Chamber Music Piano, alto
Saxophone
SKU:
PR.114419850
Composed
by Stacy Garrop. Sws. See
lengthy program note on
prefatory page. Set of
Score and Parts. 44+24
pages. Duration 23
minutes. Theodore Presser
Company #114-41985.
Published by Theodore
Presser Company
(PR.114419850).
ISBN
9781491135808. UPC:
680160681044. 9 x 12
inches.
Both a
spectacular concerto for
saxophone, and a dramatic
tone poem on Roman
mythology, QUICKSILVER is
a 23-minute concerto for
Alto Saxophone and Wind
Ensemble by one of the
sax literature’s
most commissioned and
admired composers.Through
worded captions as well
as gorgeously expressive
tone painting, Movement 1
depicts the birth and
childhood pranks of
Mercury, Movement 2 shows
him escorting souls to
the gates of the
Underworld, and Movement
3 is a phantasmagoric
finale portraying Mercury
as messenger amid the
conflicts of other
mythological figures.
There are many YouTube
performances available,
both in the original
version with Wind
Ensemble, and with
Piano.
In addition to
being another name for
the element mercury,
“quicksilverâ€
is used to describe
something that changes
quickly or is difficult
to contain. My concerto
of the same name was
inspired by the Roman god
Mercury, as well as the
mercurial nature of the
saxophone: unpredictable,
very lively, and
volatile. Mercury (known
as Hermes in Greek
mythology) is best known
for his winged shoes,
which allowed him to fly
swiftly as the messenger
of his fellow Olympians.
Mercury had other duties
too, including serving as
the god of merchants,
travelers, and
tricksters; he also
ushered souls of the
departed to the
Underworld.Quicksilver
tells three tales of the
Roman god. The first
movement (Antics of a
Newborn God) opens with
the birth of Mercury;
after he takes his first
steps, he toddles around,
gleefully looking for
mischief. He stumbles
across a herd of cows
that belong to his
brother Apollo; Mercury
slyly lets the cows out
of their pen before
toddling onward with his
mischief-making.In the
second movement (Guiding
Souls to the Underworld),
Pluto, god of the
Underworld, bids Mercury
to bring him fresh souls.
The movement begins with
death-knells tolling for
humans who are about to
die; Mercury picks up
these souls and leads
them down to the gates of
the Underworld.The third
and final movement
(Messenger of Olympus)
depicts Mercury as he is
busily running errands
for various gods and
goddesses. We first
encounter him mid-flight
as he dashes to earth to
find Aeneas, a Trojan
lieutenant who had been
run out of Troy by the
invading Greeks. Aeneas
is on a quest to find
land on which to
establish a new city that
would eventually become
Rome. While traveling, he
is distracted from his
quest when he meets the
beautiful queen Dido.
They live together for
many years before Mercury
intervenes; he chastises
Aeneas for giving up on
his quest and persuades
him to pick it up again.
As Aeneas mournfully
resumes his journey, we
hear Dido perish of a
broken heart. Mercury
then takes to the skies
to seek out Perseus, who
is preparing to kill
Medusa, the hideous
gorgon who has snakes for
hair and a gaze that
turns those who catch her
glance into stone.
Mercury advises Perseus
on how to slay Medusa and
lends Perseus his sword
to do the deed. We hear
Perseus victorious in the
beheading of Medusa,
after which Mercury takes
to the skies once more to
fly home to Olympus.
