for alto saxophone,audio/video clips and Max/MSPproduction, direction, music, software, A/V post production Bob Pritchard cinematography Cathryn Robertson
Strength is a convergence of the metallic and the human, the durable and the impermanent, combined in the aural and visual domains. Throughout the piece the saxophone’s sound prepares us for – and then comments on and unites – the male body images and the sounds of unseen machinery. Like most of my work it is a commentary on life and death, love and loss, and/or loss and discovery. In Strength this is represented by glimpses of images contrasted with multiple slow motion pans, and by the instrumental sound contrasted with sound files and processing. While the ending of this work is introspective, I consider this to be a positive piece, a reflection on life, beauty, and knowledge.
This work supported in part by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Grant # 848-2003-0147, and the UBC ISIT Fund (2001). It was written for and premiered by Julia Nolan at the 2006 World Saxophone Congress in Ljubljana, Slovenia. It received a 2006 Unique Award Of Merit from the Canadian Society for Cinematography.
