I. Capriccio
II. Cortege
III. Catastrophe
In the Fire of Images: Three Etudes (2002) for alto saxophone and piano was written for and is
dedicated to saxophonist Paul Wehage. The work was commissioned by Maurice and Amy
Katz. The title comes from a line in a poem by George Mackay Brown. The line provided the
inspiration for the extra-musical trajectory of the work.
The three movements are etudes that focus primarily on aspects of rhythm &ndash, particularly
asymmetrical rhythmic groupings contained within straightforward measure divisions. Within
the piano part, the use of ostinati plays a large role in the construction of each etude. Overall
rhythmic patterns and sequences are shared between the three etudes.
The first etude, Capriccio, presents an ostinato pattern in the piano based on a series of pitch
sets. The saxophone explores this material over the top of the ostinato in a variety of lyric
gestures.
The second etude, Cortege, explores ideas of additive, augmenting, and transforming melody. A
series of descending chords in the piano provides a harmonic support to the saxophone's very
long-breathed melodies.
The third etude, Catastrophe, has the feeling of "something gone terribly wrong." An optimistic
and lively melody is presented in the beginning only to give way quickly to feelings of great
unrest &ndash, chords do not change at their expected time, and the saxophone ends up in severe
rhythmic displacement. A brief and rhythmically crazed cadenza leads to the conclusion. The
original music attempts to be recalled, fails, and an enigmatic and hammered coda brings the
movement to an unsettling close.