Jaźwinski, Barbara (1950- )
Blue Tango (7:54) 1999, revised 2020 Publisher: American Composers Edition
Instrumentation: oboe, clarinet, tenor saxophone, bassoon
The work was commissioned by the Quatour Francis Poulenc and premiered in New Orleans in 2000. Although the tango qualities implied in the title are not always clearly evident in the music, a tango mood is present at the beginning and the end. The composition starts with a mysterious tenor sax solo that is joined in turn by the other instruments, and leads to the above mentioned tango material. Throughout the whole work all the instruments perform syncopated jazz-like rhythms and rapid, chromatic, brilliant solo lines.
Technical requirements are advanced, while ensemble precision is complicated by the independence of the parts. All the instruments share in presenting melodic material, although it seems that the tenor sax has prevailing importance.
Grade: V-VI
Recordings: Musiques Suisses MGB CD 6213
Sheet music source: American Composers Alliance