Extended Techniques in Jorge Peixinho's (1940-1995) Three Late Pieces for Saxophone: Sax-blue (1982-84), Passage Intérieur (1989), and Fantasia-Impromptu (1990)

Jorge Peixinho’s Sax-Blue (1982-84), Passage Intérieur (1989), and Fantasia-Impromptu (1990) demonstrate an expressive exploration of saxophone sound through extended techniques. Timbral exploration is an essential element of the composer’s “new and personal sound world.” These techniques create sound transformations that interact with the ensemble in creative and varied ways. In Sax-Blue, Peixinho worked closely with French saxophonist Daniel Kientzy. The various extended techniques, especially multiphonics derived from Kientzy’s Les Sons Multiples Aux Saxophones (1982) interact with jazz-inspired musical language and electronics to create layers of saxophone sound. Passage Intérieur was written for Kientzy and his Barocko ensemble. The composer also worked closely with Kientzy and Barocko in preparing this piece. Peixinho uses a wider variety of extended saxophone techniques in Passage Intérieur, this time derived from Kientzy’s Saxologie (1990). These techniques interact with electric guitar, electric bass, synthesizer and electric drums in various textures. Fantasia-Impromptu was written for Portuguese saxophonist José Massarrão and pianist Ana Mafalda. Peixinho and Massarrão worked closely, once again in consultation with Kientzy’s Saxologie, to curate the extended techniques for the piece. These techniques interact in a colourful and virtuosic conversation with the piano. The performance considerations of the extended saxophone techniques in Sax-Blue, Passage Intérieur and Fantasia-Impromptu are discussed. Interviews with key performance collaborators clarify the role the performer had in the creation and ongoing performance history of these idiomatic saxophone pieces. My interviews with Robert Aitken, António de Sousa Dias, Mario Falcão, Daniel Kientzy, José Machado, José Massarrão and Reina Portuondo inform my performance discussion. In addition, I created an edition of Sax-Blue that reconciles the differences between the various versions and the revision of the piece. This allows for the use of a single score in the study and performance of the piece. An introduction and theoretical analysis of all three pieces is presented and also informs the performance discussion.D.M.A