Miniatures

Saxophone quartet
(1997)
Duration : 9’
First performance on september 29th 1997 in Valencia by the Diastema quartet
Publisher : Jobert editions

Recording : CD « L’Actuel » by Moebius quartet
(label : La Ma del guido)

1.Funeral – 2.Fluid – 3.Plaintive – 4.Impetuous – 5.Quivering – 6.Hurried

Miniatures is dedicated to the Diastema quartet who premier it in a remarkable performance, during the 11th Saxophone World Congress held in Valencia in 1997.

The first piece, Funèbre (Funeral), displays a sharp melody over a slow and regular rhythmic scansion. In Fluide (Fluid), the former melody reappears as an overriding recitation through slapping bounces. Plaintif (Plaintive), with its soft stammering chords, sounds like a break before the violent succession of ascending scales in Fougueux (Impetuous). A new lull appears among the abundance of steady trills which constitute Frémissant (Quivering). Finally, an overstimulating ending, Précipité (Hurried), closes the cycle with an impressive game of instrumental relays.