The Shapeshifting Saxophone

Details

ECHO Quartet full profile / Saxophone Quartet / 4 musicians

Other players: Elijah Reyes, Coltrane James, Joseph Andal, Channing Shows

Full program notes

Italian Concerto in F Major, I. Allegro, Johann Sebastian Bach

Originally written for harpsichord in 1735, the Italian Concerto has become one of Bach's most widely recorded pieces for keyboard instruments. When translated to saxophone quartet, each of the four voices works cohesively to create one singular instrument.

Oboe Quartet, K. 370, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Scored for oboe and three strings, Mozart composed this piece in order to show off the virtuosity and technical improvements made to the oboe at that time. In our arrangement, the soprano saxophone takes on the voice of the oboe, while the other three saxophones perform as the violin, viola, and cello voices.

Selections from Dracula, Philip Glass

The original 1931 Dracula film, although a timeless classic, unfortunately did not have an original score thus allowing it to be showed as a silent film or a "talkie". In the late 1990's, Philip Glass was commissioned to create an all new original score for the film that was originally written for and performed by the world renowned Kronos String Quartet. We have selected pieces from this soundtrack that we felt created a seamless story, evoking the haunting yet exciting character from the original score.

Lyric Quartet, William Grant Still

One of the most prominent and successful African-American composers of the 20th century, William Grant Still had many firsts throughout his successful career. His Lyric Quartet, also referred to as A Portrait of Three Friends, is a three movement work each featuring its own character. The Sentimental One, The Quiet One, and The Jovial One, each of these movements provides a unique storytelling experience for the listener.

Historical context

This unique program illustrates the endless array of colors that the saxophone is able to evoke. Invented in the 1840's by Adolphe Sax, Sax intended for the saxophone to temper the orchestra and take on the role as a shape-shifter within the ensemble. To have the expressiveness of the strings, the power of a brass instrument, and the technical capabilities of the woodwinds, this is what Adolphe Sax intended for the saxophone. Each piece on this program allows the ensemble to take on this challenge.

Videos from this ensemble