| Anthony Suter • Pearl (2004) |
| for two mezzo sopranos and two soprano saxophones |
| Pearl came about as a collaboration between poet Veronica Pasfield and myself in March of 2004. The selection of instrumentation seemed somewhat natural to the text–the highly charged, erotic tone of the poem suggested a tense, highly treble sound world. I chose the soprano saxophnoes because of the intensely controlled, vocal nature of the instrument. The itself is a love song, rife with images of water, sky, and a constant pushing and pulling. Using two coices plays off of the idea that any love song involves two people, whether both are present or not. Both voices are simultaneously one and other. Having two voices and two saxophones emulate the tidal ebb and flow, its pushing and pulling motions–aside from the obvious sexual overtones–is designed to illuminate the inherent give and take in the poem. |
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