War Scenes (The Golden Prophecy) (2008-09)
for alto saxophone and piano, 13 minutes
Instrumentation
alto saxophone, piano
Publication
Jeanne Publications, Minneapolis, MN
Premiere
A powerful, virtuosic work for alto saxophone and piano. Saxophonist Noah Getz commissioned the work, premiering it with the composer in January 2009.
Listen
Chase through no-man’s land
Climax
The dying soldier’s vision
Performers: Noah Getz, Saxophone, Andrew E. Simpson, piano
Program Notes
War Scenes (The Golden Prophecy) set in a theater of World War I, is told in three episodes.
In the first, “Rape and Pillage,” the soldier violently abuses a prisoner of war; in the second, “Chase Through No-Man’s Land,” the soldier, having released the prisoner, runs through an enemy barrage in a desperate chase to attain the safety of his trenches. Finally, gravely wounded by a shell, he has a vision of children playing in blackened, barren landscape without grown-ups, which he interprets as a symbol of the futility and horror of war (“The Dying Soldier’s Vison”). A final spasm brings the soldier’s death.
War Scenes explores the extremes of technical versatility for the saxophone, demanding intensely expressive vocal sounds and comfort in the highest altissimo register. Structurally, the piece resembles a traditional sonata or concerto. Premiered in 2009 by saxophonist Noah Getz, who commissioned the work, the piece was recorded later that year for Albany Records under the title The Golden Prophecy (“Still Life,” TROY 1276: Noah Getz, saxophone, Andrew Earle Simpson, piano). A version for alto saxophone and wind ensemble also exists.
—Andrew Earle Simpson