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Baryptychos pour saxophone baryton et piano

Baryptychos

For baritone saxophone and piano

(Baryptychos was composed in 2004 but not published in score form until 2012.)

Research rationale

Baryptychos employs repeated note gestures and fluctuating semi-tonal motifs alongside internal resonances derived from the inharmonic spectra of certain chord formations (on the piano), and multiphonic spectra drawn from the baritone saxophone. The piece seeks to allow a melodic unfolding and realisation of these properties, using the analogies of the medieval triptych and palimpsest as a structural basis.

Within the context of the genre of compositions that combine live instrumental sounds with pre-prepared or live electronic sounds (Baryptychos was originally commissioned alongside other composers’ works featuring saxophone and electronics), the piece explores the spectromorphological aspects and the gestural language of much electroacoustic music, within an entirely acoustic context.

The compositional process involved close analysis of the constituent partials of the (inherently unstable) saxophone multiphonics, and the consequent mapping of these onto a near-equivalent harmonic structure that underpins the piano writing. The multiphonics were converted into notational equivalents and keying instructions for the performer. This process was aided by the use of Daniel Kientzy’s Les Sons Multiples aux Saxophones (Salabert Editions, 2003), although the period of experimentation revealed several inaccuracies in this text (doubtless again due to the unstable nature of the saxophone multiphonics, which varies between different makes and sizes of saxophone).