sounds of silence
op. 109, 2025
I. call
II. defiant
III. longing
IV. scream
V. liberation
VI. religious
VII. farewell
seven miniatures for tenor saxophone
Duration: 10 min.
Composition commissioned by the saxophonist Anna-Marie Schäfer
World premiere on July 14, 2025, in the Concert Hall of the University of Music
and Performing Arts Munich
Soloist: Anna-Marie Schäfer
Composers note
sounds of silence is a commissioned composition by saxophonist Anna-Marie Schäfer, for whom the work is also dedicated. The piece was inspired by a longing for togetherness – the shared listening, observing, and sensing of those moments that exist “between the lines.”
Silence is not necessarily the same as stillness, and stillness does not always mean silence. This simultaneously paradoxical and inviting state of perception is what I sought to describe in seven miniatures. The titles of the individual
miniatures – call, defiant, longing, scream, liberation, religious, farewell – reflect the emotional stages in the narrative development of the composition.
The various moods, tone colors, phrases, pauses, rhythms, and melodies of all seven pieces are meant to create a coherent atmosphere together – and in doing so, they form the dramaturgical concept of sounds of silence. The pauses between the seven pieces are intended to be equally short, in order to keep the musical tension unbroken.
The first miniature, call, marks the beginning of the process. It is a call shaped by intense repetitions of the theme – each time slightly altered, each time more intense. Even when a musical thought interrupts briefly, the call returns and is sounded again. The second miniature, defiant / trotzig, is strongly shaped by a rhythmic theme that should be performed with powerful sonic persistence. Initially loud – as if heard from very close by – the motif becomes
quieter with each repetition, as if the listener were gradually being led to a different soundscape. There begins the third miniature, longing, which is characterized by a percussive yet sensitive quality. Each puls seems to express a very specific longing – the desire to produce a tone while exhaling, as part of a larger melody that slowly takes shape and unfolds by the end of the piece.
As an echo of the third miniature, scream, follows – the first of the three shorter middle movements. New sonic textures emerge, seemingly interwoven – like an exhalation of noise, tones, and breath – expressing moments of quiet intensity and glowing stillness. Liberation, the fifth piece and second short miniature, carries the character of a loud, inwardly strong musical statement.
The sixth piece and third short miniatur, religious, through its long, very delicately played tones, seems to unfold in slow motion – as if a sonic fabric is being woven that carries and amplifies the resonance of inner thoughts.
The seventh miniature, farewell, is interpreted with a very soft, flexible tone – as if the melody that was long sought to find inner calm has finally been discovered. It is as if a reconciliation has taken place – the conclusion of this composition sounds like a lullaby to oneself.