Septettin'

A novel 'take' on Steve Reich-style 'minimalism' with a touch of Latino beat and a variety of jazz influences from the East and West Coasts of America. It looks back to an earlier period of music, the Baroque period of the early 18th century, by adopting a 'concerto grosso' form with solo group of 3 soprano saxophones (or 2 sopranos and one alto) plus a ripieno group consisting of soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones. It is huge fun to play and great fun to listen to. Ideal for school and college saxophone ensemble concerts and competitions.

 

First performed in June 2007 by the Saxophone Ensemble of the Royal College of Music, London, England, conducted by Kyle Horch, RCM Professor of Saxophone.

 

Septettin' is intended to be an ensemble piece which encourages players to listen to each other and help them to balance the parts in a light-hearted and engaging way.

 

The name reflects the the fact that there are 7 parts (voices) although it can be played more than one to a part in concert performances. The piece is made up of 14 small sections of between 4 and 16 bars. These are framed by a larger section which opens it and returns to close it. This opening and closing music, entitled 'Greenwich Village 1967', is a 'tongue-in-cheek' evocation of the early minimalists' densely-packed yet fractured counterpoint. Following this are the 14 'episodes'. These have either a 'Jazz' or 'Latin' flavour. The titles are given above. After the final return of 'Greenwich Village 1967', there are 2 coda sections to round the work off.

 

Septettin' is scored for 4 soprano saxophones, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones and is dedicated to Gerard McChrystal.