A few words from George Shrapnell
Changing Minds Changing Times, was written for the Goldsmiths 2019 PureGold Festival, the university’s annual music festival, which showcases the talent and wide variety of music that its students explore, create, and enjoy. The quartet was written with “groove” in mind, hence the tempo marking ‘with drive, swagger, and energy’ – whilst also wanting to keep a lyrical tone in places. The resulting composition features an ABA form, with a strong, rhythmic, and percussive main theme, and a more lyrical yet heroic second theme before returning to the main riff with some polyphonic development of the theme nearer the end. The percussive nature of the piece is added to nearer the end with the finger snaps on the downbeat of each bar before the recapitulation of the main theme, almost imitating a rim shot or kick drum! The tempo marking, a steady crotchet = 100 should allow and enable the quartet to relax into this music, own it, and feel confident with a strong emphasis on the articulation and feel to be funky! The result should make for a punchy force especially on the accented tutti rhythmic parts.
George Shrapnell, 2020
This piece launches the Minimalist, Groove and Funk Series
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Scoring: soprano, alto, tenor baritone saxophones
Standard: moderate to advanced
Length: Approx 6.29′
(CSCP049)
