Edge – Saxophone Quartet (1984)

Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Baritone Saxophones – 20 mins.
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Program Note

Edge: Saxophone Quartet was commissioned by Allen Rippe for the Memphis Saxophone Quartet. The “edge” idea is to be felt in all kinds of ways: for examples, the rough edge of torn paper, the gleaming edge of a blade, the piercing edge of a laser, the edge which separates contrapuntal voices, the perceptual edge between conflicting musical styles, the twilight between light and darkness, the thin edge between existence and nothingness. The form of the work is sectional, exploiting various kinds of edges between sections. Here is a little sectional guided tour: Schizo-intro; riveting repeating notes; clockworks; gigue-motet; four-voice style-canon stew; filigree chorale; blocks of contrasts; sixteenths city; blues; swing-tune; ghost melody.