Mikel Kuehn - Works
Objet/Ombre (2008), for 12 saxophones and electroacoustics
(BGSU Saxophone Ensemble, Mikel Kuehn, conductor)
Program Note
Objet/Ombre, for 12 saxophones and electroacoustics, is one of several works of mine that explore the inherent resonance of the saxophones. The title, translated as Object/Shadow, hints at the interplay between traditional playing and extended performance techniques such as key noises and multiphonics (multiple sonorities or “chords”). The title also alludes to the relationship between the electroacoustics – all derived from the saxophone – and the ensemble. Concerning the work’s harmonic material, a series of related multiphonics is combined in a chained sequence over the duration of the piece, providing the background harmonic (spectral) structure for the ensemble and electroacoustics. At times these harmonic structures are heard in their purest form – as multiphonics in the texture – and, at other times, are manufactured within the ensemble as chords. The musical journey, however, is much more unpredictable, and oscillates between harmonic, melodic, and coloristic textures. Objet/Ombre, composed in 2007-08, was commissioned by Selmer France for Jean-Michel Goury and the Boulogne-Billancourt Saxophone Ensemble (Paris).
Objet/Ombre (2008) for 12 saxophones and electroacoustics