Lyrical Baritone Vol. 1

LYRICAL BARITONE is an open-ended project celebrating the baritone saxophone as a solo instrumental voice. Although historically, the baritone has served as a bass voice in wind, jazz, and chamber ensembles, on this recording, the individual pieces are borrowed from the flute, cello, and bassoon repertoires to showcase the solo possibilities of the baritone in concert music. Additional artistic goals for this project include developing lyricism, nuance, and refinement in the extended tenor register of the baritone saxophone (known as the altissimo register). The normal playing range of the baritone is approximately two-and-one-half-octaves, and the music on this album often ascends beyond that, peaking at three-and-one-half-octaves. Subsequent volumes of this project will continue to introduce arrangements and transcriptions, but will also feature newly commissioned works by a diverse range of compositional voices with the goal of augmenting the concert repertoire.

The five sonatas and three sets of variations for piano and cello by Beethoven stand as pinnacles of the chamber music repertoire. The Twelve Variations for Piano and Cello on “See, the conqu’ring hero comes!” from Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus, WoO 45 are among the first works composed by Beethoven for this medium. It was in Berlin during a European tour that he met and collaborated with Jean-Louis Duport, a fine amateur cellist and reportedly a favorite of King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia. It was this collaboration that resulted in the composition of Beethoven’s first two sonatas for piano and cello, op. 5, as well as the Twelve Variations for Piano and Cello.

Beethoven’s op. 102, no. 1 dates from his late period and was composed between his eighth and ninth symphonies and his late piano sonatas. This work is in two movements, and much like his A Major Sonata, op. 69, it begins with the cello alone (or in this case, the baritone saxophone). Both movements follow a slow-fast formula, and the slow introductions to these movements are marked by poignant and transcendent lyrical writing. The faster sections of the work’s two movements are defined by dotted rhythms and triumphant themes, though always preserving qualities of grace and charm.

The Sonata No. 1 in C Minor for Cello and Piano, op. 32 by Camille Saint-Saëns is a large-scale work in three movements that features virtuosic writing for the piano. The outer movements include dramatic and tragic themes whereas the middle movement is reminiscent of a chorale prelude. It has been documented that the second movement is based on an improvisation that Saint-Saëns performed on the organ at Saint-Augustin. The long lyrical lines throughout this movement project a sense of serenity in marked contrast to the material of the work’s outer movements. Throughout the Sonata, Saint-Saëns utilizes and highlights the cello’s low register to particular effect, often sustaining the instrument’s lowest note (a C) for long stretches at a time to capture the dark mood desired. The lowest note on the baritone saxophone is the same as the lowest note on the cello and that correlation allows the richness of the baritone to expressively sing in a manner perhaps unexpectedly similar to the cello’s own soloistic voice.

The Concertino for Flute and Piano, op. 107 by Cécile Chaminade and Harbinger of Sorrows by Caleb Burhans have been transcribed from the flute and bassoon repertoires, respectively. Whereas the Chaminade features long and lyrical pentatonic lines pitted against virtuosic playing in the baritone saxophone, Harbinger of Sorrows is more pensive; it unfolds slowly, and the solo lines express a sense of profound sadness.

We are happy to celebrate these remarkable compositions on this recording, and hope that it will inspire listeners to explore these transcriptions in their own performing and teaching. Unless otherwise noted, transcriptions and arrangements have been created by Adam Estes.

– Adam Estes