Little Mass No. 2

Little Mass No. 2 is the second piece of a composition cycle I intend to realise. The most striking characteristic of these pieces is that although they are composed for small ensemble, they try to highlight sound mass as a primary textural feature. This is the driving force behind some choices I made in this piece, particularly with respect to dynamics and register.

Regarding the first of these parameters, the instruments rarely play in the same dynamic level at the same time. This happens precisely because we need a very equal dynamic balance in order to produce sound mass, but the three instruments used in the piece vary in terms of absolute dynamic level. A typical dynamic combination used extensively throughout the composition is the following:

Saxophone: pp, Accordion: mp, Cello: mp

The other parameter refers to the choice to have the instruments play in the same register. This creates a dizzying sound in which the individual lines become “meaningless as individual events” and are “subordinate to the total aural effect”; resulting in the desired sound mass.

The Little Mass No. 2 for tenor saxophone, accordion and cello was written specifically for the 2016 MIXTUR festival in Barcelona and is dedicated to the ensemble Regards.