1 mins
Uncertainty principle
PREMIERE of the MONTH
COMPOSER Graham Fitkin
WORK Loosening
ARTIST Sacconi Quartet, Simon Haram (saxophone)
DATE 22 May 2021
PLACE St Mary & St Eanswythe’s Church, Folkestone, UK bit.ly/2RboR8p
Graham Fitkin
Simon Haram
Scored for string quartet and soprano saxophone, British composer Graham Fitkin’s new work Loosening doesn’t pit sax against strings in the way one might expect. ‘It’s soft music with harmonies that constantly smudge into one another by way of glissandos and portamentos,’ he says. ‘But although the saxophone can do these big gestures too, that isn’t its role in my piece. In fact the saxophone isn’t there at all for lots of the music – its first entry is a single long note and it spends much of its time sitting on top of the texture, shining over everything going on underneath.’
According to Fitkin, the 25-minute piece is intended to capture a sense of uncertainty: ‘As I’ve become older I’ve felt a tendency to feel less sure about the world. In the arrogance of my youth I thought I knew the answers, but there’s been a loosening of polarised ideas that is reflected in the title and music of this quartet.’
Fitkin’s relationship with the Sacconi Quartet began when he wrote his first work for them in 2007, with their complete recording of his quartets following in 2017. Saxophonist Simon Haram is also no stranger to the composer’s music. ‘We’ve worked together for many, many years and I’ve always adored his tone,’ Fitkin says. ‘I haven’t always felt the saxophone is right for my music, but in Simon’s hands it blooms with the purity of an oboe. I had Simon’s specific sound in mind when I was writing the piece, and his part becomes more incorporated into the others as the music progresses. There are times when it interweaves with the upper strings in a way that might even make it difficult to know who is playing what.’
The performance of Loosening is scheduled to take place after the planned relaxation of UK lockdown restrictions on 17 May. This is subject to change, however, and a live-stream of the performance will also be available.