Cinque foglie

An entertaining, contrasting opus, inspired by the Rascher Quartet, to whom it is also dedicated; not experimental, but new music suited to the instruments, based on the playing and expressive possibilities as well as the specific sound of a technically and musically demanding saxophone ensemble (soprano – alto – tenor – baritone). Five movements loosely strung together in suite form (five “pages”) are linked by a dodecaphonic leitmotif that sounds at the beginning of each movement. In Circulo ostinato, this figure decisively determines the course of the piece; at the beginning of the finale, it condenses into a four-part canon. Ostinatos and rhythmic formulas characterize the character of the entire work.

Allegro ruzzone (Exuberance)
A concise, lively opening piece; at the climax, like a breath of air, a melodically expressive idea appears, which revolves imitatively in a circle before a short stretta in fast tempo leads to the pianissimo conclusion.

Circulo ostinato (Circular repetition) (Andante con moto)
The middle section of the movement develops from pent-up repetitions of notes and the melodic phrases of the original theme in ever-new attempts at great intensification. At the beginning and end there is a polyphonic canon that circles around a descending chromatic sequence of notes.

Ballo estatico (“Unleashed” dance) (Allegro molto)
This movement is dominated by rhythmic, dance-like and aggressive elements; three different episodes unfold over ostinato bass movements, the last of which becomes a “free variation” on Debussy’s “Golliwoggs’ Cake Walk” from “Children’s Corner.”

Sogno solitario (Lonely Dream) (Andante)
The “slow” movement of the quartet grows from a recitative beginning, through an expressive middle section (with close-spaced melodies) to an extended trill surface and dense, downward-plunging chromatic figures (quintuplets), returns to the recitative via a quiet section (in the lower register), and ends on a restrained note.

Fugato scherzando (Allegro molto)
A virtuosic, humorous finale, following the introductory four-part “spinning top” canon of the leitmotif, develops from a whimsical theme into a rhythmically intricate fugue, interrupted by a trio-like intermezzo and effectively intensified to a liberating conclusion.

(Jürg Baur)