Fitkin: Music Analysis

Based in England, Fitkin is one of the premiere minimalist and post-minimalist composers of our time (Potter). His works have been commissioned by the BBC Philharmonic, Tokyo Symphony,Yo-Yo Ma, and the Elysian Quartet and he held a Resident Composer position with the London Philharmonic (Fitkin, Biography). His music frequently elicits a “moto perpetuo” combined with gliding, lyrical lines and driving harmonic progressions keeping listeners attentive. Hard Fairy is no exception. The unabating electronic accompaniment (originally two pianos) propels the singing saxophone melody forward while Fitkin’s harmonic decisions evoke a sense of adventure and inquisitiveness, despite the fact that Fitkin described his piece as non-programmatic (Fitkin,
The crystal is divided into blocks of adjacent color, though the two colors do overlap and interact with each other. In this piece, the title represents the saxophone and electronics. The two voices engage in a chattering and glitch-like conversation, both with original ideas and the occasional converging (Gardner, Tourmaline). Gardner, known for her “expressive sound and a flair for the imaginative and unexpected,” creates an introspective opportunity for the listener to reflect and ponder the conversation within Tourmaline (Gardner, About). Billie Holiday is well-known as one of jazz’s most famous, versatile, and capable vocalists. While her voice was what made her famous, her rise to prominence and then deterioration due to abuse at the hands of husbands, managers, and drugs is well-documented. The effect of the substance abuse was clearly noticeable during performances; her voice had become course and lackluster. This evolution is used by ter Veldhuis to his advantage in this piece, hence the title of the piece. Ter Veldhuis frequently creates electronic accompaniments based on vocal samples of words and phrases that are catchy. In this case, ter Veldhuis uses samples of Holiday speaking and singing from points
It ended up being a simple trichord, a set of three notes combined to create harmony, and a 12-tone row, a series of 12 pitches in which none are repeated, both of which the saxophone part is based on. The electronics are also based on the trichord but are primarily tonal. Pegel states that the electronics represent the “underbrush” from which the saxophone part emerges (Pegel). Another piece which incorporates a vocal line into the accompaniment, Scott weaves the voice of British author Lemn Sissay out of and around a lyrical and poetic saxophone line that was originally set for saxophone quartet but later reduced to one voice (Scott). Sissay, known for his writing and reading of poetry, complements and often leads the melody throughout the piece with a poem of his own (Sissay). Scott lines up many of the emphatic words with crunchy musical material, creating emphasis. My Mountain Top develops a motivational narrative, both musically and verbally, that soars harmonically. For this piece, Bryant used solely his voice to create the accompaniment with the help of two computer programs (Bryant). The result is a lively and fun groove that is reminiscent