In the Fragrant Air (2022)
for saxophone quartet
Approx. Duration: 5’
Commissioned by Bill Connor on behalf of the British Association of Symphonic Bands and Wind Ensembles, for the Apollo Saxophone Quartet
‘In The Fragrant Air’ (2022) is a short work for saxophone quartet inspired by the opening lines of the poem ‘Calm is the fragrant air’ by William Wordsworth (1770-1850). The piece begins with gentle, cascading figures suggestive of the fragrant air and falling dews described in the first lines of the poem. This is followed by more rhythmic passages with fuller, contrasting textures as ‘one by one’ you look up to the stars to ‘mark them twinkling out with silvery light’ as the music opens out into repetitive, shimmering instances before returning to the atmospheric airs from which the material originates. ©G.E.M.2022
©Cover Image: 'Fragrant Air' Digital Painting by Grace-Evangeline Mason 2022