Faye-Ellen Silverman

Colored Tones

Year: 2014

Duration (in minutes): 5.25'39;

Difficulty: High (professional)

Category: solo woodwind instrument

Instruments: any female voice, any high voice, any saxophone, any voice, any woodwind, soprano, soprano saxophone

Publisher: Subito Music Corporation

Description: The title Colored Tones refers to the different saxophone techniques used to decorate held pitches scattered though the work, including trills and contrasts of intense vibrato, no vibrato and regular vibrato. As the work was written to celebrate the 90th birthday of my former professor, Chou Wen-chung, the notes C B (representing the C and H of Chou) are the core of this work, appearing several times in different registers and colors. The half step relationship of these pitches is also used to set off other passages. The emphasis on these tones relates to the Chinese tradition in which the individual tone is considered more important than the melody. The start of the work also uses the pentatonic scale. As the work progresses, it becomes more Western (as Professor Chou is known for his mixture of Eastern and Western techniques). Other influences on this work were my recent trip to China under the auspices of the East-West Foundation, and the playing of saxophonist Patrick Jones, for whom this work was written. As Mr. Jones plays with both beauty of sound and extreme technical ease, I have incorporated my impressions of his playing into this composition.