John D. McDonald

Alto Saxophone and Piano

Composer's Note:

When Philipp Stäudlin approached me with the idea of performing Schubert’s legendary song cycle Winterreise (Winter Journey) with the vocal part played by alto saxophone, I was intrigued. In summer 2007, Philipp and I tried out some of the songs; we were both enchanted by the results and the prospect of actually performing the cycle through the saxophone and without words became serious. I had also begun to respond to the endeavor in my own compositional way, devising (in spite of myself) small responses to elements that stood out to me in each song. I further realized that, much like Schubert’s trusted singer Johann Michael Vogl (1768-1840), Stäudlin had become a Winterreise muse, and I was in the process of conceiving my Schubertian responses with the saxophone in my ear. As a longtime vocal accompanist, I found myself in both familiar and magically different territory.

The resulting piece is intended to be performed either on its own or as a prelude to a saxophone (or voice) performance of the Schubert cycle. Like its formidable model, Stäudlin As Vogl: Preamble To A Winter Journey enters Wilhelm Müller’s bleak winter world of alienation and rejection, exploring its depths while taking cues from Schubert’s “garland of lugubrious songs” [Joseph Von Spaun] in which the main character descends ever deeper into depression and helplessness.

My work is cast in two movements corresponding to the two halves of the Schubert cycle; within each movement, the music moves from response to response without pause, commenting by the end on all of Schubert’s settings (and re-titling them). I hope the work stands on its own and/or suitably introduces future instrumental performances of the Schubert that take the lead from those I undertook with Philipp.

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Commissioned by the Massachusetts Music Teachers Association; Winning Work, Music Teachers National Association-Shepherd Distinguished Composer of the Year Award, 2007.