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- Gunther Schuller
Lament for M (1994)
- Margun Music (World)
- 1000/0000/dmkit/hp/str (4.4.3.3.2)
- Tenor saxophone
- 6 min
Programme Note
Composer Note:
Lament for M is dedicated to the memory of my late wife, Marjorie. Its anguished opening statement gives way to a three-way cadenza for tenor saxophone, bass and drums which builds to a considerable climax, gradually subsiding into a more tranquil, flute-led episode. But a brief 12-tone, pizzicato bass passage initiates another “free” cadenza, this time reaching an even more anguished climax. This is followed by music of an almost motionless calm and prayerful stillness. Indeed, after a descending 12-tone chord in muted solo strings and a final peaceful lament from the tenor saxophone, one seems to hear a hushed Amen in the strings, adorned only by a fluttering flute trill and gentle “teardrop” harp harmonic.
—Gunther Schuller
Lament for M is dedicated to the memory of my late wife, Marjorie. Its anguished opening statement gives way to a three-way cadenza for tenor saxophone, bass and drums which builds to a considerable climax, gradually subsiding into a more tranquil, flute-led episode. But a brief 12-tone, pizzicato bass passage initiates another “free” cadenza, this time reaching an even more anguished climax. This is followed by music of an almost motionless calm and prayerful stillness. Indeed, after a descending 12-tone chord in muted solo strings and a final peaceful lament from the tenor saxophone, one seems to hear a hushed Amen in the strings, adorned only by a fluttering flute trill and gentle “teardrop” harp harmonic.
—Gunther Schuller