Seascapes

for saxophone quartet

I composed this piece as all-encompassing landscapes, in which the continuous flow of the graphics reaches streaming of sounds, and the instruments collectively contribute in sonifying the whole picture.

Seascapes invites the performers to develop and establish sonic materials for interpreting the graphics. The performers may collaboratively work to determine appropriate timbre and techniques for the gestures. The size and placement of the shapes on the staves decide on their dynamic, pitch/register, and duration. There are no individual parts, and performers read through the score, aided by an in-ear click track.

​For instance, for the first gestures introduced (below), I heard multiphonics: unstable, constant pitch changes by altering the lip-tension and LH fingering; varying overtones and the harmonic content, short glissandi, portamenti, relatively soft dynamics, low register, with a breathy quality.

​The following gesture may be interpreted as key clicks: random, rapid, loud/soft dynamics, with various timbral qualities depending on where they are located on the staff.