ONE FINAL GYRE (2014)
Soprano Saxophone and Tenor Saxophone
Duration ca. 6:30
PROGRAM NOTES
One Final Gyre is based on a poem I wrote in 2011:
where do pigeons go to die
do they flit off to the suburbs
away from the honking and rush
to leave life behind
as their ancestors did
quietly, amid trees and stumps
on a soft bed of leaves
or perhaps
they stretch their ancient wings
one last time
to perch on the highest rooftop
and die like they lived
with the best views
of the city they love
or
does death steal them away
in the night
unwitting
like a black shadow
robbing them
of any such dignity
The piece re-contextualizes the poem, imagining a May/December romance between two pigeons. Anyone who has spent time in New York City has seen pigeons diving and spiraling between skyscrapers, high above the streets and avenues. One Final Gyre attempts to evoke a pair of pigeons in love, swooping joyfully through city canyons for the last time.
Commissioned by Epoch Duo. Premiered at the Robeson Center for the Arts, Princeton, NJ (November 2014).
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