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"As To The Sun", a series
of works for the Saxophone written by Carson
P. Cooman for Paul
Wehage and Jay Easton during Spring of 2002
From the Composer's Notes
In the Spring of 2002, I composed six
works featuring solo saxophone:
- As to the Sun for Solo Alto Saxophone
- Passion Canticle for Solo Soprano Saxophone
(with tubular bell)
- Of Songs and Swirls: Four Lyric Pieces:
for Soprano Saxophone and Piano
- Silent Prisms for
Tenor Saxophone and Piano
- In the Fire of Images: Three Etudes for
Alto Saxophone and Piano
- Dances of the Holy Fool: Sonata for Alto
Saxophone and Piano
Made possible through the fortuitous
circumstances of a number of open ended commissions, these works were
specifically inspired by the saxophone playing of Paul Wehage.
It is enjoyable and rewarding to have
the opportunity to focus over a short period of time on writing a
number of works for the same instrument (or the same family of instruments).
It allows for both the exploration of the different musical potentials
of a particular instrument, and the development of a stylistic approach
to the composing. In the case of the saxophone, my principal attraction
to it was the intense "humanness" that the instrument's tone and sound
quality possesses. To my ears, the saxophone has one of the most "human"
sounds of any instrument in that its emotional affects and emotional
range seem closest to that of human beings. This refers not just to
the human voice, but the nature of humanity itself and how emotions
are expressed. I believe this is due not only to the particular timbre
of the instrument but also its wide note range and wide dynamic range
-- unusual among wind instruments. This humanness separates it from
most other instruments. For example, my own instrument, the pipe organ,
I hear as possessing of the "least human" sounds of all instruments.
It is this humanness which I see as giving the saxophone a large expressive
potential. It is this expressiveness which I sought to exploit in
these compositions
All of these pieces thus deal with different
ways of viewing this human element of the saxophone within the context
of my musical language. In these works, I focused on two kinds of
melodic writing (and their combinations): 1) energetic, vivacious
patterning and 2) long, flexible, lyric gestures that gradually "extend."
The first kind of writing is connected to the use of ostinato, which,
as in many of my compositions, is employed in a number of ways throughout
these works. Below is provided a brief description of each of these
six compositions. (The program notes inside the published scores of
each work contain more extended descriptions of each piece.)
As to the Sun (alto solo) is a
joyful piece, inspired by the colors of Autumn and the harvest season
in the area in which I live (Western New York State, USA). The opening
uses lyric melody in small groupings with spaces. The second section
is a vivacious and energetic harvest dance.
Passion Canticle (soprano with
tubular bell) takes the human aspects of the saxophone to a representative
extreme. This work is a religious meditation on Good Friday of the
Christian tradition. The work is designed to be played only in an
extremely reverberant space, preferably a church. The tubular bell
(played by the saxophonist) serves in a ritualistic capacity as a
kind of signal, like the bell tolling during the Eucharist. The saxophone's
part is a contemplation on the meaning and experience of Good Friday.
It would be an oversimplification to say that the saxophone "directly
represents" the dying Jesus, but the emotional affects associated
with the event (both for those people living at that time, as well
as us today) are bound up in the saxophone's music. Gestures of repose
and solace are intercut with gestures of extreme agony and pain. Silence
also plays a role in the work.
Of Songs and Swirls: Four Lyric Pieces
(soprano with piano) is a work of energy and good humor casting the
saxophone in a straightforward lyric role. Some of the musical material
is based some of my past vocal song cycles which thus makes a direct
connection between the saxophone and the human voice. Two of the pieces
(River Music and Snow Ritual) are slow, whereas the other two (Harvest
Song and Ocean Cascade) are fast and energetic.
Silent Prisms (tenor and piano)
is a brief meditation exploring the lyric gestures in their most bare
context. It is essential a monody -- the piano plays an entirely "distant"
and ostinato role by simply repeating two different chords very slowly.
Over this, and seemingly independent from it, the saxophone weaves
an expanding melody. The visual image for the development of the melody
is one of a prism. The prism is "silent", however, and thus what results
is not a burst of varied colors, but rather a focused and mystical
contemplation on a single idea.
In the Fire of Images: Three Etudes
(alto and piano) consists of three movements (Capriccio, Cortege,
and Catastrophe.) In Capriccio, the piano has a driving and asymmetrical
ostinato throughout. Over it, the saxophone builds figurations which
are a cross between the energetic small groupings and longer lyric
strands. In Cortege, the piano's ostinato is processional/ceremonial
in nature (a descending sequence of chords) over which the saxophone
builds an expanding lyric melody, making subtle harmonic connections
with the piano. Catastrophe is a movement in which begins with lyric
buoyancy, but then disintegrates into pounding and jagged gestures.
Some of the musical material is shared between the movements.
The final work of the six is also the
largest in scale, Dances of the Holy Fool: Sonata for Alto
Saxophone and Piano. This work is a sonata inspired by the idea of
the "holy fool" from the Eastern Orthodox Church. In the Orthodox
tradition, the holy fool represents one of the highest levels of saintliness.
This is because he has discarded absolutely everything (including
social convention itself) for Christ's sake, and thus often is given
over to activities and behavior seen as ridiculous and frivolous by
the rest of the world. This composition is inspired by the holy fool's
paradoxical combination of extreme devotion with the appearance of
frivolity.
The work is a culmination of the pieces
that preceded it, building on the ideas of melodic patterning and
taking the "human" expression of the saxophone to a certain extreme
as befits the subject matter. All the kinds of melodic writing are
combined into both a lyrical, energetic, and virtuosic solo part.
The piano also takes a full role in the dialogue, and its interaction
with the saxophone forms another important component to the piece.
It is my hope that these saxophone compositions
will prove enjoyable and useful to saxophonists as both recital and
teaching material.
Two additional works for saxophone are
also published as a part of this project.
One is an earlier piece, Goggles,
which is a short "concert romp" -- with the piano and saxophone locked
in a pounding drive forwards throughout.
The other piece was composed for contrabass
saxophonist Jay C. Easton. Polpis Dreaming for contrabass saxophone
and piano The work was inspired by Easton's championing of the more
unusual members of the saxophone family, particularly the contrabass
with its incredibly powerful and deep sound.
The title refers to Polpis, a region
of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts that borders Nantucket Harbor with
a variety of smaller inlets. This work is one of a variety of pieces
connected to the landscape of Nantucket. In the case of this piece,
the extra-musical image was one of the incredible depth of the ocean
(perhaps parallel to the depth of the contrabass saxophone's sound)
slowly being "explored/achieved" through the means of inlets. The
work's basic material comes from the saxophone's opening gesture,
which moves upward from the bottom of the instrument. The pitch material
and interval content that are transformed throughout the work are
presented in that motion.
Carson P. Cooman
Rochester, New York
August 26, 2002
From the Performer's Point of View....
It is always a very great honor to be
the inspiration for someone else's work, whether this is simply a
matter of sharing ideas or having one's performing style being the
basis for new works. I have to say that I have been extremely lucky
in this respect, having had the chance to work with such noted composers
as Jean Françaix, Antoine Tisné, Jeffrey Stolet and
others, but this exchange has always started with some sort of direct
contact, either by a performance or a meeting to discuss things beforehand
What is new with the current series of
works which were written for both myself and for the Contrabass Saxophone
specialist Jay Easton is that none of us have ever met in person.
As a matter of fact, I've never even spoken with Mr. Cooman nor with
Mr. Easton even by telephone. The only contact that I've ever had
with either of them is via the Internet and especially through work
that both Carson Cooman and myself have on various online music distribution
services.
I for one am not convinced that this
method of contact has been a handicap in the realization of this project.
Indeed, it has made for extremely clear and effective work which has
allowed Carson Cooman and myself to interact musically in a way that
would have been much more difficult even ten years ago. The ability
for musicians to communicate directly through their musical work and
for the diiferent partners to be able to collaborate and to react
to different aspects of the works in question almost in real time
is not only exciting, but also a very musically and artistically
satisfying experience. I hope that this project will inspire other
performer/composer partnerships to work together in creating new works
which use all of the wonderful technology which is changing the way
we look at music making today.
Between the buoyant exuberance of Goggles
or As To The Sun (which both evoke to my ears a specific American
quality that is not far from the world of Bernstein and Copland) to
the rarefied spiritual content of Passion Canticle and Silent
Prisms, this series of works is the culmination of a long exploration
of the saxophone by a composer whose craft is not only extremely strong,
but always at the service of sincere musical expression.
The result is a series of works which
are not only well conceived for the saxophone, but which also explore
a style of composition which is not often associated with this instrument,
although it has been exploited in the past by such composers as Tisné
and Denisov: that of an extremely slow lyrical mysticism which may
be seen as taking it's roots in such works as the Quartet for the
End of Time of Messiaen or in certain pages of Lutoslawski. Something
like the "Cortège" movement from In The Fire of
Images or the Slow movement of Dances of the Holy Fool
creates a certain timeless quality that saxophonists are not often
ask to explore in our usual repertoire. I think it is especially this
aspect of Mr. Cooman's work which will make these works valuable additions
to the Saxophone repertoire.
The online aspect here allowed Mr. Cooman
and myself not only the possibility to exchange information rapidly,
but also lead to me to present Mr. Easton's work to a number of my
composers. This had lead to a number of new works, including Polpis
Dreaming, which is one of the few works written specifically for
the Contrabass Saxophone.
This project will continue with a recording
which will document these works which will be available at Ampcast.com
and on our main recordings
page.
So, it is my pleasure and especially
my honor to be able to share these works with other saxophonists.
It is my hope that they will take their place in both the teaching
studio and the Concert Hall.
Paul Wehage
Lagny-sur-Marne
August 26, 2002
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