OverviewThis supplemental document is to accompany the recording project titled Contrasts by Erick Miranda. This album of music consists of four compositions by composers throughout different historical periods from the Baroque through the 20th century. The author of this project adapted each composition for saxophone and recorded the works alongside collaborators Hyeji Park Miranda (piano) and Hannah Kennedy (violin). The first composition on the album is the “Duo” movement from Eleanor Alberga’s Dancing with the Shadow, adapted for alto saxophone and piano. Next to follow is Sonata in e-moll BR WFB 17 by W.F. Bach, adapted for soprano saxophone and piano. Third on the list is Suite for cello and piano, Op. 16 by Camille Saint-Saëns which was adapted for alto saxophone and piano. The last composition in the recorded collection is Contrasts, Sz. 111 for clarinet, violin, and piano by Béla Bartók. This final composition was adapted for alto saxophone, violin, and piano and serves as the title track for the album.
AbstractThe use of transcriptions and arrangements was crucial during the early years of the saxophone’s invention and this practice remains equally important for saxophonists in the 21st century. Borrowing treatises, method books, repertoire, and pedagogy from other instruments and disciplines is essential to the development of saxophone technique and artistry. Transcriptions also offer a way for saxophonists to diversify their recital programs with the possibility of exciting listeners with a new perspective on historic masterworks from the canon of western European classical music. For example, a saxophonist performing the Brahms Sonata for clarinet and piano op. 120 no. 1 may prioritize certain musical decisions that bring new life to works that have been played by the same instruments for many years. Perhaps most importantly, transcriptions and arrangements offer a way in which saxophonists can understand the lineage of how the standard saxophone repertoire came to be from a compositional standpoint. Questions like ‘How did William Albright come to compose a movement of a saxophone sonata titled Two-part Invention?’, may best be answered by the performance and study of J.S. Bach’s two-part inventions. Lastly, transcriptions and arrangements add yet another way in which musicians can cultivate their musical identity. By limiting repertoire to works only composed for one particular instrument, musicians would be deprived of a wealth of information that may only be obtainable through transcriptions and arrangements. The purpose of this project is to encourage further discussion on how transcriptions and arrangements became popularized in the saxophone community, and how extended techniques can be utilized to imitate other instruments.</p
