Wing
Katharine O'Connell
About this work:
Wing
This piece was originally written for Mari Sato and Annie Fullard, the violinists in the Cavani String Quartet, the resident quartet at the Cleveland Institute of Music. In adapting the piece for saxophone, I found that the piece’s playfulness and virtuosity transferred well to wind instruments and the concept of the work was enhanced by the notion of breath moving through the instruments.
The title refers to the piece’s inspiration: the movement of birds, and the interaction of their wings with air and the space around them. The first movement, hover, loosely depicts the way hummingbirds’ wings hold them suspended in air and the birds’ strangely geometric flight patterns. The second movement, glide, is inspired by images of pelicans skimming the ocean’s surface as they search for food, and the interaction of their smooth wings with the constant movement of the water. Images of gulls circling and eagles intertwining their wings with each other also figure in this movement.
The final movement, dive, is not inspired by any particular bird, but instead draws upon the motion of various birds as they bob in and out of the water for food, or snatch it up in mid-flight. The odd briskness of sandpipers walking on the beach informs the frequent use of staccato in this piece.
While the inspiration of birds helped me organize the piece, as I was writing the piece became more abstract and less representational. Perhaps no images of birds remain for the listener; no worry. A piece has to come from somewhere, and often in the journey of composing it ends up in another place. See in the music whatever you like!
—Katharine O'Connell
Version: two saxophones
Year composed: 2006
Duration: 00:07:24
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:Other Combinations, 2-5 players
Instrumentation: