Piece for saxophone quartet (SATB)!

This is a piece for saxophone quartet I started writing probably over a year ago, I wrote most of it pretty quickly, but I rewrote the second half of it since then and spent ages agonizing over a couple of very small moments in it that I couldn't get right for a very long time. I'd appreciate any comments on the playability/difficulty of the parts, and if the transition between the two halves works, and how well the climax towards the end works and I guess about the harmony/counterpoint etc too.,.. Oh, there's a couple of points where the midi doesnt play dynamics back properly, if you follow the score, you'll see them.

Thanks, everyone...

sax quartete (revised) finished.mid

The ranges look fine. Two things to correct, notation-wise:

1. Grace notes should be connected to their main notes with a slur.

2. The tied half notes to quarter notes are annoying. Use a dotted half note instead.

Just a few spacing issues with the score, you probably just need to refresh the note spacing and it should be fine.

Okay, sounds like a niece piece! The Bariton Sax goes up pretty high in measure 46. It is possible, but I personally don't like the sound of such a high playing bariton sax (the sound gets a bit thin I think).

And just like flint-wwrr said, please change the tied half notes to quarter notes, it looks a bit weird.

:)

The ranges look fine. Two things to correct, notation-wise:

1. Grace notes should be connected to their main notes with a slur.

2. The tied half notes to quarter notes are annoying. Use a dotted half note instead.

Just a few spacing issues with the score, you probably just need to refresh the note spacing and it should be fine.

the range thing must be me then, lol

...and i didnt notice the tied note thing until you pointed it out, but now that you mention it, it did look strange...

the range thing must be me then, lol

By high school, a saxophonist should be comfortable with the entire non-altissimo range of the instrument (i.e., low Bb to high F#).

I'm assuming this is for high school level or higher simply for the fact that there's a Bb Soprano Saxophone part. Saxophonists shouldn't be playing Soprano until late high school simply for the fact that (for most students) their embouchure isn't developed enough.

Thanks for the tips, I'll fix all that up. I always thought notes werent sposed to cross the middle of the bar (except for semibreves) but this makes sense I guess.

Bars 24-25 and 45-47 were the bits I spent ages working on, I was wondering how well they "work", that is, whether the transition is too abrupt or not, whether the climax falls flat or not etc...

Thanks

Yeah, if you didn't have a good baritone saxophonist, those higher notes would be murder. As far as the high notes in the soprano, I see nothing wrong with them. Since soprano saxophone is usually attempted after a fair degree of skill is acquired on alto and I've seen alto all the way up to F# three lines above the staff in highschool repretoire, those upper notes should be no big problem.

I did NOT like how it ended. The last chord was just too bland, that perfect fifth. The chord that I felt the ending was yearning for was dissonant, and was actually this (written pitches, not concert pitches):

S: Low B#

A: Top space E#

T: Low E#

B: Low E#

That's a 9th with a fifth, with alto covering the tonic on top, and soprano softly providing the dissonance that the piece deserves in the middle.

Measures 24-25 are fine, but that's one whacked-out climax. If I was the baritone saxophone player playing the rhythm after that though, I would probably omit one of the measures, so the accelerando is more drastic, I think it's too gradual, spanned over one too many measures.

Measures 45-47 are great, one of my favorite parts. Again, on a similar note, the solo right after this climax, this time the soprano sax, is horrible in the midi. I would take a lot of liberty with the tempo there, and played it very whimsically, maybe started a tad slow, and very quickly built up to a very fast tempo, and gradually brought it back down to A Tempo.

Very interesting piece you got hear. The midi makes it sound like crap, but a live performance would actually be very interesting, especially to hear how the performers would interpret it. Some cool sounds going on.

Thanks so much for your response Music Man, I think you may have a point with cutting out a bar of the solo bari sax, and actually, I pictured the soprano solo being interpreted in a very similar way to how you've described.

I tried out your chord in the ending, and while I like the chord, it seems to me maybe a bit too "unexpected" or out of place for the very end of the piece.... but I take your point about the ending, I might try a few different chords there.

Glad you liked it. :)

I found it a bit bland and banal. Nothing much really happened for me. Sax quartets are usually about beautiful harmonies. I found it too contemporary. Would you be able to write something in more livelier tempo in a post impressionist style?