Shades

Description

For saxophone and marimba. Commissioned and premiered (Nishi Ward Community Culture Center in Hiroshima, Japan) by Karen Takaguchi and Yukari Uekawa.

The primary goal for writing “Shadows” was to create a piece in which both instruments will have an equal value. It was very important to keep the relationship as two independent elements connecting through the musical language to create a bigger picture – a musical piece. As an outcome we receive a real chamber music creation which challenges the performers to carefully listen to each other and discover on a deep level the relationship between both – marimba and saxophone. The inspiration for composing the piece and the trigger to start the creation process was the feeling of all the things which are happening below the visible surface. A simple example could be a relation between people and the hidden thoughts or emotions which are never coming out because of fear. These hidden “things” have so many colors as they could create the entire new universe. The title “Shadows” represents the world below the surface, the world of many shades which in a sense reflect our souls.