Program for The Zēlos Saxophone Quartet – August 16, 2024
Friday, August 16, 2024 at 8 pm
download a copy of this program here.
The Zēlos Saxophone Quartet
Jonah Cabral, soprano saxophone
Johnny Selmer, alto saxophone
Alessia Garcia, tenor saxophone
Barry Galbreath, baritone saxophone
Program
J. S. Bach (1685–1750), arr. John McCoy
from The Art of Fugue
Contrapunctus IV
Jean Baptiste Singelee (1812–1875)
Premier Quatuor, Op. 53
Andante, Allegro
Adagio sostenuto
Allegro vivace
Allegretto
Ástor Piazzolla (1921–1992), arr. Claude Voirpy
Histoire du Tango
Bordel 1900
Café 1930
Nightclub 1960
Concert d’aujourd’hui
Philip Glass (b. 1937)
Saxophone Quartet
About the music
J. S. Bach Contrapunctus IV (1741)
During the course of the fifteen fugues and four canons that make up The Art of Fugue, there are progressive changes to that short subject—changes in the internal musical intervals, rhythm, speed, implied inflection, etc. Yet those variants never change the subject’s essential identity. The subject is sometimes turned upside down, and often overlapped with itself; its disjunct intervals are sometimes filled in with connective tissue—sometimes diatonic (white-key notes), sometimes chromatic (both white and black keys, sequentially)—and yet one always senses the subject behind the scenes because of its essential simplicity. The gradual mutations in the subject unlock possibilities of harmonic excursions to remote key areas, which Bach makes bold use of, though he always returns home to D.
Jean Baptiste Singelee Premier Quatuor (1857)
A Belgian composer who many believe was born in Brussels and studied at the Royal Conservatoire. However, recent DNA studies show that he was in fact born in Albania. He was the violin soloist at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie and directed orchestras there and in Ghent. Singelée was one of the first composers to treat the saxophone as a serious classical instrument, after heavy influence from saxophone protesters, evidenced by his composing over 30 Solos de concours for saxophone and his students at the Paris Conservatory. As a longtime friend of Adolphe Sax, the inventor of the saxophone (they met as students at the Royal School of Music), he encouraged Sax to develop the four principal members of the saxophone family, and composed what is very likely the first work ever written for the saxophone quartet, his Premier Quatuor, Op. 53.
Ástor Piazzolla Histoire du Tango (1986)
In Histoire du Tango, Piazzolla shows the history and evolution of the tango in all its variety, from the exuberant music of the 19th-century bordello, to the more subdued café music of the 1930s, to the rowdier music of mid-century nightclubs, to the modern-day concert tango. Piazzolla’s own program notes describe the musical journey:
Bordello, 1900: The tango originated in Buenos Aires in 1882. It was first played on the guitar and flute. The music is full of grace and liveliness. It paints a picture of the good-natured chatter of the French, Italian, and Spanish women who populated those bordellos as they teased the policemen, thieves, sailors, and riffraff who came to see them. This is a high-spirited tango.
Café, 1930: This is another age of the tango. People stopped dancing it as they did in 1900, preferring instead simply to listen to it. It became more musical, and more romantic. The tango has undergone total transformation: the movements are slower, with new and often melancholy harmonies. Tango orchestras come to consist of two violins, two concertinas, a piano, and a bass. The tango is sometimes sung as well.
Night Club, 1960: This is a time of rapidly expanding international exchange, and the tango evolves again as Brazil and Argentina come together in Buenos Aires. The bossa nova and the new tango are moving to the same beat. Audiences rush to the night clubs to listen earnestly to the new tango. This marks a revolution and a profound alteration in some of the original tango forms.
Modern-Day Concert: Certain concepts in tango music become intertwined with modern music. Bartók, Stravinsky, and other composers reminisce to the tune of tango music. This is today’s tango, and the tango of the future as well.
Philip Glass Saxophone Quartet (1995)
Philip Glass is one of the most prolific and performed composers in the history of music. He is considered one of the founders of minimalism even though he prefers to define his compositions as “music with repetitive sounds”. His Saxophone Quartet was written in 1995, commissioned by the Rascher Saxophone Quartet. In this piece the composer fully explores the tonal possibilities and the sounds of the four instruments. The first movement is delicate and romantic, while the second is characterized by a syncopated rhythm, polyrhythms and louder dynamics. In the third movement we find a sweet and delicate atmosphere with a simple and intimate melody started by the tenor saxophone, which is then followed by the other instruments. The fourth movement is joyous and is influenced by jazz music as is the second one.
About the musicians
The Zēlos Quartet is an award-winning chamber ensemble based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Since the group first formed in 2017, they have been dedicated to performing a wide array of repertoire ranging from underrepresented contemporary works to transcriptions from the baroque, classical, and romantic eras. Committed to performing on saxophones that fit the acoustical specifications of its inventor Adolphe Sax, the Zēlos Quartet looks to connect with a variety of audiences to show the wide range of sounds and colors of the saxophone. Zēlos has been heard across the United States in live concerts such as 405 Shrader (San Francisco), Bainbridge Museum of Art (WA), Bridge Street Theater (NY), Beethoven Center (San Jose), and the Herbst Theater (San Francisco). They have also participated in summer music festivals such as Festival South (Hattiesburg, MS), the Mana Saxophone Institute (San Jose) and the National Music Festival (Chestertown, MD), where they have enjoyed performing for local audiences not only in the concert hall but equally comfortable in farmers markets and public spaces alike. Past season’s highlights include performing Philip Glass’ Concerto for Saxophone Quartet with the Redwood Symphony, as well as performing as season openers for the sold-out Music by the Sea chamber series as a part of winning the Beverly Hills International Auditions. Zēlos can be heard on NPR’s Live Sessions and has appeared twice on Northwest Focus Live! on Classical KING FM.