The composer workshops took place on Wednesday and Thursday of the concert week. This is not ideal, but it was the only option available. It would have been a dream to have two or even three rehearsals with the composer but unfortunately, we were so pressed for time. They proved to be incredibly insightful in the process and gave us an extra boost of confidence before the concert the next day. I will include reflections on the workshops below along with timestamps to pinpoint what we are talking about, changes made, or interpretational advice provided by the composer. Please listen to videos with headphones.
Seung-Ree and I had two rehearsals each day from Monday to Thursday of the week of the performance, with a small run-through on Friday morning (concert day). All the rehearsals - except one - took place in Stellenbosch. We had one workshop rehearsal in Parow, Cape Town.
The rehearsals had a morning session and an afternoon session. We began with Arthur's piece as it had the most ensemble work of all four pieces. Then we looked at the works for tenor saxophone and then Owen's work. I rehearsed Clare's piece alone. We decided to also include the work Phambili: Ingoma ya Nogomso by Karl Lobi for the concert programme.
One of the most difficult aspects of the rehearsals was that there was nothing to reference ourselves to. We were the first interpreters of these works. Sometimes we did not know if we were wrong - or where we went wrong. This became quite frustrating in the process and instilled some panic in us. We planned to have a composer's workshop on Wednesday and Thursday that week.
I then suggested that we also workshop the piece with the saxophone professor at Stellenbosch University, Liam Burden. This was incredibly helpful because he helped guide us through the problematic sections that just were not working. We should have perhaps organised an extra session, but time was not kind to us.
Below I have included a few snippets of our rehearsals:
The concert took place at a beautiful and intimate space in the heart of Rondebosch in Cape Town: Erin Hall. The concert was attended by a small audience of friends, musicians, previous teachers of mine and strangers.
I began the concert with a small interlude:
Hi there
Welcome to my concert and thank you to everyone for being here. All the works that you will hear tonight are new commissions and most are a product of performer-composer collaboration. I’m currently studying in The Hague and this project forms part of my research both artistically and academically. One of the most difficult times in my life both personally and musically was moving abroad. I missed the cultures, the landscapes, my people and community. And I felt I had lost a sense of my identity, especially as a musician. I no longer had defined ideas of who I was and felt so foreign. I decided to call this concert Finding Home because in a sense it was a coping mechanism for me when I was abroad trying to navigate my new life while feeling terribly homesick and lost. I would just like to say thank you to each of the composers for making this concert a possibility and for dedicating their time and craft to working with me. I have always dreamed about putting a concert like this together. I am passionate about my country and the classical saxophone, so I hope through these works I have somehow contributed to the classical saxophone in a South African context. I would just like to say that it’s important to remember that this is a collaborative project and it’s something completely new for me to do and has been quite daunting. So, there were a lot of learning curves. Thank you to Seung for helping me interpret these works and being so willing to be a part of this project :)
The concert was approximately 50 minutes in length and ended just before load-shedding struck.
It felt great to play on African soil after so long.
My Reflections on the performance
The concert received positive feedback and I felt it was a success, although not everything went according to plan. The imperfections of the performance were disappointing to me as I felt our interpretations were not accurate enough. However, I think this can be attributed to a number of factors that I will reflect on below. As a result of playing new music that we had rehearsed under difficult circumstances and time restraints; I believe that these imperfections added to the authenticity of the collaboration.
As previously mentioned, this was a huge learning experience. Having no experience organising a concert prior, I had to learn by trial and error. There was a lot of planning such as booking the venue, organising the ticket sales, rehearsals, equipment, hiring the recording equipment, and hiring my friend to record for us, the wine (cannot have a concert with no wine in the cape winelands), gifts for the composers and Seung as well as the programme notes. This concert was in Cape Town and not where I was based over those two weeks. I therefore also had to organise transport to the venue. There was so much logistical planning which was difficult to do on top of the rehearsals and being involved with the art itself.
A week before I almost cancelled the concert. I just felt really overwhelmed as I had not had enough time to prepare the work before coming to South Africa. I think Seung also felt the same as she was involved in a project in the weeks prior to use rehearsing. It was also complicated because my family is not based in Cape Town or Stellenbosch - they live 800km away, so I had to improvise quite a bit: My accommodation also fell through the day before the concert which was incredibly stressful but a friend helped me with this. As mentioned before, we overestimated the time we had to rehearse as the festival was more demanding than we had previously anticipated. With the plight of loadshedding too, our rehearsal time was cut in half. This was quite terrifying.
If I had to do this concert again, I would have a better planning system for Seung and I. I think only working with each other as an ensemble a week before the time is nowhere near the amount of preparation that we should have done.
A few of the pieces were also sent to use quite late, therefore we had to learn them very quickly. They had rhythms and compositional aspects that were difficult to interpret. We definitely needed to have more workshops with the composers. These composer workshops were great - and we definitely needed them before the final concert. The one work we did not rehearse with the composer was Phambili: Ingoma ya Ngomso by Karl Lobi which actually fell apart in the concert. I felt terribly guilty for this, and this still haunts me today. Lobi had written the work after he saw my call for scores. I will make amends through recording this work again and not without a composer workshop with Lobi.
Time really was our biggest enemy in this project. It was a stressful but greatly fulfilling experience. I do not feel complete with this project until I get recordings that I am happy with - Seung and I are planning to record these again in the near future. I would also like to create an album featuring South African compositions. This is were we will have a chance to really perform these pieces to their true potential.
Introduction
I contacted Seung-Ree at the end of 2022 proposing the idea to showcase the works that were being created from my performer-composer journey. At that time, I only had two finished works (Loveday and Feder) and the rest were still being composed. I informed her that these works would be ready a month (or less) before the concert. I sent her all the scores in advance with the last score being sent two weeks before the concert. After Seung-Ree agreed to collaborate with me, I booked a venue in Cape Town. It was official: the concert would happen on the 14th of July 2023.
Collaborative Process
From the beginning of this process, I felt the odds were stacked against us. I landed in Cape Town from Amsterdam two weeks before our concert. During this time, both Seung-Ree and I were taking part in the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival. We planned that we would do several rehearsals between events at the festival, and we would have more focused rehearsals in the week leading up to the concert. It proved to be rather tricky trying to organise these rehearsals while the festival was taking place. We overestimated the amount of time we had. This was exacerbated by load-shedding. Load-shedding is a plight on South African society caused by the energy company Eskom - the sole provider of electricity in South Africa. Each day there are widespread national blackouts for several hours of the day. There was even an app developed to inform South Africans of the load-shedding schedule called "Eskom se Push" which we constantly used to try and plan our rehearsals. These blackouts greatly impacted our rehearsals. We could not rehearse at the conservatory during these times in the evening. In the week of the performance, the load-shedding schedule moved from stage 2 to stage 6 without warning. There were blackouts for over six hours during the day, which created complications leading up to the concert. I also had to check beforehand if the concert venue had a generator. If not: I would have to make arrangements such as buying candles, battery-powered lights, stand lights or even changing the time of the concert.
It was also an experience to map out learning new works that had not been premiered before. It also proved to be difficult to prepare the works when Seung-Ree and I were on opposite sides of the planet. It was a huge learning experience for both of us.
Please click here to view the full video of the performance. Timestamps are as follows:
- Turbulence by Owen Dalton 2:10 - 8:27
- Uzovukua Nini?: When will you wake up? by Allan X. Chen 09:08-14:25
- 8 Minute Saxophone by Clare Loveday 1 19:40-27:42
- 3 Nocturnes from Africa by Arthur Feder 28:10-end
Seung-Ree Lee's Reflection
I decided to ask Seung-Ree a series of questions regarding our collaboration together.
1. How would you describe the collaboration process working with me?
The collaboration process involved a very close collaboration and communication with Josie. We organised rehearsals to go through the newly written works by South African composers. During the rehearsals, it involved discussions and reflections to ensure that the parts for the two instruments complemented each other. We also had sessions with composers to ensure that our interpretations were correctly understood and met the composers’ intentions.
2. Overall, what pieces worked and what didn’t? Elaborate further on why they did or
did not or factors that may have influenced this.
Overall, the artistic interpretations on all compositions worked. One of the indicators can be the
audience’s response after the performance which we received positive feedback. Most of the works allowed the collaboration between the two instruments and highlighted the musical chemistry. While, on the other hand, Phambili: by Karl Lobi, seemed more of an underlying accompaniment in the piano part and lacked effective communication and synchronisation of the performance. What could have also led to this, was that this was the only composition that did not have sessions with the composer.
3. Regarding the scores – what worked or didn’t work in the score? In terms of playing
possibility and if it was idiomatically written for piano? Were there changes made?
Some works were technically challenging especially the third movement of Three Nocturnes from
Africa by Arthur Feder, Uzovuka Nini? by Allan Chen, and Phambili: by Karl Lobi.
During the composer’s sessions [workshops], these technical factors were considered, and slight changes were made:
- Three Nocturnes from Africa by Arthur Feder: Most of the changes occurred in the third
movement. The motives that appear from bar 137 required constant shifts to an octave at a
fast speed which led to strenuous playing. The octaves were instead played as single notes in
the higher note of the octave.
- Uzovuka Nini? by Allan Chen: the piano part is comprised of complex rhythms that were
particularly challenging if it needed to be exact. It was performed more as to give effects and
intentions.
4. Do you think the composer’s workshops had an impact on the final
performance/collaborative process? And why?
The composer’s workshops had a massive impact on the final performance and collaborative
process. Since all the music were newly written, the composers also heard their music being played real-life. The workshops acted as a platform for both the composers and performers to discuss and comment the music. The composers were also very much open for suggestions given by the performers. It also gave performers more of an idea of what the composer’s intentions were as there were no other renditions of these compositions.
5. What was your overall impression of the final performance in terms of presenting the
artistic product?
The final performance showcased the unique South African works for saxophone and piano, creating a captivating and culturally enriching experience for the audience.
6. Do you have any suggestions on improving the collaborative process for future
projects both with me and the composers?
The only suggestion I could give is organising workshops with audiences to engage in discussions.
7. Do you have any suggestions on what we could have done differently in the
preparation rehearsals?
No, the rehearsals were scheduled to suit our time and to be prepared as best we could for the
rehearsals.
8. Do you think the concert was well received?
The concert was very well received as the audience was incredibly pleased by the performance. The order of the concert programme was also well-arranged which complemented pieces in terms of style, mood, and structure.
9. What is your view of South African art music in the country? Is it often programmed
and performed? And would you say it has a particular identity? Can it be boxed into a
genre?
South African art music in the country has always been there, however, it has often been underrepresented. But in recent years, there has been an increase in recognition and inclusion. There are various institutions and competitions that include and allow South African compositions to be performed. The multicultural and historical background of South Africa naturally allows the uniqueness of South African art music with the blending elements of Western classical tradition --
this fusion creates a distinctive musical identity. I would not say that South African art music can be easily boxed into a single genre.
To view this video, click here
|
Table of Findings |
|||
|
Case Study 1: Turbulence By Owen Dalton |
Case Study 2: Uzovuka Nini: When will you wake up By Allan X. Chen |
Case Study 3: 3 Nocturnes from Africa |
Case Study 4: 8 Minute Saxophone By Clare Loveday |
|
-Rhythm is a central feature of this work
-The interplay between piano and saxophone is extensive
-The creation of moods and colours are sudden and flow Some sections were difficult to put together, but that was as a result of the ensemble
-Some technical difficulties in fast movement to altissimo runs - but with the right fingerings… anything is possible. |
-Interesting sound ideas: bisbigliando, growls, harmonic gliss
-South African Jazz fusion - Hugh Masekela's Chileshe reference
-Extensive use of multiphonics
-Difficult to put together as an ensemble initially
-Improvised feel
-Material from the collaborative process was used extensively
- Multiphonics create space and texture
|
-A variety of influences Indian konnakol music, Latin, Jazz fusion, African rhythms
-Extensive dialogue between saxophone and piano, especially the third movement
-Some difficulties in the piano part - especially the third movement
-Difficult to put together as an ensemble if there is uncertainty - therefore it is imperative for both players to know the score well
-Programmatic to an extent with each movement being based on an African folktale.
-The first movement proved very tricky to get together as an ensemble
-Rhythm is huge in this work
-Altissimo register present and integrated into faster passages
-Slap tonguing
-Multiphonics
-Freedom of interpretation
-Three varying movements creating very different sonic atmospheres and moods
-Fun to play - although can be challenging at times
|
-Work introduces the idea and motifs of the piece in the beginning and the piece developed around this
-Fast, moving passages.
-Altissimo register incorporated into the passages
--The same melodic ideas developed and revisited
|
|
-Collaboration at a distance
-Open dialogue
-One online meeting
-Workshops adjusting the score as well as giving insight into ways of improving the score.
-Trust played a huge role in this collaboration
-Our friendship led to Owen writing something that resembled my playing style
|
-Extensive collaboration
-Continuous, open dialogue
-Multiple online meetings
-Workshops adjusting the score as well as giving insight into ways of improving the score.
-Consistent back-back and forth exchange of information |
-Collaboration at a distance
-Open dialogue
-Open to any changes or suggestions
-Multiple online meetings
-Workshops adjusting the score as well as giving insight into ways of improving the score.
-Back-back and forth exchange of information
-Correspondence via email and whatsApp
-Being taught by Arthur for many years influenced this commission as he knew me and my playing well |
-Collaboration at a distance
-Open dialogue
- Several meetings and email correspondence
- Open to changes
- Feedback on recordings |
|
-Initial rehearsals were straightforward in some sections and in other more rhythmical ones Seung-Ree and I needed to work on these extensively.
-Secondary rehearsals had more flow in the ensemble, but some of the rhythmical sections and the coda proved to still catch us. |
-Initial rehearsals were confusing in terms of understanding the ensemble.
-It was discovered that the piano part was devilishly difficult technically and rhythmically in certain parts of the piece.
-Secondary rehearsals had more flow in the ensemble |
-Initial rehearsals were confusing in terms of understanding the ensemble: the first movement was the most difficult to put together
-The piano part was quite challenging - especially in the third movement.
-Began looking at the first and second movement before the third. In the second rehearsal, we started the third movement |
-Initial rehearsals were straightforward but it was difficult in terms of interpretation
|
|
-Helped clarify the piece.
-Owen expressed the need to understand how the rhythm is used in the piece and expressed the importance of knowing the score.
-Worked on how we could align the piano and saxophone parts more musically for the performance.
-Received interpretational advice from the composer. |
-Helped clarify the piece.
-Gave us as performers a sense of confidence that we had to some degree envisioned what the composer wanted. Initially, this was our weakest piece in terms of interpretation but after Allan’s input, it became one of our strongest pieces.
-Worked on how we could align the piano and saxophone parts more musically for the performance.
-Received interpretational advice from the composer. |
-Helped clarify the piece
-Made changes in the piano part
-Fixed rhythmic issues that we were unaware as an ensemble
-Got valuable insight from the composer regarding his intentions for the piece
-Had a renewed sense of confidence after the workshop
- all the issues we were not sure about were resolved and our interpretation seemed more rock solid. |
-Helped clarify the piece.
-Gave me a sense of confidence as I was not sure if the way in which I was playing was convincing enough
-Received interpretational advice from the composer. |
|
-Well-received, convincing performance
-Rhythmic issues persisted
-The composer seemed happy with the performance even though it was not perfect |
-Well-received, convincing performance
-Timing issues between piano and saxophone
-Some multiphonics did not speak |
-Well-received, convincing performance
-Rhythmic issues between piano and saxophone especially in the first and third movement
-Nerves in some problematic area places led me to making mistakes
-Most multiphonics worked in the second movement
-Rushed some parts
-Felt it was a convincing performance considering some of the preparation issues |
- Well-received performance
- Made mistakes owing to nerves
-Overall convincing |
|
-The individual learning of the piece could have been executed better
-More extensive work between the ensemble in trying to align the parts or changing the score by implying that it is more of an improvised feeling rather than trying to align the piano and saxophone parts. It worked well in the performance.
-Having another “workshopping rehearsal” with the composer |
-More extensive work between the ensemble in trying to align the parts or changing the score by implying that it is more of an improvised feeling rather than trying to align the piano and saxophone parts. It worked well in the performance.
-Having another “workshopping rehearsal” with the composer |
-More solid preparation in terms of mapping out all the tempos as well as fixing rhythmic errors
-Perhaps making a click track for some of the tricky transitions and time signature changes
-More rehearsal time was needed
-Having another “workshopping rehearsal” with the composer |
-More extensive work between the ensemble in trying to align the parts or changing the score by implying that it is more of an improvised feeling rather than trying to align the piano and saxophone parts. It worked well in the performance.
-Having another “workshopping rehearsal” with the composer would have benefitted. |
|
-Rhythm
-Harmony
-Programmatic: Story through movements
|
-South African jazz influence: Hugh Masekela
-Rhythm
-Compositional techniques and experimentation |
-South African influences and influences from around the world: Latin jazz, Cape jazz and Indian Classical Music
-Programmatic
-Rhythm |
-Dualism
-Space
-Rhythm
|
|
-Yes
-"The work is South African, but mostly in the sense that it was written by someone who is from South Africa, but I didn't actively try to use strictly South African ideas or inspirations. The work is based on a morse-code rhythm of your name and harmonically based on the choral work of a 20th-century Russian composer, of which neither are inherently South African (Owen Dalton, 2024)" |
-No
-"It does make use of a tune composed by a South African for a South context, but not only for South Africans. But I don't think that makes it a South African piece or art music. (Allan X. Chen)"
|
-Yes
-"The narrative inspiration is from African folklore, and I am born, live, work in, and teach in South Africa (Arthur Feder, 2024)" |
-Yes
-"It was written in South Africa. It is art music. So, it must be South African art music? (Clare Loveday, 2024)" |
Rehearsal on Uzovuka Nini?: When will you Wake Up
The strange camera angle is attributed to load shedding - I was not able to charge my laptop so I had to move it to where it could reach the power.
Frustration felt when trying to work out the rhythmic aspects in the ensemble
3 Nocturnes from Africa by Arthur Feder movement 1
The composer workshop proved to be an incredibly difficult feat to initiate owing to load-shedding. We scheduled a meeting in the afternoon (a day before the concert), and I had preplanned this to fit both of our load shedding schedules. As luck would have it, Eskom enforced Stage 6 load shedding (from Stage 2) without warning. This meant we were plunged into 6 hours of a blackout from the original 1.5-2-hour slots to which we had been acquainted. Therefore, this led to the cancellation of our pre-planned Zoom workshop as there was no WiFi and limited battery on my antiquated laptop. This was greatly disappointing and made me feel slightly panicked as I wanted to receive some feedback from Loveday before the anticipated performance. Therefore, I turned to Plan-B: I decided to make a video recording and send it to her for feedback.
Clare's response to the video was the following:
"I love what you're doing with this piece and, in retrospect, am glad that there was a delay in premiering it. It feels to me SO much more mature and settled. The only thing I can add is to keep in mind the overall architecture of the piece, from the loud and thumping (don't be shy to thump) at the start to soft and wispy at the end. The whole piece is structured around that, as you've probably already figured out, so pay more attention to it. Don't be afraid to make some of the accents really ugly - like bar 43. Slam it out. There are some pivot accents, if that makes sense, that could blow an eardrum or two.
Similarly, the wispy bit needs to be extra-floaty, whimsical, almost transparent. It's all about character, the character of the saxophone, which can be so extremely and startlingly different in the sounds it creates. It is the most magical instrument.
Go for it, Josie. Sprinkle the sparkles. Don't be shy."
Reflecting on this particular workshop, I remember feeling unfocused. We had been rehearsing another piece before this, and we did not have time to refresh Turbulence. Therefore, presenting this to the composer also felt slightly stressful.
6:20 I give my thoughts on how the piece went. I stated that the pulse kept shifting and we were not stable as an ensemble yet. I also asked if we were applying the tempos correctly.
6:32 Owen said our tempo was okay but that the tempo at the end should be taken faster.
6:42 "Don't take it too fast if it's going to fall apart"
6:57 Owen remarked that I took it too fast at bar 126 and when we reached the triplets we fell apart.
7:22 Suggested we do the sections very slowly.
7:26 Suggested that I leave out the trills to make it easier.
7:39 Owen said the biggest issue was making sure that we were together.
7:55 "Sounds much better than the MIDI."
08:03 Suggested that Seung-Ree make her part much softer at bar 73. Seung suggested adding a soft pedal.
08:50 Discussed the accelrando section. Owen asked us if it was okay how he had written it. He admitted that it is difficult to correlate that.
09:20 Owen said that he initially thought of using multiphonics here instead of the altissimo register
09:41 I suggested taking the erratic coda section (bar 141) at a slower tempo. It sounds erratic enough with the intervals. Owen agreed that a slower tempo would work.
10:05 He emphasised that the most important part is the rhythms being together as an ensemble for this piece to work.
11:20 Owen: "I, mean. I am happy". We were happy that he was happy.
00:00 Begin playing piece for Allan
04:12 Finished the piece. Receive feedback from Allan
04:15 Begin workshopping the opening section
12:33 Discussing smorzando pulsations
17:23 Discussing breathing and phrasing
23:08 Allan working with Seung-Ree on piano part
33:36 Discussing the use of pedal
38:08 Workshopping the piano part
00:16 Arthur gives us a valuable tip regarding the konnakol rhythms. He said that every time the saxophone restarts the pitch pattern, Seung-Ree has a chord.
00:50 Begin playing.
05:45 End playing
06:33 Arthur discusses the Latin sections with Seung and I
07:22 Tells us to put a slight ritardando on 81
07:47 Play from bar 77 implementing this newly suggested tempo
08:25 Arthur tells us to make an even larger, more exaggerated ritardando
08:58 Arthur tells us to bring the tempo back in all the Latin sections
09:39 Arthur gives more insight into the konnakol rhythms
00:00 Begin playing
03:27 Finish playing
03:28 Arthur tells Seung not to lift the pedal. He explains that adding the pedal creates a suspended, ethereal effect that correlates with the African folktale. Marimba is a ghostly entity that sings and brings music to Africa for the first time.
03:59 Arthur said that if the multiphonic doesn't speak it adds to the effect of ghostliness. In his words: "It's there but it's not there."
04:15 Arthur suggests that we take more time in general. It's not strict - it's more like reacting on one another.
05:08 I said that I battled to pitch the alternating multiphonics - Arthur said that it's actually meant to sound unstable like those multiphonics
05:13 I demonstrate how I am trying to make the bisbigliando sound to Arthur. We discussed how to pitch it as well as making sure we took our time. There must be a sense of calmness and sustain which is achieved through the use of a pedal.
00:00 Arthur and Seung-Ree immediately began discussing the technical issues in the piano part in the first movement. Arthur suggested that Seung leaves out the triplets. Seung explains the technical difficulties to Arthur in the third movement and that she will leave out notes to make it more playable. Arthur says that its perfectly fine.
01:10 Arthur: "I am very open to making changes."
01:29 Begin playing.
02:27 Arthur stops us and tells me that I am holding the long notes too long at bar 19.
03:00 We pick up at bar 18
05:14 We finish playing.
05:25 Arthur tells us that we can take the tempo slower if we want.
05:26 He mentions that we initially took the piece slower and that we should stick to that tempo. It was a good tempo.
05:45 Arthur suggests that in 73 he suggests I cut the note shorter for breathing purposes.
06:03 Suggests that I can just fade the long notes out and I do not have to sustain them for the full value.
