| Andrew Mead • Saxophone Quartet No. 2 (2003) | ||||||||||
The Quartet is in a single movement consisting of the combinations and solos of two sets of five kinds of music. They are:
The various kinds of music are distributed amongst the three pairs of duos contained in the ensemble, so that each music is played by a different pair of instruments at each appearance. The Quartet contains frequent changes of tempo, marked by ratios. These tempos are flexible, and metronome marks are only approximate, given only as an aid in rehearsal. However, the relationships between tempos are to be carefully maintained. Tempo changes are written as ratios, to be read as follows: 5/7 at a double bar indicates that the tactus in the following music will be 5/7 the rate of the preceding tactus, or 7/5 the length. If quintuplets divide the preceding beat, they will move at the same rate as septuplets dividing the ensuing beat. There is a certain leeway built in: for instance, 5/7 and 7/10 are considered virtually the same ratio, given that the composite of the first with the reciprocal of the second is 50/49, for all intents and purposes indistinguishable in performance. It should be noted that ratios apply to the tactus, which is determined by the lower number in the time signature. Thus, one may find the time signature 3/2 at half-note equals 60 followed by 4/4 at quarter-note equals 84. This will be indicated by a ratio of 7/5, in that the tactus shifts from half-note to quarter-note. In those sections marked calmo, the dynamic is always p, but that may be adjusted contextually to allow the music to be heard against the louder, more active music. Dotted slurs are used in these sections to indicate larger groupings, although the duration of the slurred notes would preclude playing them in a single breath. Throughout, dynamics are only an approximation of possible expressive inflections, and players are invited to expand upon them, responding to the expressive context of the music. | ||||||||||
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