire piece would not be completed until 1853. In 1849, Schumann wrote Three Romances for Oboe, the first movement of which is heard here. Romances generally do not sustain any specific form, but rather express poetic ideas through music, much in the methods of ballad writers of the eighteenth century. Originally composed for oboe and piano, this selection was transcribed for tenor saxophone by Larry Teal in 1965.
Sarabande from Pour le Piano....................................................................................Claude Debussy
The second of three movements, Sarabande was dedicated to one of Debussy’s former fiancés. Written in 1901, this piece utilizes extended and parallel chords now commonly used in jazz compositions. The original composition is for solo piano, and this transcription for tenor saxophone was published in 1965, edited by Larry Teal with the intention of being “a valuable addition to the inadequate literature available to the serious tenor saxophonist,” as Teal himself states in the preface of the publication.
Menuetto and Presto from Trio V.............................................................................Franz Josef Haydn
Haydn spent most of his life directing, composing, and instructing at Esterháza as the royal musician under Paul Anton and his brother Nicholas the Magnificent, composing 165 pieces over thirty years. This selection from Trio V represents the dynamic diversity for which Haydn is known. The menuetto is in the traditional A-B-A form, beginning with a light triple-meter theme, progressing to a modal change in the B section, and finally returning to the first theme with a da capo (literally translated “at the head”). The second section, the presto, follows the same organizational pattern as the first section, but is in a much faster double meter. This selection was compiled and edited by H. Voxman in 1972.
Sicilienne and Gigue from Sonata No. 5................................................................Georg Fredrich Handel
Handel’s cosmopolitan influence was apparent in his dance suites, and his pieces demonstrate his wide variety of national interests. This short composition from Sonata No. 5 represents the dance of Sicilian peasants, a slow movement in 12/8 time, and concludes with a fast jig, observing an A-A-B-B form. This selection was arranged by Willis Coggins in 1971.
Impressions................................................................................................................John Coltrane
In 1959, Miles Davis recorded Kind of Blue. The recording group included a famous tenor saxophonist known as “Trane” because of his fast and furious bop style. John Coltrane was known for his “Sheets of Sound,” the rapid succession from one note to the next that was only preceded stylistically by Ornette Coleman. Coltrane’s 1961 recording of “Impressions” borrowed the chord progression from Davis’s “So What,” the first track on Kind of Blue, adding a unique melody and increasing the “cool” tempo of 112 beats per minute to a bop-style speed of around 200 beats per minute. Today’s performance takes the original tempo of “So What” and uses the simple chord progression as a means of extended improvisation upon Coltrane’s melody, hinting at both artists’ influences on jazz performance.
Afternoon in Paris............................................................................................................John Lewis
John Lewis, a brilliant jazz pianist, encountered Kenny Clarke, a renowned bop drummer, in 1942, and the two joined vibraphonist Milt Jackson to found the Modern Jazz Quartet along with bassist Percy Heath in 1952. This quartet, whose members changed frequently until 1974, provided a gateway for American jazz to permeate European intellectual culture through Lewis’s unique blend of counterpoint composition and the American tradition. This composition, the title track of the 1957 album, was an ode to the City of Lights. The original recording is softer and slower than the interpretation in today’s performance, but the melodies and harmonies remain intact. |
