Archaic Machines (2022)

Instrumentation: concerto for baritone saxophone and wind ensemble

Difficulty: Grade 5

Duration: ca. 18'

Commissioned by: a consortium led by Dannel Espinoza and the University of Southern Mississippi Wind Ensemble, Catherine Rand, conductor

Movements: 

1. Madness in Any Direction

2. Midnite Trip

3. Corrupted Files from Galactical Planets

Program Note: 

Archaic Machines for baritone saxophone and wind ensemble was commissioned by a consortium led by Dannel Espinoza and the University of Southern Mississippi Wind Ensemble, conducted by Catherine Rand. Written from September 2021 to September 2022, it is a love letter from the composer to the instrument he played throughout high school. The three-movement concerto showcases the requisite technical and sonic capabilities of the baritone saxophone while also providing a work of considerable gravitas. The piece evokes moods as varied as joy, mystery, excitement, dread, romance, euphoria, and deep primal beauty throughout its eighteen-minute duration.

When asked about his inspiration for the composition, the composer said:

“The phrase ‘Archaic Machines’ popped into my head when I began working on the piece and it just seemed right. I enjoy the juxtaposition of that which is ancient with that which is contemporary/futuristic. Made of metal and screws and rods and patented in 1846, the saxophone is an archaic machine. Perhaps humans are archaic machines! My compositions aim for a style – and this one is no exception – that fuses older elements with newer styles, the shamanic and the sci-fi.”

The first movement, entitled “Madness in Any Direction,” takes its name (and spirit) from a passage in Hunter S. Thompson’s novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas:

My central memory of that time seems to hang on one or five or maybe forty nights — or very early mornings — when I left the Fillmore half-crazy and, instead of going home, aimed the big 650 Lightning across the Bay Bridge at a hundred miles an hour... but being absolutely certain that no matter which way I went I would come to a place where people were just as high and wild as I was: No doubt at all about that... There was madness in any direction, at any hour. If not across the Bay, then up the Golden Gate or down 101 to Los Altos or La Honda.... You could strike sparks anywhere. There was a fantastic universal sense that whatever we were doing was right, that we were winning....

This movement therefore combines crunchy harmonies, twelve-tone ideas, Latin jazz, tango, and funk rhythms into a non-stop opener.

Movement two, “Midnite Trip,” gives the listener respite from the preceding mania with a lush and soulful ballad. Inspirations can be heard here from French Impressionism and contemporary big band jazz to classic Hollywood movie scores. The arc of the movement is similar to that of a psychedelic experience, starting with the comfort of a gorgeous melody then spinning out into fantastic aural hallucinations. As if in a moment of epiphany, the original tune returns triumphantly and safety is assured.

The finale, “Corrupted Files from Galactical Planets,” is a quick and hectic experience, shorter in length than the previous two movements. The speed is cranked up and the harmonies are blues-tinged in this virtuosic tour de force. The composer confounds our expectations for a large instrument by displaying how nimble and graceful the baritone saxophone can be. Driving rhythms and heavy percussion are the hallmark of the movement, giving more fuel to the intensity of the machine.

– program note by Jeremy Valley

First Performances: Archaic Machines was premiered by Dannel Espinoza and the University of Southern Mississippi Wind Ensemble (conducted by Catherine Rand) on March 9, 2023. The same musicians gave an encore performance at the NASA Biennial Conference in Hattiesburg, Mississippi on April 1, 2023.

Score Download: Archaic Machines is only available to consortium members until August 2024

Purchase Parts: Archaic Machines is only available to consortium members until August 2024