New Thread Quartet's second New Focus release, Saxifraga, highlights the fragile end of the saxophone's sonic palette. Works by Scott Wollschleger and Victoria Cheah excavate delicate subtleties of multiphonics, tuning discrepancies, and non-pitched sounds to draw the listener in beyond the expected, while Amy Beth Kirsten's avalanche lily uses the quartet's expressive range to paint vivid character portraits in sound.
| # | Audio | Title/Composer(s) | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Time | 59:00 | ||
| 01 | Without World | Without World | 16:20 |
avalanche lilyAmy Beth Kirsten |
|||
| 02 | I. saxifraga | I. saxifraga | 5:55 |
| 03 | II. tree monks / III. pipsissewa | II. tree monks / III. pipsissewa | 6:57 |
| 04 | IV. toward the rubicon / V. marcescence | IV. toward the rubicon / V. marcescence | 9:27 |
| 05 | Walk for a shell | Walk for a shell | 20:21 |
New Thread Quartet’s newest release, Saxifraga, focuses on the fragility of intimate timbres, the depth of nuance in subtle pitch discrepancies, and the rich source of creative inspiration that can be found in the natural world. Works by Scott Wollschleger, Amy Beth Kirsten, and Victoria Cheah take advantage of the rich and unique sound world of the saxophone ensemble to draw the listener inward. New Thread has been active for eleven seasons and this recording was produced over seven of them, chronicling the flexibility and creativity of the ensemble and the contributions of former and current members. New Thread performs these works with sensitivity and diligence, building on their portfolio of deep advocacy for avant-garde saxophone quartet repertoire of the highest quality.
Scott Wollschleger’s music often endeavors to create its own sonic realm. Without World (2016) is consistent with that aim, imagining a “musical landscape that is without the human idea of ‘worlds.’” To extract the “human” presence from the work, Wollschleger eschews foregrounded melodic, thematic, and harmonic material, instead drawing our attention to sounds that are delicate, fragile, and often part of the fabric of a musical gestalt instead of out in front of it. The care with which Wollschleger approaches the detailed whispers, pops, multiphonics, obscured pitches, and breath sounds builds a magical, rarefied musical argument across sixteen and half minutes. After a luminous chorale built from the resultant overtones of multiphonics, the piece ends with its most driven material, a tightly coordinated rhythmic machine of non-pitched punctuations surrounding a short descending motive that repeats as it rises in register, like slipping off the rungs of a ladder while simultaneously climbing.
Read MoreAmy Beth Kirsten’s avalanche lily (2019) is a musical portrait of the Wyoming countryside, with two of the movements and the work’s title (“saxifraga”, “pipsissewa”, and avalanche lily) named after regional wildflowers. The opening movement, “saxifraga,” is driving and bluesy, with expressive bends and cries of ascending minor thirds. Kirsten develops the texture through a unison duo passage of syncopated figures in the low saxes that is interrupted by pops, shrieks, and squeals in the high saxes. The shrieks coalesce into a brief chorale, before the angular low sax figures support cool, sustained lines that lead to a rousing climax, recalling the opening material. Movements two and three (“tree monks” and “pipsissewa”) are compressed into one track to facilitate an attacca transition between the two. “tree monks” opens with a heaving, alternating mantra, with high register commentary that smears between pitches across its contour and intones unsettling high sustained squeals. An easy lament emerges as a melodic bridge to “pipsissewa,” which opens with pointillistic attacks passed through the quartet, over a haunting, sustained multiphonic.
“toward the rubicon” and “marcescence” are similarly combined into one track, the first beginning with a texture of fragile multiphonics and sustains that build a composite melodic line between them. The movement beautifully captures a sense of wonder at the vastness beyond the threshold of our understanding of the natural world. “marcescence” is a process of preserving nutrients that allows some trees to keep their leaves during the winter. This final movement is filled with burgeoning energy and vitality, as internal imitation within the ensemble creates a series of interactive dialogues and a prismatic profile. A poignant melodic line emerges from the intricately woven interplay, leading the piece towards a section of increased urgency featuring swells that culminate in two note accented punctuations. A climactic series of chords with an ascending top line gives way to a fragile, creaky end, with the soprano saxophone echoing the bent notes from the opening movement as another member of the ensemble offers blithe commentary.
Victoria Cheah’s Walk for a shell is characteristic of works of hers that evolve patiently, using a slow pace of movement to frame a microscopic examination of pitch and timbre. Inspired by the pitch discrepancy between phone dial tones in the US and UK (one at 425 hz and the other at 450 hz), Cheah curates the beatings between closely spaced frequencies so that they reveal resultant rhythmic activity in the ensemble. Cheah sees the work as a kind of a “pilgrimage,” wherein the meditation on these distilled sonic elements brings the listener to a different place of awareness upon the work’s completion. Dynamics play a particularly important role in Walk for a shell, as the continuum of entrances and sustains, from soft to loud, establishes a three dimensional texture that shapes the shade of the overall blended sound as well as a structural hierarchy.
– Dan Lippel
Geoffrey Landman, soprano saxophone (track 1)
Jonathan Hulting-Cohen, soprano saxophone (tracks 2-5)
Kristen McKeon, alto saxophone (tracks 1-4)
Noa Even, alto saxophone (track 5)
Erin Rogers, tenor saxophone
Zach Herchen, baritone saxophone
Recorded by Jeremy Tressler at Dreamflower, New York, NY
Editing, Mixing, Mastering by Zach Herchen
Artwork by Oscar H. Gresh
Graphic design by Jason Warriner
New Thread Quartet was formed with the mission to develop and perform impactful new music for the saxophone, and to provide high level ensemble playing to feature today’s compositional voices. In 5 seasons, the quartet has commissioned and premiered over 20 new works by composers such as Richard Carrick, Ben Hjertmann, Scott Wollschleger, and Kathryn Salfelder, with recent commissions from Max Grafe and Taylor Brook as part of its annual Explorations concert series. Based in New York City, NTQ has performed at Carnegie Hall, Roulette, Dance Theatre of Harlem, the Bang on a Can Summer Festival Benefit, Monadnock Music, and the World Saxophone Congress in St. Andrews, Scotland, and has performed or recorded more than 30 important works for saxophone quartet including Kati Agócs’ Hymn on New England Conservatory’s Composer Series at Jordan Hall, a revival of Michael Djupstrom’s 2001 work Test at Arizona State University’s Katzin Concert Hall, and the premiere recording of Elliott Sharp’s seminal work Approaching the Arches of Corti for 4 soprano saxophones, now available on New World Records.
NTQ has a track record of working closely with composers in a workshop environment during the formation of new works and encourages composer attendance at rehearsals. The quartet strives for multiple performances of newly commissioned works in attempt to bring new music to different audiences as often as possible.
NTQ has conducted masterclasses, residencies, and performances for student saxophonists and composers at Peabody Conservatory, Bronx Community College, Aaron Copland School (Queens College), Montclair State University, NYU and NASA Regional and Biennial conferences across the US. NTQ encourages young composers to create new works for saxophones through an open submission policy, conducting reading and feedback sessions throughout the year.
Ensemble members are Geoffrey Landman (soprano saxophone), Kristen McKeon (alto saxophone), Erin Rogers (tenor saxophone) and Zach Herchen (baritone saxophone). NTQ is a presenting partner of Composers Now.
New Focus Recordings is an artist-led collective label featuring releases in contemporary creative music of many stripes, as well as new approaches to older repertoire. The label was founded by guitarist Dan Lippel, composer Peter Gilbert in 2004, and composer/engineer Ryan Streber in 2004, formed …Read More …
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