BY THOMAS MISSON
Xyris Saxophone Quartet
Featuring Benjamin Price, Jabra Latham, Thomas McKay, Eva Nilssen (saxophones) and Andrew Bainbridge (organ)
St David’s Cathedral, 28 August
From the very first note of Bach’s ‘Singet de Herrn ein Neues Lied’ to sound in St David’s Cathedral, the organ-like blend of saxophones in the Xyris Quartet sounded right at home. The group’s entries were sensitive, guiding the attention around the ensemble with a sustained sense of musical line. A slightly more leisurely tempo may have benefited the work’s two faster movements in such a live acoustic, although balance and uniformity were maintained through articulation and intonation, even in more lively moments.
The Bach motif continued in Timothy Coghill’s effective ‘Tension in Surround’, simultaneously paying tribute to Bach and film composers such as Hans Zimmer. The piece started like a stuttered game of ping pong, trading single notes in an irregular pattern. It eventually anchored itself in a post-minimalist counterpoint of elaborate syncopation over simple, pop-inflected harmonic progressions.
Saxophonist Benjamin Price demonstrated agility in the later stages, maintaining a stream of rapid arpeggios over a dramatic, slower moving line from the remainder of the quartet. A few unexpected modernisms and a surprise vocalisation set this composition apart from the mould of other post-minimalist compositions.
Once again abundant in Bach references, ‘Crucifixis’ by Enjott Schneider was my favourite piece on the program. The opening is an exhilarating series of arpeggios from the saxophones over an angsty, brooding organ part which increases in aggression and dissonance and develops into cluster chords. There are some sneaky allusions to Bach organ works along the way.
The second movement of this work once again showcased the excellent organ-like blend of the saxophones combined with the woodwind stops of the organ in a virulent lament. Moments of relative peace are punctuated by Stravinskian ostinati from the organ. Dull, oppressed and listless, the funeral march’s third movement opens with a single organ line. Instruments are slowly added before building into a monolithic, extremely loud and enormously dissonant series of organ chords. The opening material returns before a soft ending. A sense of commitment from all players was evident throughout, and each character change was captured convincingly.
Ensemble-wise, this was an impressive performance considering the less-than-ideal placement of the highly accomplished Andrew Bainbridge in relation to the quartet. This last piece is, for want of a more eloquent expression, ‘a ripper’ – sometimes Machiavellian in spirit, often dark and sometimes conflictingly dissonant, but always emotionally involving and often inventive. Track down a recording or perform it if you can!
Functionally speaking, the inclusion of Sulpitia Cesis’s ‘Stabat Mater’ was a necessary relief after the large and modern work that preceded it. But it did lack punch, either in musical substance or in the engagement of the players compared to other items. However, the intonation and blend continued to impress.
The final piece of the program was Tristan Keuris’s ‘Music for Saxophones’. This was a tasteful and committed performance from the ensemble of this notably virtuosic work. The broad gestural variety was handled with musical insight and a well-developed sense of humour. The brutal, brassy locomotive-like ostinato passages were handled with command, especially in the tenor and baritone as well as the bubbly, Ravelian lighter touches from alto and soprano.
This piece is quite chaotic, but even when the music became difficult to decipher, the shaping and direction was mostly transparent despite many abrupt dynamic and character shifts almost shrouded by torrential streams of semiquavers. Overall, this complex work was brought across with technical dynamism, bold shaping and most importantly, great attention to emotional structure. This highly modern work was turned into something very accessible and like Schneider’s ‘Crucifixis’, I’ll be tracking down a recording of this piece.
Image supplied.
