for Eb baritone saxophone
Duration: 7 minutes
An Unspoken Labyrinth of Questions is designed to demonstrate some of the agility and unique timbral qualities of the baritone saxophone. I was interested in accomplishing this without any extended techniques , but instead by exploring some rather unique sounds through virtuosic and expressive playing. The result is a kaleidoscope of rapidly changing moods and textures, with an emphasis upon various kinds of ornamentation and articulation, along with a wide variety of rhythmic gestures.
The title of the piece is a quotation from Cormac McCarthy’s novel Cities of the Plain, and many of its compositional ideas were inspired by the book’s epilogue, particularly its meditation upon the nature of dreams and dreaming. I am interested in the idea of the labyrinth as being a symbol for musical form, and that idea, along with the general atmosphere of ambiguity within McCarthy’s narrative, seemed to coincide with the musical ideas I was having at that time.
Audio:
score sample:
Unspoken-Labyrinth-score-sample