Gordon Earl's soundscape in three movements is a journey from the playful to serious to challenging, and finally satisfying exploration of the emotions of the saxophone and its relationship to the society of the symphony - sometimes following, sometimes diverging, sometimes leading, often simply wanting to belong in the parade. The first movement "Awakening," is quick like a ballet dancer hopping around among his supporting cast. The second movement, "Peace," was conceived when Gordon Earl was walking the spiral ziggurat labyrinth in the Humboldt County Botanical gardens, turning the melodic theme of the first movement upside down and much slower. The passion swells in the middle of the second movement as the soloist begins a fugue with viola that evolves into five intertwining melodies all forcefully making themselves understood in harmony and independently viable. The third movement, "Floating Triumphant" is a celebration of the elements coexisting, the wafting sound of the wind instruments, the thunder of the triumphant brass, the often manic freedom of the soloist circling, then chasing, then overtaking the excitement, propelled by an emergent hope rising from the community of the orchestra and its audience.
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