Sonata

soprano saxophone, baritone saxophone, fixed media, photographs

  • dur:

    1:39

  • date:

    2009


I. 05.19.09 (reduce)
II. 05.03.09 (reuse)
III. 05.26.09 (recycle)
 
The Sonata draws from a variety of field recordings representing crucial tasks of environmental concern (e.g. reducing usage of Styrofoam or one’s car, reusing water, and recycling various items). Each movement’s title acts as a timestamp, referring to the date of the incorporated recordings. To further accentuate such thoughts, the music is printed on the opposite side of related (or opposing) photographs.
 
Specifically, eight synchronized microphones were used to record in Wintergarden Park (Bowling Green, OH) – some in or around a tree, others placed in a glass vessel, and one within a bass saxophone. To listen and react to the space, these microphones were moved, and the amount of keys depressed on the saxophone was altered. This interaction with the environment imposes a harmony as sounds resonate within the saxophone. The musical material for the work aims to be entirely determined by these recordings. We hear a physical space, as it typically exists.
 
request performance materials: coryryancomposer [at] gmail [dot] com