Romanza for Saxophone and Violin

for alto sax and violin

Duration - approx. 10 minutes

Program Notes:

Romanza for Saxophone and Violin began its life as Romanza for Clarinet and Violin. For the present version I revised very little, merely adding six measures near the climax of the piece. The change in instrumentation is for Sheri Brown and Sarah Washburn, who wanted to play a duet together. This piece is dedicated to them.

Here are the original program notes for the piece...(substitute “saxophone” for “clarinet” for it to make sense)

Oscar Wilde said, “Music makes one feel romantic”. Yet this is not the case in this work; for the romance of this piece is not for the listeners in the concert hall, but for the long notes drawing from each instrument. Romanza for Clarinet and Violin is really a romance of counterpoint. The clarinet and violin play a game of give and take that ends consonant one time and dissonant the other. The melancholy sound of the piece will not supply romance, but rather rightfully reveal what romance one already has available. This effect is akin to seeing a picture in black and white and then noticing a red rose in the corner. This is largely due to the interval choices in the piece. After all, it is the beats of the major and minor seconds, thirds, sixths and sevenths that give the piece its mood. And occasionally, when a perfect interval arrives it sounds like a quiet reprieve that has been delayed for too long.

The counterpoint between the two instruments create a mix of dissonance and consonance that is made melancholy through the use of a heightened sense of chormaticism and inevitability. Repetition of long tones gives the piece a slowness that is sometimes a little awkward to the listener. But the romance is there in the interaction between the instruments. The counterpoint, although maybe not romantic to the listener, is nonetheless intimate and romantic between the instruments. And maybe, this is what Wilde meant in his quote, that music doesn’t actually create the romance, but instead makes you feel the romance that was already inherent.

-Ryan Jesperson
11/30/10

This version of the piece was premiered on Dec. 14th, 2010 in Hartford, CT by Sheri Brown and Sarah Washburn.

The original piece was premiered by Cheryl Melfi and Misty Elfer on September 24th, 2007 in White Hall at UMKC.

The future: Bobby Watson and the UMKC Big Band will premiere Rhapsody for Dean Moriarty in Kansas City, MO.

The future: Ashly Evans will premiere Birdsongs in Houston, TX.

The future: Jeux pour Jumeaux will be premiered in San Francisco, CA.

fall, 2013: Ryan Ford will perform BA(da)SS in Hartford, CT.

summer/fall, 2013: The Agosto Duo will premiere a new work for oboe and english horn.

summer, 2013: David Tayloe will premiere A Page Out of Zen.

summer, 2013: Hebdomas Squatinae will be performed by the SoundScape Trio in South America.

June, 2013: Hebdomas Squatinae (new version for fl, asax,pno) will be premiered by the Verismo Trio in Wyoming at the WMTA convention.

May 26th, 2013: Joseph Abad and Marko Stuparovic will perform Icarus in West Hartford, CT.

April 22nd, 2013: Jordan Jacobson will perform fragments and memories with the HICO Orchestra in CT.

April 20th, 2013: Jordan Jacobson will perform fragments and memories with the HICO Orchestra in CT.

April 19-20, 2013: The UMKC Opera Dept. will perform portions of Songs from Behind the Curtain.

April 7th, 2013: Joseph Abad and Marko Stuparovic will premiere Icarus in West Hartford, CT.

March 24th, 2013: Getz Going: A Suite for Eddie Sauter will be performed by Sheri Brown and the West End String Quartet in Hartford, CT.

February 21st, 2013: Not Death, but Love will be performed by the Ouroboros Quartet at a Misha-maya-gat event in Manchester, CT.

October 18th, 2012: Sheri Brown and others will perform Getz Going: A Suite for Eddie Sauter in Manchester, CT.

October 14th, 2012: Sheri Brown and others will perform Getz Going: A Suite for Eddie Sauter in Hartford, CT.

August 23rd, 2012: Sheri Brown and others will premiere Getz Going: A Suite for Eddie Sauter on a Hartford Phase Shift concert.

June 23rd, 2012: Ryan Ford will perform BA(da)SS at the New Hampshire Bass Fest

June 7th, 2012 7pm: A concert of the works of Ryan Jesperson will be presented at the Hartt School in West Hartford CT.

Performers: Joseph Abad, Chris Belluscio, Sheri Brown, Ryan Ford, Jordan Jacobson, Anastasia Seifetdinova, Sarah Washburn, The Hartt Vocal Quartet, and The INEO Sax Quartet!

Works: BA(da)SS, Boombox Serenade, fragments and memories, Not Death, but Love, Obscure Songs, Romanza for Alto Sax and Violin

May 31st, 2012: The Invisible, Magic, Soccer Phone will be premiered in Middlefield, CT.

May 27th, 2012: Jordan Jacobson and Anastasia Seifetdinova will perform fragments and memories on a CCI concert in CT.

EVENT HISTORY