Birdless, Cloudless, Colourless (2021) for alto saxophone

GREGORY ROWLAND EVANS

Birdless, Cloudless, Colourless for alto saxophone 2021

SCORE

FOREWORD When at last she went away he felt that something had gone out from him, something he could not spare, but still less could grudge, something of the desire to live, something of the unreasonable tenacity with which he shrank from dissolution. So each evening, in contemplation and absorption of this woman, he lost a part of his essential animality: so that the water rose, terrifying him. Still he fought on all day, hopelessly, mechanically, only relaxing with twilight, to listen for her coming to loosen yet another stone in the clumsy dam set up and sustained by him, frightened and corruptible. Until at last, for the first time, he was unconditioned by the Satanic dimensional Trinity, he was released, achieved, the blue flower, Vega, GOD.... After a timeless parenthesis he found himself alone in his room, spent with ecstasy, torn by the bitter loathing of that which he had condemned to the humanity of silence. Thus each night he died and was God, each night revived and was torn, torn and battered with increasing grievousness, so that he hungered to be irretrievably engulfed in the light of eternity, one with the birdless cloudless colourless skies, in infinite fulfillment.Then it happened. While the woman was contemplating the face that she had overlaid with death, she was swept aside by a great storm of sound, shaking the very house with its prolonged, triumphant vehemence, climbing in a dizzy, bubbling scale, until, dispersed, it fused into the breath of the forest andthe throbbing cry of the sea.They found her caressing his wild dead hair.

(Assumption – Samuel Beckett)

At last I find in my confused soul, Dark with the dark flame of the cypresses, The certitude that I cannot be whole, Consummate, finally achieved, unless — I be consumed and fused in the white heat Of her sad finite essence, so that none Shall sever us who are at last complete Eternally, irrevocably one, — One with the birdless, cloudless, colourless skies, One with the bright purity of the fire Of which we are and for which we must die A rapturous strange death and be entire, — Like syzygetic stars, supernly bright, Conjoined in One and in the Infinite!

(At Last I Find – Samuel Beckett)

PERFORMANCE NOTES Teeth On Reed : During passages where the teeth are to be placed on the reed, a glissando is used to indicate approximate pitch contours.

Alternate Timbres : Rhythmicized timbre alterations are notated as a circled number above a note (such as 1 , 2 , or 3 ), where higher numbers refer to a greater deviation in timbre and pitch.

Accidentals : Accidentals apply only to the pitch which they immediately precede, but persist through ties.

Birdless, Cloudless, Colourless was composed for and premiered on June 25, 2021 by Stephen F. Tamas as part of the SICPP Iditarod.

duration: c. 7’

to Stephen F. Tamas .

Birdless, Cloudless, Colourless .

or, bats. in Ohio for alto saxophone

Gregory Rowland Evans (*1995) = 108 tone

teeth on reed

Alto Saxophone

4444

teeth on reed

air

mp

565 6

fp

5

normale

33 44

444 4

3:2

pp

mp

= 60

c.2'

9

normale

77 88

66 88

55 88

sf

sf

sf

= 40 teeth on reed

c.3'

3 44

4 44

2 44

4 44

mf

fff

13

normale

444 4

4242 mf

11 44

99 88

fff

ff

p

17

888 8

pp

= 84

8 8 88

c.5'

6 446

7:8

p

5

1

4

3

2 6 7 8 7

9

5:3

8

7

77 44

pp

20 4747

1

Birdless - GR Evans

2

24:14

3

4

5

3

2

4

40:28

3

2

1

24:14

2

55 44 1

21 2 3

4545 1

4848

4

5

3:2

6

7

8

8

9

7

6

3:2

8:5

22 5

1

4848

6

4

7

3

2

7

8

9

8787

3

1

3:2

5:4

3 434

9:7

f

24 2

4343 4747

1

1 2

1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2

8 5

6

1

7

2

3

4

3

1

2

6 886

2

5:4 12:7

5:3

p

26

868

f

5 88

29

4 4 44 88 1

2

4

3

3

1

2

4

2 3

5:4

1

4

3:2

ff

= 40

8448

p

44 88

33 88

p

55 88

pp

mp

8:5

66 88

p

33

6 6 88

mp

7887

p

pp

9:7

36

p9:8

mp

8989

mp

= 120

8989

p

2

8 8 88

mp

5

66 44

4

2

2 3 2 1 5 2 3 1

3

5:4

p

3:2

77 44

5:3

Birdless - GR Evans

38 4747

9

44

44

7

5

4

6

3

2

1

9

3 2

8

44

5:4

3:2

12:7

39

teeth on reed

9

normale

4444

55 44

pp

2

4

3

5

4

6

5

7

6

8

1

3:2

3:2

88 44

8:5

mp

41 4848

1

2

2 2

1

2

2

1

1

1

444 4

3:2

5:4

42

1

2

teeth on reed

3 4444 8

2

4 3 6 4 5 7 6 7

1

3:2

5:4

3:2

c.2'

33 22

444 4

33 44

ff

46

= 75

normale

99 88

2323

5:4

mf

8:9

ff

7 887

48

787

686

9:7

585

484

22 44

normale

52

teeth on reed

2442

f

Birdless - GR Evans

5 858

ff

p

8686

5:3

pp

p

7 7 88

pp

p

10:7

pp

3

56

= 90

2 8 44

1

c.5'

3

5

4

3

4

1

2

3

2

4

5:4 3:2

mf

7 44

f

58

77

4747

1

2

3

4

7

5

6

7

9

8

9

8

40:28

4646

24:14

mf

mp

59

5

3

4646

6

4

7

8

9

7 2

8

5:4

3:2

5:3

f

2

1

3

1

55 44

2

1

2 1 2 1 2 1 2

1

3:2

mf

5:4

6:5

mf

55 66

f

61

mp

ff

6565

1 6

444 4

3:2

7

5 8 2 6 7 8 3 4

8

3:2

f

5:4

33 44

3:2

1

2

2

3

2 1

3

4

3

2

5:4

mp

mf

3

4

444 4

mf

f

64

444 2

1

3

4

33 44 6 4

3 2 1 2 3 4

3

5:4

5

9

8

7

6

5

3

4

3:2

mf

1 2

2

5:4

f

3

3:2

5:3

mf

4

363

3:2

mf

ff

mp

67 6363

5 747 4

4

3

2 3 4 4 3 2

3:2

mp

ff

f

5

1

2

3:2

5:4

12:7

f

66 44

mf

69

4646 5

mf

4

1

2

3

4 5 4 3 2

1

2

3

5:3

f

55 44 8

mf

7

6

44 66 5

4

3:2

3

2

5:4

8:5

6

4 7

1

8

6

3:2

mp

Birdless - GR Evans

71

= 130

646

3:2

ff

5 66

3:2

mf

5 66

mp

ff

46 6

3:2

p

74

33 44 66 66

4646

3:2

3:2

78

5 665

3:2

686 8

3:2

= 108 teeth on reed

c.6'

8686

4444

ff

p

4444

3 434

4242

82 sub tone

444

242

141

77

16

fff

ppp

normale

87

686

7:6

= 130 teeth on reed p

4545

c.3'

9:10

ff

55 66

normale

444 4

6

teeth on reed p

teeth on reed p

ff

p

ff

3:2

444 4

pp

mp

91

545

ff

444 4

normale

4444

95

p

4343

33 44

446 6

33 44

3:2

pp

ff

p

22 44

teeth on reed p

ff

normale

33 444 66 4

3:2

ff

p

33 44

ff

22 44

pp

Birdless - GR Evans

5

100

= 120 p

ff

p

424

x5

ff

c.2'

1 44

4 5 9 6 2 4 5 6

8

7 44

2

3

1

7

8

3

1 9 7

6 44

p

104 4646

8 6 2

4

5 3 1 9

7

8 6 2

1

4 5 3

9 7

25:24

88 44

105 4848

106

8 6

2

4 5 3

1 9 7

8

6 2 4 5

3

1 9 7

8 6 2

4

5 3

17:16

ritardando

4545

7 8 6 2 4 5 3 9 7 8 6 2 4 1 9

1

23:20

7 474

107

= 45

4747

9 7 8 6 2 4 5 3 9 7 8 6 2 4 5 5 3

1

1

15:14

77 88

fff

109

66 88

ff

= 30

8686 6

55 44

5 885

66 88

c.2'

77 88 Birdless - GR Evans

113

= 113

66

7887

343

88

fff

444

ff

116 4444

55 44

33 44

p

118

4343

44 44

33 44

44 44

p

121 4444

33 44

444 4

22 44

normale

124 teeth on reed

242

pp

444

343

444

p

127 teeth on reed

4444

11 44

pp

Birdless - GR Evans

33 44

11 44

\hspace #0.75 ............

Iowa City, Ia. May 2021

7

Other scores from Gregory Rowland Evans include:

UNACCOMPANIED

CHAMBER

LARGE ENSEMBLE

Onkos (contrabass alone) 2019

Hamonshū (string quartet) 2018-20

Metamorphoses (orchestra) 2018

Simbelmynë (piano alone) 2019-20

Adumbration (string quartet) 2020

GUERRERO (21 saxophones) 2018

Chalk Line (solo flute) 2020

Zahrat Alearear (bass flute, guitar) 2021

Tourbillon (string ensemble) 2019-20

redbud blossom, blueberry bee (cello) 2020

©05-2021

Scores available for purchase at www.gregoryrowlandevans.com

$10