Jagged Little Fantasia
SCORE (TRANSPOSED)
for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Soprano Saxophone, and Bassoon (2021)
PERUSALSCORE
Spencer Arias Jagged Little Fantasia
for
Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Soprano Saxophone, and Bassoon (2021)
Program Note
As a saxophonist and a composer who writes a lot of saxophone music, I am the first to admit that I have a bias towards the instrument. It is a very versatile instrument that has several performance practices from Classical to Jazz. Still, one thing that it does not get is a place in the standard orchestral tradition. Yes, there are exceptions, such as Ravel’s Bolero or the occasional concerto that may or may not get programmed outside of academic settings. Still, classical saxophonists have formed a tight-knit community that is friendly to composers, so much so that their big conferences are essentially new music festivals. This piece started off as an exploration of the relationship between the saxophone and the other orchestral winds. It started off cynical, but throughout the composition process, I realized that the community of saxophonists that I have come to know are very inviting of many types of musicians. So this piece explores these relationships between saxophone and orchestral wind players and celebrates many of these traditions. Many of the quotations are easily recognizable within popular culture due to some of them being from Disney’s Fantasia. The piece takes a general free yet jagged form. As I reflected on this, I started to think more about Alanis Morissette’s 1995 album Jagged Little Pill, which I see as an angsty portrayal of her relationship with her youth. This piece works to do something similar but with my relationship between the saxophone and the rest of the orchestral wind family.
Performance Instructions
—Spencer Arias May 2021
Multiphonic fingerings in the saxophone are indicated in the part are labeled with a number which can be found in Marcus Weiss and Giorgio Netti’s The Technique of Saxophone Playing (Barenreiter, 2010) This is limited to #46 and #47. The other multiphonics that occur at rehearsal F, for the full ensemble, are flexible and are meant to be any crunchy sound that can be played at the indicated dynamic.
Harmonic Scan – These moments are semi-flexible, and should take a general upward motion, but the saxophonist should see these moments as opportunity for an improvisatory element exploring the harmonics off of the indicated fundamental.
PERUSALSCORE
Duration: c. 5 minutes
PERUSALSCORE
Flute Oboe
Clarinet in B
a la Bolero, like you are trying to get them to book you again so you overdo it!
PERUSALSCORE
dim. poco a poco
dim. poco a poco
dim. poco a poco
dim. poco a poco