Saxophone Quartet No. 2
Steve Cohen
About this work:
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I began making sketches for my Saxophone Quartet #2 in the early 1980s, but work and life proved very distracting, and I was not able to devote the time to complete it until 1998. The first 2 movements were played April 20, 1998 at Manhattan School of Music in a recital by the Saxophone Department under the direction of Dr. Paul Cohen, and a complete performance by the same forces took place on November 30.
Buoyed by the enthusiastic response to my Saxophone Quartet #1, I was inspired to write a second piece in the same medium, slightly longer, in four movements rather than three, and with more emphasis on lyricism, while still finding room for the aggressive rhythms and jazz influences that appear in the first quartet.
Movement 1 is marked Andante moderato, centers around the key of G minor, with a secondary theme in E-flat, and seeks to create a flowing, pastoral atmosphere.
Movement 2, a scherzo marked Allegro agitato, grew out of my fascination with motor rhythms, and the instrumental means by which one can break up a phrase or a pattern to create the illusion that the players do not need to breathe. The piece starts with a nervous, agitated pattern built on the interval of a minor second, which as it is developed takes on jazzy overtones, as well as sounding comically grotesque at times. (One section in particular never fails to remind me of bicycle horns) After much of this sort of writing, a long lyrical line appears played first by the soprano and then picked up by the tenor. The other two voices are brought in this new sensibility, “converted” if you will, and the music takes on a fervent hymn-like quality. As the “hymn” approaches an affirmative cadence the baritone introduces the minor second motif again, plunging the group back into the chaos of the beginning.
Movement 3, Adagio, centers around D-flat and seeks to create a mood of stillness and serenity, combining an old-world sense of yearning with aspects of “the blues.”
Movement 4, a jovial rondo marked Allegro giocoso, begins with a theme mildly reminiscent of a Renaissance dance, and introduces a number of other themes, some very syncopated, others more smooth and cantabile. In response to Elgar’s “Enigma Variations” I have included a disguised allusion to what is for me a highly significant melody, and I wish all my listeners a good time discovering its identity, or enjoying the piece nevertheless.
Year composed: 1998
Duration: 00:22:24
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:Other Combinations, 2-5 players
Instrumentation: 1 Soprano Saxophone, 1 Alto Saxophone, 1 Tenor Saxophone, 1 Baritone Saxophone
Instrumentation notes: Saxophone Quartet (Soprano, Alto, Tenor & Baritone Saxophones)