for Soprano Saxophone and Harp
Head of a Man, Tête d'homme, 1907, Oil on canvas
This piece was compose for an assignment my freshman year at The Catholic University of America. The assignment had three parts, to compose a miniature piece that could not exceed one minute in length, he instrumentation was soprano saxophone and harp, and I had to use the word ostinato as my inspiration in some way.
This was my first time composing for both instruments. The soprano sax part was easy enough but composing for the harp was tricky. The fist draft of the harp part contained chord much too big for the hand reach so I had to rewrite them with a close voicing. I also had to alter some of my harp glissandi.
I used the opening idea as an ostinato throughout the piece while the saxophone embellishes variations in an almost improvisational klezmer nature. Looking back, I am really pleased with the pie
ce. It would be fun to compose a few more pieces for the same instrumentation and have a whole set on miniatures.