Name: Eastman Saxophone Project plays Rite of Spring by Dannel Espinoza
Duration: 37 min 5 s
Description: Eastman Saxophone Project (ESP) performs Stravinsky's Rite of Spring from memory. April 2013

THANK YOU for uploading this!! I can NOT believe that B&H are still profiting off of this incredible music while limiting it's availability to the public! I would love to see the video of this incredible performance again one day. Seriously one of the most epic performances of music written before I was born by any group of musicians I have come across!!

Groundbreaking (Underneath the Surface)

Recitation Book, Mvmt. IV - Maslanka

Recitation Book, Mvmt. V - Maslanka

Nuages - Bozza

Ryo Noda's GEN performed with the Oakland University Wind Symphony, Nov. 2014

GEN - Ryo Noda

Each movement of 'Evocations: Four after Matisse' is inspired by one of Henri Matisse's paintings. The first movement is reflective of Matisse's painting Luxe, Calme et Volupté (Luxury, Calm and Pleasure) from 1904. It is the final work of Matisse's "Pointillist" or more appropriately named "Divisionist" period and is illustrative of Matisse's often quoted phrase, "What I dream of is an art of balance, or purity and serenity, devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter." The human figures by the waterside are indeed peaceful, innocent-looking and playful. The soprano saxophone carries a lyrical melody throughout most of the movement over gently repeating motives and trills in the lower instruments, whose notes are articulated with a light slap tongue.

Evocations: Four after Matisse for saxophone quartet - I. Luxe, calme et volupté(excerpt)

The second movement is evocative of La Danse (Dance), painted in 1910 during Matisse's early Fauve period. Five primitive-looking nude figures in a circle dance are depicted in a strong red color against a background of green, with deep blue sky. The musical movement likewise is also rather "in
your face" and employs original material along with French folk-dance tunes, often imitating the sound of cabrettes, which sound a bit like small bagpipes, and other folk instruments.

Evocations: Four after Matisse for saxophone quartet - II. La Danse (entire mvt.)

The third Matisse work chosen, 'Femme devant un bol de poisson' (Woman Before a Fish Bowl), was painted in 1922 in a realist style, perhaps a reaction against expressionism and abstraction. Consisting of a grayish-blue background behind a contemporary-looking 1920's woman gazing disinterestedly into a goldfish bowl, the work is probably symbolic of the melancholy mood of post-World War I Europe. The slow-moving music with repeating harmonic ground reflects this "blue" mood which is amplified further by the occasional "bent" notes.

Evocations: Four after Matisse for saxophone quartet - III. Femme devant un bol de poisson (excerpt)

The fourth painting, 'Pianiste et joueurs de dames' (Pianist and Checker Players) was painted only two years later, in 1924, but could hardly be more different in style. It is one of Matisse's "family portraits", set in his Nice apartment; in the absence of his family, Matisse uses stand-in models for his
daughter, playing the piano, and his two sons, playing a game of checkers. While these two-dimensional figures' activities sound serene enough, the highly contrasting wallpapers, oriental carpet and other background objects viewed from different angles are extremely busy and rhythmic. Add to this
motion the downward "pull" of the lower portion of the painting and there is a plethora of activity. Influenced also by an account by Henri's son, Pierre, as to what an actual scene with piano and checker players would evolve into at the Matisse household, the composer was motivated to employ a variety of very "active" thematic materials, presented in a highly layered "counterpoint of characters", rather helter-skelter at times.
An additional note of interest is that in 1941, 'Pianiste et joueurs de dames' was one of the paintings confiscated from Jewish collections and transferred to Nazi Hermann Goring's personal art gallery in Paris. The painting was fortunately recovered and returned to its owner in 1946; it now resides in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

Evocations: Four after Matisse for saxophone quartet - IV. Pianiste et joueurs de dames (excerpt)

Eastman Saxophone Project (ESP) performs Stravinsky's Rite of Spring from memory. April 2013

ESP - Rite of Spring Concert, 2013

Eastman Saxophone Project plays Rite of Spring

(Premiered by Dannel Espinoza, March 7, 2020 at NASA Biennial Conference, Tempe, AZ)

PROGRAM NOTE:
 Over the past few years I’ve discovered a stress-busting technique which helps me recover from a period of extreme duress:

The first day of my escape to New Orleans is perhaps spent mostly alone in bed, staring at the walls of my hotel room, trying to sort out the events leading up to my current state. Even after drifting off to sleep my being struggles with demons which are determined to overtake me until a scream from deep within awakens me.

The next day venturing out from my “cell,” I wander through the streets of the French Quarter, encountering a sweet plethora of aural delights blending into one another like a pot of slow-cooked gumbo: a choir rehearsing in the cathedral; all varieties of street musicians; club music wafting out into the street ... voilá … Elliott Carterian layers!

Energized, I stride along the river walk, chuckling at the river boat's out-of-tune calliope sounds, which remind me that Harrah's casino is nearby. It calls to me ... was I really in a state of despair only a few hours ago?

Upon my return to St. Peter Street I drop by the Gumbo Shop for Miss Shirley’s special. Afterward, she sings “Happy Birthday” to me – what a set of pipes!

Nightfall descends; mmm, mmm, my palate has been totally cleansed and I’m ready to experience the next course that tomorrow brings.

                  -- Clare Shore

Eastman Saxophone Project plays Rite of Spring

Dannel Espinoza

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