Saxophone Works
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• Shipping costs are not included in the pricing.
• Music ships after full payment is received.
• Details and links are supplied below Presser's pieces on your purchasing options.
How to purchase pieces published by Inkjar:
• Email Inkjar with your order details - click here. Inkjar will then send you an invoice. All purchases are made through Zelle, Chase QuickPay, or check. Instructions on how to do so will be on the invoice.
• Shipping costs are not included in the pricing.
• Music ships after full payment is received.
Solo
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PHOENIX RISING • 10’ • sop sax
I. Dying in embersMovement 2: Reborn in flames
YOUTUBE AUDIO
Christopher Creviston, soprano saxophone
YEAR COMPOSED
2016
COMMISSIONER
Christopher Creviston, saxophone
ORDERING SCORES
Theodore Presser Company
Click to view product page
PROGRAM NOTES
Legends of the phoenix are found in stories from ancient Egypt and Greece. While each culture possesses a range of stories encompassing the phoenix myth, these tales tend to share similar traits: a sacred bird with brilliantly colored plumage and melodious call lives for typically five hundred years; then the bird dies in a nest of embers, only to be reborn among the flames. In Egyptian stories, the phoenix gathers scented wood and spices for its funeral/rebirth pyre, then collects the ashes from its earlier incarnation and flies them to the temple of the sun in Heliopolis to offer as a tribute to the sun god. In Greek myths, the phoenix was approximately the size of an eagle and was adorned with red and gold feathers; it would fly from either India or Arabia to Heliopolis to give its offering. The bird’s association with immortality and resurrection are particularly intriguing aspects of these tales, giving numerous writers (including William Shakespeare, C.S. Lewis, and J.K. Rowling) a rich resource for their own stories.
Phoenix Rising consists of two movements. I. Dying in embers represents an old phoenix who is settling on top of a pile of embers and breathing its last breath; II. Reborn in flames depicts the newly born phoenix getting its first taste of flight. Phoenix Rising was commissioned by saxophonist Christopher Creviston.
-S.G.
Duo
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SILVER LININGS • 11’ • alto sax, 5-octave marimba
The commissioners have exclusive performance rights until March 1, 2022 and exclusive recording rights until September 1, 2022.
YEAR COMPOSED
2020
COMMISSIONER
RoseWood Duo (Clifford Leaman, saxophone, and Scott Herring, marimba)
PROGRAM NOTES
When RoseWind Duo’s Clifford Leaman and Scott Herring commissioned me for Silver Linings, we could not have anticipated that we would be in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic when I composed the piece. In the early summer of 2020, when the three of us met virtually to discuss possible topics, we had all been in lockdown for several months; the causes and effects of the lockdown were at the forefront of our discussion. In the midst of daily tragedies, I had been seeing news stories using the words “silver lining” to describe unexpectedly positive situations arising from our global situation, ranging from small effects (i.e. people having time to work on projects they never could get around to doing) to global ramifications (resurging animal populations in areas where they’re no longer challenged for space with humanity).
Silver Linings consists of two movements. Groundhog Day, the first movement, is slow and brooding. It embodies the strong feeling of déjà vu that so many of us experienced early on into lockdown, as we seemed to live the same day repeatedly with minor variances to our schedules. There are two main musical gestures: the first opens the piece as a slow, ascending minor chord which is a representation of uncertainty, and the second is a falling minor scale. These gestures depict how our lives were reduced to the basic building blocks of life – wake up, eat, work, eat, sleep – as our daily activities and livelihoods were suddenly knocked down. These same two gestures are utilized in the energetic second movement, Making Lemonade, except that they are spun around to reveal their silver linings: the minor chord falls to sound centered and decisive, and the minor scale rises as it bubbles with activity. Among the seeds of despair are also found seeds of hope, and the saxophone and marimba explore this hopefulness with great vigor and excitement.
-S.G. -
STUBBORN AS HELL • 5’40” • 2 sop sax
AUDIO
Lati2de Duo
YEAR COMPOSED
2011
COMMISSIONER
Robert Spring (clarinet version)
ORDERING SCORES
Theodore Presser Company
Click to view product page
PROGRAM NOTES
Stubborn as Hell was commissioned by virtuoso clarinetist Robert Spring. I heard Bob perform in September 2010 when I attended his clarinet concert at Arizona State University – Tempe. Bob is one of those wondrous musicians that plays the most challenging pieces written for the instrument and make them sound effortless. When he commissioned me, I wanted to write a piece that not only reflected his technical and musical abilities, but also his great sense of humor, hence the title and premise of the piece. The “stubbornness” of the title refers to the manner in which the two instruments incessantly battle each other around the pitch D, and how they willfully get stuck repeating pitches and gestures.
The composer made an arrangement of the piece for two soprano saxophones in 2016.
-S.G. -
SUENOS DE FLAMENCO • 4’45” • alto sax, classical gtr
VIDEO - drag the cursor to 19’24” to watch.
Duo Montagnard
YEAR COMPOSED
2018
COMMISSIONER
Duo Montagnard
ORDERING SCORES
Theodore Presser Company
Click to visit product page.
PROGRAM NOTES
Flamenco is an art form involving highly dramatic music and dance. The form is strongly associated with the Andalusia region of southern Spain. Its actual origins are less clear, though historians theorize that gypsies brought the predecessors of flamenco to the region as they migrated from India prior to the 15th century. The form took on traits from cultures that the gypsies encountered in Andalusia, including Spanish, Sephardic, Islamic, and Moorish musical traditions. Over the centuries, Spain’s ruling classes undertook systematic persecutions of populations who did not agree with their religious ideals, forcing gypsies to take refuge in Andalusia’s isolated mountain regions to survive. Not surprisingly, the topics of the gypsies’ songs frequently touch on longing, despair, rage, anguish, and hope.
Sueños de Flamenco (Flamenco Dreams) portrays a young gypsy couple who dance the flamenco with great longing, passion, and vigor. The piece was commissioned by Duo Montagnard (Joseph Murphy, saxophone, and Matthew Slotkin, guitar). I subsequently arranged the piece for flute and guitar.
-S.G.
Sax + Piano
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FRAGMENTED SPIRIT • 8’ • alto sax, pno
YOUTUBE AUDIO
Jennifer Bill, saxophone, and Yoshiko Kline, piano
YEAR COMPOSED
1998
ORDERING SCORES
Theodore Presser Company
Click to view product page
ERRATA
Performers, the following mistakes are in the printed scores. Please correct:
- m. 109, beat 2 - change the saxophone to have a concert C instead of a concert A, so that it matches the piano part. The transposed pitch will need to be changed in the sax part too.
- m. 119 - the piano has an extra, 6th beat in this 5/4 measure. Remove the extra beat at the end of the measure.
PROGRAM NOTES
fragmented
i feel
so
fragmented
i
am
small bits
scattered over cement
glittering specks, dark lines
i don’t know
how
to reassemble myself
fragmented
i sound
listen
open my jaw
i gurgle, cough, gasp
a silent, violent scream
my throat cannot
recall
its primary function
a spirit in pieces
you see it
strewn everywhere as if on parade
you have power
you can stomp on it
smash it
or you can collect the bits
and teach my hands
how
to reshape my tattered spirit
into vibrance.
-S.G. -
MY DEAREST RUTH • 6’45" • alto sax, pno
VIDEO
Performed by Carrie Koffman, alto saxophone,
and Elisabeth Tomczyk, piano
INTRODUCTION
The former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg reads Marty's final letter to her.
DURATION
6’45”
TEXT
Martin Ginsburg, the husband of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
COMPOSER'S NOTE REGARDING SAXOPHONE EDITION
In 2020, saxophonist Carrie Koffman inquired if I would arrange the piece for saxophone. I made several small modifications to the original vocal line that give the saxophone edition its own unique character.
-S.G.
YEAR COMPOSED
2013
COMMISSIONER
Jane Ginsburg and James Ginsburg in celebration of the 80th birthday of their mother, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
ORDERING SCORES
Theodore Presser Company
Click to view product page.
NPR STORY FEATURING RBG READING MARTY’S LETTER
National Public Radio’s Nina Totenberg ran a segment on Cedille Records’ “Notorious RBG in Song” CD, featuring excerpts from Stacy’s My Dearest Ruth interwoven with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg speaking the text. Click on the image to the right; the excerpts begin at 5’21”.
PROGRAM NOTES
by James Ginsburg
The letter on which My Dearest Ruth is based was my father’s last written statement. My parents celebrated their 56th wedding anniversary in my father’s room at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore on Wednesday, June 23, 2010. The following day, my mother called to say Dad had taken a turn for the worse. I flew to Baltimore the next morning (Friday) and met Mom at Dad’s room. The doctors came in and told us there was nothing more they could do — the cancer had progressed too far. All this time, Dad kept repeating one word: “Home.” So we made arrangements to bring him back to our apartment in Washington, D.C. While collecting his belongings from the hospital room, Mom pulled open the drawer next to Dad’s bed and discovered a yellow legal pad on which Dad had written this a week earlier:
6/17/10
My Dearest Ruth –
You are the only person I have loved in my life, setting aside, a bit, parents and kids and their kids, and I have admired and loved you almost since the day we first met at Cornell some 56 years ago.
What a treat it has been to watch you progress to the very top of the legal world!!
I will be in JH Medical Center until Friday, June 25, I believe, and between then and now I shall think hard on my remaining health and life, and whether on balance the time has come for me to tough it out or to take leave of life because the loss of quality now simply overwhelms. I hope you will support where I come out, but I understand you may not. I will not love you a jot less.
Marty
I should note one factual error: my parents met 59 years before the date of this letter, not 56. Obviously, Dad had their 56th anniversary in mind. We chose to keep the number 56 in the song.
My sister, Jane, and I commissioned Stacy Garrop to adapt the letter and set it to music as one of three songs by different women composers to be presented in 2013 as an 80th birthday tribute to our mother, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Soprano Patrice Michaels sang the premiere at the Supreme Court with pianist Dana Brown on Saturday, April 6, 2013.
-J.G. -
PIECES OF SANITY • 11’ • alto sax, pno
I. RageIII. EuphoriaII. DespairIV. PossessedV. Stoic
YOUTUBE AUDIO
Creviston Duo
Breaking • CD Baby • Purchase recording
YEAR COMPOSED
2007
DEDICATION
To the Creviston Duo
ORDERING SCORES
Theodore Presser Company
Click to view product page
PROGRAM NOTES
Pieces of Sanity, for alto saxophone and piano, contains five miniatures. Each short movement represents a frozen snapshot of a particular state of mind. We follow the protagonist as he experiences five states: Rage and Despair (movements 1 and 2) give way to Euphoria (movement 3); Possessed (movement 4) culminates into Stoic (movement 5).
-S.G. -
QUICKSILVER • 24’ • alto sax concerto (piano concert version)
Enter description here.
INSTRUMENTATION
Alto saxophone soloist and piano
Also available for alto saxophone soloist and wind ensemble; see below.I. Antics of a Newborn GodII. Guiding Souls to the UnderworldIII. Messenger of Olympus
YOUTUBE AUDIO
Idit Shner, saxophone, and Eunhye Grace Choi, piano
YEAR COMPOSED
2017
COMMISSIONERS
• Appalachian State University • John Stanley Ross, conductor • Scott Kallestad, saxophone
• Arizona State University • Gary W. Hill, conductor • Christopher Creviston, saxophone
• Baylor University • J. Eric Wilson, conductor • Michael N. Jacobson, saxophone
• Butler University and the Butler University chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi • Michael J. Colburn, conductor • Heidi Radtke, saxophone
• Carthage College • James Ripley, conductor • Andrew Carpenter, saxophone
• Louisiana State University • Damon Talley, conductor • Griffin Campbell, saxophone
• Penn State University and the Margot Music Fund • Dennis Glocke, conductor • David Stambler, saxophone
• SUNY Potsdam • Brian K. Doyle, conductor (head of consortium) • Casey Grev, saxophone
• University of Alabama • Kenneth Ozzello, conductor • Jonathan Noffsinger, saxophone
• University of Massachusetts Amherst • Matthew Westgate, conductor • Jonathan Hulting-Cohen, saxophone
• University of Michigan at Ann Arbor • Michael Haithcock, conductor • Timothy McAllister, saxophone
• University of Nebraska-Lincoln • Carolyn Barber, conductor • Paul Haar, saxophone
• University of North Carolina at Greensboro • John R. Locke and Kevin M. Geraldi, conductors • Steven Stusek, saxophone
• University of Oregon • Rodney Dorsey, conductor • Idit Shner, saxophone
• University of South Carolina • Scott Weiss, conductor • Clifford Leaman, saxophone
ORDERING SCORES
Theodore Presser Company
printed sax part with piano reduction (suitable for concert performance):
Click to view product page
PROGRAM NOTES
In addition to being another name for the element mercury, “quicksilver” is used to describe something that changes quickly or is difficult to contain. My concerto of the same name was inspired by the Roman god Mercury, as well as the mercurial nature of the saxophone: unpredictable, very lively, and volatile. Mercury (known as Hermes in Greek mythology) is best known for his winged shoes, which allowed him to fly swiftly as the messenger of his fellow Olympians. Mercury had other duties too, including serving as the god of merchants, travelers, and tricksters; he also ushered souls of the departed to the Underworld.
Quicksilver tells three tales of the Roman god. The first movement (Antics of a Newborn God) opens with the birth of Mercury; after he takes his first steps, he toddles around, gleefully looking for mischief. He stumbles across a herd of cows that belong to his brother Apollo; Mercury slyly lets the cows out of their pen before toddling onward with his mischief-making. In the second movement (Guiding Souls to the Underworld), Pluto, god of the Underworld, bids Mercury to bring him fresh souls. The movement begins with death-knells tolling for humans who are about to die; Mercury picks up these souls and leads them down to the gates of the Underworld. The third and final movement (Messenger of Olympus) depicts Mercury as he is busily running errands for various gods and goddesses. We first encounter him mid-flight as he dashes to earth to find Aeneas, a Trojan lieutenant who had been run out of Troy by the invading Greeks. Aeneas is on a quest to find land on which to establish a new city that would eventually become Rome. While traveling, he is distracted from his quest when he meets the beautiful queen Dido. They live together for many years before Mercury intervenes; he chastises Aeneas for giving up on his quest and persuades him to pick it up again. As Aeneas mournfully resumes his journey, we hear Dido perish of a broken heart. Mercury then takes to the skies to seek out Perseus, who is preparing to kill the Medusa, the hideous gorgon who has snakes for hair and a gaze that turns those who catch her glance into stone. Mercury advises Perseus on how to slay Medusa and lends Perseus his sword to do the deed. We hear Perseus victorious in the beheading of Medusa, after which Mercury takes to the skies once more to fly home to Olympus.
Quicksilver was commissioned by Appalachian State University, Arizona State University, Baylor University, Butler University and the Butler University chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi, Carthage College, Louisiana State University, Penn State University and the Margot Music Fund, SUNY Potsdam, University of Alabama, University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University of Oregon, and University of South Carolina.
-S.G. -
SILVER DAGGER • 4’45” • soprano and baritone saxophones, piano
Enter description here.
VIDEO
Lincoln Trio (violin, cello, piano version)
YEAR COMPOSED
2009
ORDERING SCORES
Theodore Presser Company
Coming in 2021.
PROGRAM NOTES
In 1994, I heard for the first time an Appalachian folk song called Silver Dagger at a folk festival. The simplicity of the melody joined with a cautionary love tale enthralled me, and I spent the next several years researching the song. What emerged from my research were dozens of variants of the song, both in terms of text as well as melody and title. The variants that I discovered could be grouped more or less under three different titles: Silver Dagger, Drowsy Sleeper, and Katie Dear. All of these versions revolve around the same Romeo and Juliet premise: a boy asks a girl for her parents’ consent to marry. The story has various endings: the parents won’t give approval, so the girl and boy each end their lives with a silver dagger; the girl turns the boy down and sends him away to find another love; the girl forsakes her parents and runs away with the boy; and so on. In my trio, I incorporate two complete versions of the folk song, one of Katie Dear and one of Silver Dagger, as well as motives from a variant of Drowsy Sleeper.
-S.G. -
THE SOLITUDE OF STARS • 5’ • assorted duos and trios
Enter description here.
VIDEO
Robert Young, soprano saxophone
Polina Khatsko, piano
YEAR COMPOSED
2020
COMMISSIONER
Utah Arts Festival commissioned the original sextet.
ARRANGEMENTSDuos
• flute, piano
• oboe, piano
• English horn, piano
• clarinet, piano
• bassoon, piano
• soprano sax, piano
• soprano sax, marimbaDuos
• alto sax, piano
• violin, piano
• viola, piano
• violoncello, piano
• soprano (voice), pianoTrios
• flute, violoncello, piano
• oboe, bassoon, piano
• soprano and tenor saxophones, piano
• clarinet, bass clarinet, piano
• violin, violoncello, piano
ORDERING SCORES
Theodore Presser Company
Click to view product page
PROGRAM NOTES
In 2014, I enjoyed a wonderful residence at the Ucross Foundation in Clearmont, Wyoming. Ucross is an artist colony that gives writers, composers, and visual artists the gift of time, space, and support to follow their artistic pursuits; we are provided with studio space, housing, and meals so that we can work continuously on our projects. I have been in residence at numerous artist colonies; however, nothing in my previous experiences prepared me for living in such isolated, wild country. Ucross is situated on a 20,000-acre cattle ranch at nearly 4,000 feet in elevation with fewer than 150 people living within the town. But what Clearmont lacks in population, it makes up for abundantly and spectacularly in wilderness and wildlife. I composed the sextet Postcards from Wyoming to offer three glimpses of what I found to be the most striking aspects of my residence. The Solitude of Stars, the third and final movement of the original sextet, was inspired by the stunning nightly display of the heavens above. Without city lights dimming the night sky, countless stars shone brightly over the vast expanse of the prairie.
During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, I undertook The Solitude of Stars Project, which contains multiple duo and trio arrangements that I made for colleagues and friends.
-S.G. -
TANTRUM • 13’30” • alto sax, pno
Enter description here.
I. Obsessive BehaviorIII. Fits and FistsII. Lost
AUDIO
Ambassador Duo
Illuminations • Equilibrium Records EQ 77 • Purchase recording
YEAR COMPOSED
2000
COMMISSIONER
Otis Murphy
ORDERING SCORES
Theodore Presser Company
Click to view product page
ERRATA
Performers, the following mistakes are in the printed scores. Please correct:
Mvmt 1
- mm. 19-21 - piano LH is missing an 8vb.
- mm. 178-184 - piano RH is missing an 8va.
Mvmt 2
- m. 7 - the note below the piano LH should say hold to measure 17 (not 87).
- m. 17 - at the end of the measure & below the staff, there should be an asterisk for a piano pedal lift.
- m. 29 - piano LH, the grace note to the last beat should only have the lower pitch (strike the upper pitch).
Mvmt 3
- m. 61 - the sax trill should have a flat above it instead of a natural. (It is correct in the sax part, since that’s transposed.)
- m. 137 - the piano is missing a Pedal indication - this begins on beat 1.
PROGRAM NOTES
Tantrum has the formal structure of a traditional sonata, but its connection with the historical form stops there. The first movement (Obsession) obsesses continuously on a four note figure, which is introduced immediately following an extended slow introduction. Lost, the second movement, actually began as a piece for voice and piano; it subsequently lost its text, and the saxophone sings forlornly in its place. The third movement (Fits and Fists) takes a quirky bit of music and modulates it up an interval of a perfect fourth every chance it gets. This high energy piece presents a playful challenge for both the saxophonist and pianist.
-S.G. -
WRATH • 14’15” • tenor sax, pno
Enter description here.
I. MenaceII. ShockIII. Amok
VIDEO
Joseph Lulloff, tenor saxophone
Yu-Lien The, piano
Video: Sergei Kvitko, www.bluegriffin.com
YEAR COMPOSED
2016
COMMISSIONERS
Roy Allen, Jr., Carolyn Braus, Steve Carmichael, Christopher Creviston, Casey Grev, J. Michael Holmes, Andrew Hutchens, Jeff Kinsey, Joseph Lulloff, Jonathan Nichol, Jason Oates, Doug O'Connor, Tyrone Page, Jr., Justin Rollefson, David Stambler, and the Margot Music Fund.
ORDERING SCORES
Theodore Presser Company
Click to view product page
PROGRAM NOTES
In 2000, I wrote a feisty piece called Tantrum for alto saxophone and piano. Sixteen years later, I decided to revisit Tantrum and re-imagine it as a leaner, meaner, ferocious teenager who has moved on from an infant’s temper tantrum into an all-out vengeful fury. Wrath shares a few structural similarities with Tantrum: both have three movements that follow a fast – slow – super fast pattern; both works also open with a declamatory statement issued by the saxophone; and both are high in energy and very dramatic. Musically, the works are independent.
One of the intriguing features of Wrath was inspired by the manner in which the piece was commissioned. Saxophonist David Stambler and I built a consortium of fifteen saxophonists who all took part in commissioning the piece. I wanted each saxophonist to have multiple opportunities to personalize the music by bringing his or her own interpretation to the notes. So I incorporated several spots in the first movement in which the saxophonists are encouraged to experiment and tinker with the way they perform the written material (you’ll hear a prime example of this in the opening material of the first movement). Additionally, near the end of the first movement, there is a spot in which the saxophonists are asked to improvise.
-S.G.
Trio
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ARCHANGELS 11’15” • 3 sop sax
I. Michael (Warrior)II. Raphael (Healer)III. Gabriel (Heralder)
VIDEO
Christopher Creviston, Samuel Detweiler, and Justin Rollefson, soprano saxophones
YEAR COMPOSED
2018
COMMISSIONERS
Christopher Creviston, Samuel Detweiler, and Justin Rollefson, soprano saxophones
ORDERING SCORES
Theodore Presser Company
Flute edition: coming in 2021/2022
Clarinet edition: coming in 2021/2022
PROGRAM NOTES
I have always been fascinated with the concept of archangels – huge, supernatural beings with gigantic wings who visit earth to carry out their heavenly tasks. Archangels are the “chief” angels in Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions. The precise number of these high-ranking celestial beings varies from one religious source to another (typically from four to seven). The three movements of Archangels depict Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel—the three archangels most commonly referenced.
Michael is a warrior who is ever vigilant to march into battle against forces of evil. In art, he is often portrayed with his wings spread open in mid-flight and wielding a large sword that is raised into an attack position. The first movement begins with the foreboding sound of his large, beating wings. Suddenly, Michael appears in all of his terrible glory and wreaks havoc on an army of demons.
Raphael is a Hebraic name that translates to “God heals,” and he is in charge of all manners of healing. Artwork of Raphael typically shows him holding a staff, and he is often pictured with the round cheeks associated with a young cherub. In this quiet middle movement, Raphael gently makes his rounds to tend to the sick.
Gabriel is the heralder of news. In Christianity, Gabriel’s purpose is quite significant: he appears to Zechariah to announce the forthcoming birth of John the Baptist, and to Mary to announce the forthcoming birth of Jesus. Gabriel is often depicted holding a scepter, a stem of lilies, or an unfurled scroll. In this final movement of the piece, Gabriel trumpets his news for all to hear.
This piece was commissioned by saxophonists Christopher Creviston, Samuel Detweiler, and Justin Rollefson. I subsequently made an arrangement for three flutes.
-S.G.
LISTING FOR CONCERT PROGRAM
Please list the piece as follows:
Archangels
I. Michael (Warrior)
II. Raphael (Healer)
III. Gabriel (Heralder)
Quartet
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FLIGHT OF ICARUS • 14’ • sax quartet (SATB)
I. Icarus AscendingII. Deadalus Mourns
AUDIO
Capitol Quartet
Balance • Blue Griffin Recording • Purchase recording
YEAR COMPOSED
2012
COMMISSIONER
Commissioned by the Margot Music Fund and the Capitol Quartet
ORDERING SCORES
Theodore Presser Company
Click to view product page
PROGRAM NOTES
One of the first pieces I ever composed was a short saxophone quartet named Soaring Eagle. I was eighteen and played the alto saxophone in high school, so it was quite natural to write a piece that my marching band classmates could play. While that early work has long been forgotten, I have always remembered feeling exhilarated at hearing those four saxophones dipping and weaving around each other as they played the piece’s main theme. When the Capitol Quartet commissioned me for a new work, I decided to revisit the topic of soaring, to see if I could capture the essence of exhilaration once again. Additionally, I recently wrote a choir piece on the poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar. One of the poems, Not They Who Soar, came to mind as I began this piece; the haunting theme of that setting serves as the basis for the musical material.
Flight of Icarus is based on the Greek legend of Daedalus, an architect and engineer, and his son Icarus. On the island of Crete, Daedalus had built a maze for King Minos. Minos imprisoned a Minotaur (a half-bull, half-human creature) within the maze and annually sacrificed fourteen Athenians to the creature. Being an Athenian himself, Daedalus was upset with this arrangement and helped another king to successfully navigate the maze and kill the Minotaur. Minos sent his army after Daedalus in retaliation, but Daedalus was prepared. He and his son Icarus affixed wings crafted of wax and feathers to their backs and took to the sky. Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too low, so the waters would not weigh down the feathers, nor too high for the sun to melt the wax. Icarus, however, was so elated with the thrill of flying that he drew too close to the sun. The wax melted, and Icarus fell to his watery demise.
Flight of Icarus consists of two movements. Icarus Ascending follows Icarus’ flight toward the sun and subsequent fall; Daedalus Mourns depicts a father’s grief for his lost son.
This piece was commissioned by the Capitol Quartet and the Margot Music Fund.
-S.G. -
HELL HATH NO FURY • 5’30” • sax quartet (SATB)
VIDEO
Capitol Quartet
YEAR COMPOSED
2018
COMMISSIONER
Capitol Quartet
PROGRAM NOTES
The phrase “Heav’n has no rage, like love to hatred turn’d, Nor Hell a fury, like a woman scorn’d” was penned by William Congreve in 1697 in his tragedy play The Mourning Bride. Over the centuries, the original phrase morphed into the more commonly known phrase “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” While the original phrasing has lost some of its elegance in its shortened modern form, the sentiment remains the same – a scorned woman is going to be steaming mad.
Hell Hath No Fury is my take on the Lilith myth. Lilith was the first wife of Adam, who God created before he made Eve. Lilith was cast out of Eden when she refused to be subservient to him, particularly in regards to amorous matters. As the piece begins, we hear Lilith screaming in fury and anguish. This is followed by a calmer section, in which she is in shock at her fate. Lilith once again lashes out in anger before she sullenly walks out of the garden of Eden forever.
Hell Hath No Fury was commissioned by the Capitol Quartet (Christopher Creviston, soprano saxophone; Joseph Lulloff, alto saxophone; David Stambler, tenor saxophone; and Henning Schröder, baritone saxophone) and the Margot Music Fund.
-S.G.
Quintet
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RITES FOR THE AFTERLIFE • 16’ • reed quintet (ob/eh, cl, sop/alto sax, bass cl, bn)
I. Inscriptions from the Book of the DeadII. Passage through the NetherworldIII. The Hall of JudgmentIV. The Field of Reeds
VIDEO
Akropolis Reed Quintet
YEAR COMPOSED
2018
COMMISSIONER
Rites for the Afterlife was commissioned by the Barlow Endowment on behalf of the Akropolis Reed Quintet, Calefax Reed Quintet, and the Brigham Young University Reed Quintet.
ORDERING SCORES
Theodore Presser Company
Click to view product page
PROGRAM NOTES
The ancient Egyptian empire began around 3100 B.C. and continued for over 3000 years until Alexander the Great conquered the country in 332 B.C. Over the centuries, the Egyptian empire grew and flourished into a highly developed society. They invented hieroglyphics, built towering pyramids (including the Great Pyramid of Giza, the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the World), and the created many household items we still use today, including toothbrushes, toothpaste, eyeliner, black ink, and the forerunner of modern-day paper.
Included among their achievements were a series of highly developed funerary practices and beliefs in the Afterlife. As the average lifespan of an Egyptian hovered around 30 years, living past the death of one’s physical body was a legitimate concern. Egyptians believed that upon death, their souls would undertake a harrowing journey through the Netherworld. If they survived the horrific creatures and arduous trials that awaited them, then their souls would be reunified with their bodies (hence the need to preserve the body through mummification) and live forever in a perfect version of the life they had lived in Egypt. To achieve this, Egyptians devised around 200 magical spells and incantations to aid souls on the path to the Afterlife. These spells are collectively called The Book of the Dead. Particular spells would be chosen by the family of the deceased and inscribed on the tomb’s walls and scrolls of papyrus, as well as on a stone scarab placed over the deceased’s heart. Subsequent collections of spells and mortuary texts, such as The Book of Gates, assisted a soul in navigating the twelve stages of the Netherworld. Not only did these spells protect and guide the soul on this dangerous path, but they also served as a safeguard against any unbecoming behavior an Egyptian did while alive. For instance, if a person had robbed another while alive, there was a spell that would prevent the soul’s heart from revealing the truth when in the Hall of Judgement.
Rites for the Afterlife follows the path of a soul to the Afterlife. In Inscriptions from the Book of the Dead (movement 1), the soul leaves the body and begins the journey, protected by spells and incantations written on the tomb’s walls. In Passage though the Netherworld (movement 2), the soul is now on a funerary barque, being towed through the Netherworld by four of the region’s inhabitants. We hear the soul slowly chanting incantations as the barque encounters demons, serpents, crocodiles, lakes of fire, and other terrors. The soul arrives at The Hall of Judgment in movement 3. Standing before forty-two divine judges, the soul addresses each by name and gives a “negative confession” connected to each judge (i.e. “I did not rob,” “I did not do violence,” and so on). Afterwards, the soul’s heart is put on a scale to be weighed against a feather of Ma’at, the goddess of truth. If the heart weighs more than the feather, it will be eaten by Ammut, a hideous creature that lies in wait below the scale, and the soul will die a second and permanent death (this was the worst fear of the Egyptians). But if the heart is in balance with the feather, the soul proceeds onward. The final stage of the journey is the arrival at The Field of Reeds (movement 4), which is a perfect mirror image of the soul’s life in ancient Egypt. The soul reunites with deceased family members, makes sacrifices to the Egyptian gods and goddess, harvests crops from plentiful fields of wheat under a brilliant blue sky, and lives forever next to the abundant and nourishing waters of the Nile.
Rites for the Afterlife was commissioned by the Barlow Endowment on behalf of the Akropolis Reed Quintet, Calefax Reed Quintet, and the Brigham Young University Reed Quintet.
-S.G.
Sax Choir
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JARBA, MARE JARBA • 4’ • SSAATTBB saxophones
VIDEO
Arizona State University Saxophone Studio; Christopher Creviston, Director
VIDEO
University of Southern Mississippi Sax Chamber Orchestra; Dannel Espinoza, Director
YEAR COMPOSED
2018
COMMISSIONER
Chanticleer commissioned the original choral version; the composer’s arrangement for saxophone octet is dedicated to Christopher Creviston and the Arizona State University Saxophone Studio.
ORDERING SCORES
Theodore Presser Company
Click to view product page
PROGRAM NOTES
Jarba, Mare Jarba is a popular traditional Hungarian-Romani folk song. Its text speaks of the longing to return to one's homeland.
TEXT
Translation of Jarba, Mare Jarba
Green grass, tall grass, I would like to go home,
but I cannot, because I have sworn not to.
Tall grass, green grass – oh, that I cannot go home!
My mother has left the village; she left the hut empty,
Adorned with leaves but full of poverty.
Tall grass, green grass – oh, that I cannot go home!
Tall grass, green grass – I would like to go home.
but I cannot, because I have sworn not to. -
LO YISA GOY • 5’ • SSAATTBB saxophones
VIDEO
Illinois State University Saxophone Studio
Paul Nolen, director and video maker
YEAR COMPOSED
2007; arranged by composer for saxophone ensemble in 2020
COMMISSIONER
Chicago a cappella
ORDERING SCORES
Theodore Presser Company
Click here to view product page
PROGRAM NOTE
During the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic, saxophonist Paul Nolen asked if I might have a choral piece that I could transcribe for saxophone ensemble. He was looking for a work that his Illinois State University students could learn and individually record their parts; he would then mix together and share online. I immediately thought of the text of my choral piece Lo Yisa Goy:
And they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks:
nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.
But they shall sit every man under his vine
and under his fig tree;
and none shall make them afraid:
for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.
May all nations put aside their arguments and listen to each other, and may we ultimately find a global peace to preserve both mankind and our planet.
-S.G.
Concerto
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ALPENGLOW • 18’ • double concerto for alto saxophone, tuba, and wind ensemble
The commissioners have exclusive performance and recording rights until May 31, 2023.
INSTRUMENTATION
alto saxophone soloist, tuba soloist, 3 Fl (3rd on Picc), 2 Ob (2nd on EH), 2 Bn, CBn or Contrabass Cl, 4 Cl, 1 B. Cl, SATB Sax, 3 Hn, 3 Tpt, 2 Tenor Tbn, 1 Bass Tbn, 1-2 Euph, 1-2 Tba, Timp, 4 Perc, Pno (with optional Celesta), DBYEAR COMPOSED
2021
COMMISSIONERS
Butler University; Carthage College; Illinois State University; Florida State University; Kansas State University; Louisiana State University; Mansfield University; Oklahoma State University; Roosevelt University; St. Charles East High School; "The President's Own" United States Marine Band; University of Arkansas; University of Massachusetts Amherst; University of Minnesota at Twin Cities; University of Nevada, Las Vegas; University of Nevada, Reno; University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire; and the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee.
PROGRAM NOTES
The first time I saw an alpenglow, I had no idea what it was. It was the late 1980s, and I was a music camp at the base of the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. A few of us got up in the middle of the night so we could hike to a vantage point at the foot of Longs Peak, to watch the sun rise without any trees obstructing our view. Even though we had a few more minutes to go before the sun breached the horizon, when I looked up at the face of Longs Peak, it was glowing intensely with a most beautiful peach-pink color. This enchanting vision lasted only about ten minutes, after which the color faded as the sun rose. Throughout the next thirty years, whenever I returned to the Rocky Mountain National Park, I would occasionally catch this pre-dawn light show in all its glory.
An alpenglow is an optical phenomenon that is visible on high altitude mountains. It happens twice daily, right before the sun rises and right after it sets. The earth’s atmosphere scatters the sun’s light, allowing particular wavelengths of light through and blanketing the mountains in rich hues of peach, pink, red, and purple.
Alpenglow opens with First Light. This movement begins in the pre-dawn hour. The music starts simply and slowly, then grows increasingly animated as the sky lightens and the horizon shimmers with color. The movement explodes in a massive flurry of activity when the blazing sun pulls itself across the horizon. In Arc of the Sun, we follow the sun as it energetically leaps and surges upwards in the sky. The music moves steadily upwards as it keeps pace with the sun’s progress, then crests as the sun reaches its zenith. As the sun bends back down towards the earth, the music follows suit, getting lower in range and slower as the sun nears the horizon. In Radiant Glow, the sun slips under the horizon, giving way to a most radiant alpenglow. As the alpenglow fades and twilight envelops the earth, stars shimmer in the night sky.
-S.G.
Photo of alpenglow in Denali National Park. National Park Service photo, public domain.
Taken by Emily Mesner. -
QUICKSILVER • 24’ • alto sax concerto with wind ensemble
INSTRUMENTATION
Alto saxophone soloist, 5 Fl (5th on Picc), 2 Ob, EH, 2 Bn, CBn or Contrabass Cl, 5 Cl, 1 B. Cl, SATB Sax, 4 Hn, 2 Tpt, 2 Tenor Tbn, Bass Tbn, 1-2 Euph, 1-2 Tba, Timp, 4 Perc, Pno (with optional Celesta), DBI. Antics of a Newborn GodII. Guiding Souls to the UnderworldIII. Messenger of Olympus
VIDEO
Jonathan Hulting-Cohen, saxophone, and the University of Massachusetts Wind Ensemble; Matthew Westgate, conductor
AUDIO (piano reduction)
Please note that the piano reduction is suitable for performance in recitals and concerts.
Mvmt. 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13pQnw0-0Ws
Mvmt. 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-G3AMOy7cM
Mvmt. 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLbnDKdYyY4
Idit Shner, saxophone, and EunHye Choi, piano
YEAR COMPOSED
2017
ORDERING SCORES
Theodore Presser Company
Click here to visit Presser’s ordering page
$54.99 • full score (small)
$116.99 • full score (large)
Saxophone/piano version available for concert performance
ONLINE PERUSAL SCORE
https://issuu.com/theodorepresser/docs/garrop_quicksilver_issuu
COMMISSIONERS
• Appalachian State University • John Stanley Ross, conductor • Scott Kallestad, saxophone
• Arizona State University • Gary W. Hill, conductor • Christopher Creviston, saxophone
• Baylor University • J. Eric Wilson, conductor • Michael N. Jacobson, saxophone
• Butler University and the Butler University chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi • Michael J. Colburn, conductor • Heidi Radtke, saxophone
• Carthage College • James Ripley, conductor • Andrew Carpenter, saxophone
• Louisiana State University • Damon Talley, conductor • Griffin Campbell, saxophone
• Penn State University and the Margot Music Fund • Dennis Glocke, conductor • David Stambler, saxophone
• SUNY Potsdam • Brian K. Doyle, conductor (head of consortium) • Casey Grev, saxophone
• University of Alabama • Kenneth Ozzello, conductor • Jonathan Noffsinger, saxophone
• University of Massachusetts Amherst • Matthew Westgate, conductor • Jonathan Hulting-Cohen, saxophone
• University of Michigan at Ann Arbor • Michael Haithcock, conductor • Timothy McAllister, saxophone
• University of Nebraska-Lincoln • Carolyn Barber, conductor • Paul Haar, saxophone
• University of North Carolina at Greensboro • John R. Locke and Kevin M. Geraldi, conductors • Steven Stusek, saxophone
• University of Oregon • Rodney Dorsey, conductor • Idit Shner, saxophone
• University of South Carolina • Scott Weiss, conductor • Clifford Leaman, saxophone
PROGRAM NOTES
In addition to being another name for the element mercury, “quicksilver” is used to describe something that changes quickly or is difficult to contain. My concerto of the same name was inspired by the Roman god Mercury, as well as the mercurial nature of the saxophone: unpredictable, very lively, and volatile. Mercury (known as Hermes in Greek mythology) is best known for his winged shoes, which allowed him to fly swiftly as the messenger of his fellow Olympians. Mercury had other duties too, including serving as the god of merchants, travelers, and tricksters; he also ushered souls of the departed to the Underworld.
Quicksilver tells three tales of the Roman god. The first movement (Antics of a Newborn God) opens with the birth of Mercury; after he takes his first steps, he toddles around, gleefully looking for mischief. He stumbles across a herd of cows that belong to his brother Apollo; Mercury slyly lets the cows out of their pen before toddling onward with his mischief-making. In the second movement (Guiding Souls to the Underworld), Pluto, god of the Underworld, bids Mercury to bring him fresh souls. The movement begins with death-knells tolling for humans who are about to die; Mercury picks up these souls and leads them down to the gates of the Underworld. The third and final movement (Messenger of Olympus) depicts Mercury as he is busily running errands for various gods and goddesses. We first encounter him mid-flight as he dashes to earth to find Aeneas, a Trojan lieutenant who had been run out of Troy by the invading Greeks. Aeneas is on a quest to find land on which to establish a new city that would eventually become Rome. While traveling, he is distracted from his quest when he meets the beautiful queen Dido. They live together for many years before Mercury intervenes; he chastises Aeneas for giving up on his quest and persuades him to pick it up again. As Aeneas mournfully resumes his journey, we hear Dido perish of a broken heart. Mercury then takes to the skies to seek out Perseus, who is preparing to kill the Medusa, the hideous gorgon who has snakes for hair and a gaze that turns those who catch her glance into stone. Mercury advises Perseus on how to slay Medusa and lends Perseus his sword to do the deed. We hear Perseus victorious in the beheading of Medusa, after which Mercury takes to the skies once more to fly home to Olympus.
Quicksilver was commissioned by Appalachian State University, Arizona State University, Baylor University, Butler University and the Butler University chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi, Carthage College, Louisiana State University, Penn State University and the Margot Music Fund, SUNY Potsdam, University of Alabama, University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University of Oregon, and University of South Carolina.
-S.G.
