Fable for baritone saxophone and piano

(2000) 12'

Commissioned by Matthew Sexauer
Recorded on Albany Records (Troy 1182 & Troy 1317)
Published by Tritone-Tenuto Press

Program note

Fable unfolds like an allegorical narrative, similar to many a fable by Aesop. The work begins “once upon a time” and progresses through a series of events that include conflicts, reflections, contests, and chases. The narrative consists of a series of rondo-like evens in which two ideas predominate—an aggressive, assertive music, and a pulsing yet lyrical event. The interaction of these two primary events leads to the climax and eventually to the story elegiac “moral.” Fable was composed in the summer of 2000 for saxophonist Matthew Sexauer’s senior recital at the University ff Massachusetts, Amherst the following November. The composer is grateful to both Matthew Sexauer for helping bring the piece into being, and to the MacDowell Colony for its generous support of a residency during which most of the composition was completed. Fable was recorded by Lynn Klock and Susan Nowicki for Albany Records [Troy 1182 and 1317] and is published by Tenuto Publications.