Alchemy (2022)
Saxophone Quartet
Program Notes
Transmutation. To change something once mundane, once common, into something comparably divine. In the Middle Ages, alchemy was an art, a science, that attempted to do just this. The goal of alchemy is to synthesise, to transmute, to transfigure the 4 classical elements into something divine. They believed that by combining Air, clean and pure, Water, running free, Earth, as strong as the canyon and mountain it fabricates, and Fire, with it’s searing glare, then they could transmute all the elements into the perfect balance. To create gold, to create the elixir of life.
To these people the four elements had distinct qualities and characters, but came together to create something beautiful. In my piece, Alchemy, I take inspiration from this long forgotten art. There are 4 main characters in my piece. Air, consonant and pure. Water, free flowing, with potential for the calm and the storm. Earth, rigid and strong as the mountain it forms. Fire, ever hot, ever intense. Finally, at the conclusion of my work these four characters combine. The soprano plays the melody, developed throughout the piece from the air theme, the alto plays the harmony of water, the tenor plays a fragment of fire, and the baritone plays with the strength of the earth beneath. I hope that just like with this ancient art, my piece can unify four distinct elements to synthesise, to create something divine.
Alchemy
Performed by Henry Docker (Soprano Sax), Aaron Cottle (Alto Sax), Sherman Swing (Tenor Sax), Hamish Reeves (Baritone Sax & Composer)
To Purchase Score and All Parts
Contact the composer: $30Â
hamishandrewreeves@gmail.com