Alastair has arranged the pieces by Debussy and Satie for saxophone and piano, while Fred Hemke arranged the Carnival of Venice
French composer Jules Demersseman was one of the first French composers to write music for the newly-developed saxophone. One of these was ‘Fantaisie sur un thème original’ for Alto Saxophone and Piano. It was written for Henri Wuille, a friend of Adolphe Sax. The work has acquired an appreciated place in in the repertoire for Alto Saxophone.
The Gymnopédies are three piano compositions written by French composer and pianist Erik Satie. He completed the whole set by 2 April 1898.
Paul Mitchell-Davidson is a composer of contemporary classical music whose compositions cover most genre’s of music including symphonic, choral, chamber music and Jazz. Rage Against the Dying of the Light was premiered by Alastair Penman and Jonathan Pease in March 2024.
i Farandoulo di chatouno (Farandole of the young girls), ii Cansoun per ma mio (Song for my love), iii La boumiano (The Bohemian woman, or The Gypsy), iv Dis alyscamps l’amo souspire (A Sigh on the soul for the Alyscamps), v Lou cabridan (The Southern Hornet)
Tableaux de Provence (“Pictures of Provence”) is a programmatic suite composed by Paule Maurice between 1948 and 1955 for alto saxophone and orchestra, most often performed with piano accompaniment only. The work was dedicated to French saxophone virtuoso, Marcel Mule. The movements describe the culture and scenery of Provence, southeast France, where the Mules, Paule Maurice, and her husband, composer Pierre Lantier, spent vacation time together.
i Movement 1, ii Slowly, iii Moderato, iv Freely
Phil Woods’ Sonata For Alto Sax And Piano is an exciting piece, and is different, not because it incorporates jazz into a concert piece, but because it requires performers to take a creative as well as re-creative attitude in its preparation and performance, as improvisation is involved.
“Beau soir” (“Beautiful Evening”) is set to a poem by Paul Bourget. The poem paints the picture of a beautiful evening where the rivers are turned rose-colored by the sunset and the wheat fields are moved by a warm breeze. Debussy uses a gently flowing triplet rhythm in the accompaniment, which contrasts the duplets that drive the light melody. The piano and voice partner to create the sensation of peace that one might feel in the evening in nature, fitting the post-Romantic stye. As any evening fades, however, so does the mood of the piece, and the song modulates from E major to F-sharp minor. The piece reaches its climax when the melody reaches a high F-sharp, paired with the word “beau”, about two-thirds through the piece, before entering its modulated conclusion.
Homeward is based over a repeating piano motif and has a sense of constant motion giving a feeling of heading for home. It features a reflective saxophone cadenza in the middle before we are whisked back onto our journey.
Jules Demersseman was friends with Adolphe Sax, creator of the saxophone, and wrote some of the first pieces ever written for the saxophone. It was because of his close friendship with Adolphe Sax that Demersseman wrote The Carnival of Venice for one of Sax’s students. Demersseman died at the age of 33 from tuberculosis.
Alastair Penman - Saxophone
Hailed as a “pioneering instrumentalist and writer” and praised for his “surpassingly beautiful music” and “undoubtedly brilliant mind”, saxophonist Alastair Penman is a dynamic and versatile performer and composer. Alastair is a City Music Foundation Artist, Park Lane Group Artist, BBC Introducing Artist, Live Music Now Artist, a Yeoman of the Worshipful Company of Musicians, and has won awards from the Countess of Munster Musical Trust, RNCM and St. Catharine’s College, Cambridge. Alastair is a Henri Selmer Paris and Vandoren UK performing Artist.
Jonathan Pease - Piano
Jonathan is an accomplished, versatile pianist, who studied with Graham Fitch. He offers particularly developed sight-reading and ensemble skills.
Cello/Piano Duo
3 April 2025
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