Sonata for Baritone Saxophone and Piano

Timing: 20+

Extended Program Note

Sonata, for Baritone Saxophone and Piano

By Jacob Bickham

l. Le Cœur Reste Là-Bas (“The Heart Stays Back There”), opens with a jaunty old jazz-inspired theme. It's a bit cheesy, but it represents what I love so much about where I’m from. This playful melody quickly fades away and a lyrical, romantic voice sings. Tinged with sorrow—symbolizing the incredibly complex baggage of emotion that came with me leaving my home and family behind. The saxophone begins to soar, singing with tender lyricism, and then closes in a gentle reflection.

III. Un Colombe sur des Chênes Loin La-Bas (“A Dove on Distant Oaks”), begins with a meditative piano cadenza and unfolds into a hymn-like melody inspired by Psalm 56. Here, the saxophone and piano share moments of spell-binding melodies, serene phrases, and soulful expression. A sultry but gentle cadenza leads into a recapitulation of the opening hymn, now enriched only for a short while with a bit of restraint and shorter bursts of melody. The piece features a kind of coda that is fiery and tear-inducing to me. In the process of this movement's creation, I was humbled, and gently reminded that everything of this world is fleeting, beautiful! but fleeting. This movement carries a part of my spirit, more than my other works. 

II. Le Feu du Bayou (“Fire of the Bayou”), This movement is a statement of fierce pride and love for Louisiana. It draws from many straws, from the pianist qualities of a Rachmaninoff Prelude to the energy of a Second Line Brass Band, it's filled with groove, exuberance, and specifically at the end, pyrotechnic virtuosity. The pull of my “classical” inspiration barges in between phrases, textures and styles fighting to be heard over each other, in the process they begin mixing. Near the end tunes flicker through the dense texture, giving honor to my roots just one last time, a fiery ending symbolizes that my heritage is most definitely not going away.

Taken together, the sonata is a love letter to my Family and Louisiana, covered in dried tears with the bitter but refreshing acceptance that while it’s no longer my home, its roots still remain a part of me.

-J.P.B.