Katzenjammer (Sax. Quartet)

Hey everyone,

this is my first post here on Young Composers, I found this site a month or so ago and have casually been lurking around. I finally joined. I really like the community I've seen here, good conversations.

Here's a piece I wrote for friends of mine who have a Sax Quartet. It uses the Whole Tone Scale and is based mostly on the Fugue motif. It was premiered by the group last October. Here's a "video" recording of the piece and the score

YouTube - Katzenjammer (2008)

Thanks for your critiques.

Katzenjammer (Full Score) (No Key Signature).pdf

very nice music

thanks for listening...

i'm new here, i've been checking out the site, reviewing other pieces... this is a really cool forum... glad i stumbled upon it

I approve. Good use of motivic material.

Very accomplished use of counterpoint throughout, good blending and idiomatic writing for the quartet. You also had the good instinct to break up the counterpoint with moments where all four instruments had the same rhythm. My sole criticism is that as the piece went on it didn't always feel as if it had a strong sense of direction, and seemed at times to be dwelling on rather similar material without moving on. I would have liked there to be a greater climax somewhere in the piece to give it a focal point.

What does 'Katzenjammer' mean?

I like it! Creative use of the whole-tone scale. Great counterpoint, I might mention as well.

Good work. I think you make good use of balance throughout, which is hard for this ensemble. It seems to me, though, at least at the beginning, that it would read easier as flats, or at least a sort of atonal balance (f#, Cnatural, Bb, etc.)

hey guys,

thanks for the comments,

siwi- i agree with your comment about the climaxes and the direction of the piece... this is one of my earlier works (from about a year and a half ago... unfortunately its one of the few i have 'live' recordings of)

the ensemble itself is great, they're friends of mine at SUNY Fredonia.

Katzenjammer means "discordant clamor" its a german word. there are also (i found out later) there's a cartoon series with the same name.

thanks for the comments

very well done! great counterpoint! :thumbsup:

I find it a well crafted piece and yes overall the counterpoint is very good. I think the piece got quite interesting after the 3 minute (the second cadence ending with the "clicks") - you explored the doits more and there was some nice contrasts between a few soloistic lines and brief homophonic moments that offered a respite from the counterpoint. In fact i would have liked to hear more of this developmental section. The piece could have gone on for 2 minutes more where you recap'd the contrapuntal section but possibly broken up into pieces before coming to a conclusion.

Anyway, as it is I find it enjoyable and fine. I hope you write more for this ensemble as there seems much to explore.

thanks for the comments guys... i appreciate the advice.