1

A TEACHER’S GUIDE TO THE INTERPREATION

OF SELECTED MUSIC FOR SAXOPHONE

By Thomas Liley

SONATA FOR ALTO SAXOPHONE AND PIANO, OP. 19

PAUL CRESTON All rights reserved, Thomas Liley

Biography

Paul Creston (né Giuseppe Guttoveggio) was born in New York City on October 10, 1906, of Italian

immigrants. Entirely self-taught in composition, he did not decide upon a career in composition until

1932. An excellent pianist, he was also organist at St. Malachy's Church in New York from 1934 until

1967. Creston's keyboard performances displayed "not only enormous technical facility but also

incredible accuracy plus the ability to sightread almost anything at all."1 His marriage in 1927 to Louise

Gotto, who later became a pioneer Martha Graham dancer, is perhaps an important element in Creston's

great interest in rhythm. That same year he legally changed his name, using the nickname "Cris" as the

basis for Creston.

The composer of numerous works, including six symphonies, Creston was awarded a Guggenheim

Fellowship in 1938 and the New York Music Critics' Circle Award in 1941; "from that time he was

among the most widely performed American composers.”2 He was a member of the faculties of

Swarthmore College and the New York College of Music, was president of the National Association of

American Composers and Conductors from 1956 to 1960, a director of the American society of

Composers, Authors, and Publishers from 1960 to 1968, and composer-in-residence at Central

Washington State College from 1968 to 1975. Creston died in San Diego on August 24, 1985.

Rhythm is the principal characteristic of Creston's compositional style. "He usually uses several

rhythms together, and it is in the different relationships between them that unobtrusive but definite shifts

of tiny accents give constant rhythmic change.”3 Other notable characteristics of his music are full

harmonies, florid melodies, and formal clarity.4

It has been noted that Creston's earlier works do not contain standard Italian musical terms, but

substitute English equivalents. This has led to some confusion about Creston's intentions. For example,

does "increase gradually and regain original pace" (m. 79 of the first movement of the Sonata) mean

increase loudness gradually and resume the original tempo immediately? It has also led to the

supposition that Creston sought at that time to suppress his Italian background, a heritage which he was

later to acknowledge. His saxophone works, which extend from 1935 to 1978, give evidence of a

change from complete absence of Italian terms in the earlier works to full employment of them in latter

compositions. By 1948, Creston, in a letter to Henry Cowell, would say:

1 Cecil Leeson, "Remembering Paul Creston," Saxophone Journal vol. 11, no. 2 (Summer 1986); p. 34.

2 New Grove, p. 33.

3 Henry Cowell, "Paul Creston," Musical Quarterly 34

(1948): p. 537. 4 New Grove, p. 33.

2

I make no especial effort to be American: I conscientiously work to be my true self, which is

Italian by parentage, American by birth, and cosmopolitan by choice. 5

Creston wrote five compositions for saxophone:

Suite for Saxophone and Piano, op. 6 (Delaware Water Gap, PA: Templeton, 1935);

Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano, op. 19 (Delaware Water Gap, PA: Templeton, 1939);

Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra, op. 26 (New York: G. Schirmer, 1941);

Rapsodie for Alto Saxophone and Organ, op. 108 (Delaware Water Gap, PA: Shawnee, 1976);

and

Suite for Saxophone Quartet (Delaware water Gap, PA: Shawnee, 1978).

The Suite, op. 6, like the Sonata, was written for Cecil Leeson, who gave the premiere performance with

Creston in New York City on April 12, 1936. It is in three movements: Scherzoso, Pastorale, and

Toccata.

Although the Concerto was also written for Leeson, the first performance on January 27, 1944, was by

Vincent Abato and the New York Philharmonic, William Steinberg conducting. Also available in a

version with band by the composer, the Concerto consists of three movements, marked Energetic,

Meditative (containing a lengthy cadenza), and Rhythmic.

Creston's next work for saxophone was written in 1976, after an interval of thirty-five years, for French

saxophonist Jean-Marie Londiex. The Rapsodie, originally with organ, is also available with

accompaniment by piano, orchestra, or band. Londiex gave the first performance on July 29, 1976, at

the Fifth World Saxophone Congress in London.

Other than in his works for band, the Suite of 1978 is Creston's only use of the saxophone in ensemble.

It is in four movements and was given its first performance on June 30, 1979, by the Quatuor de

saxophones suisse at the Sixth World Saxophone Congress in Evanston, Illinois.

Compositional Background

Creston's Sonata is the result of his frequent collaboration as pianist with saxophonist Cecil Leeson,

including tours, recordings, and a Town Hall recital. According to Leeson, the composition of the

Sonata was considered a commission by both artists, even though no money was involved. 6

The first performance was given by Leeson and pianist Josef Wagner at Heidelberg College in Tiffin,

Ohio, on January 9, 1940, as part of a tour. Leeson and Wagner performed the work another seven

times before their return to New York. Creston considered the first New York performance to be its

5 Cowell, p. 538. 6 Leeson, p. 37.

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world premiêre, occurring on February 15, 1940, in the Carnegie Chamber Music Hall. The Sonata was

presented by Leeson and the composer in what was their last public performance together. 7

The Sonata has become one of the best-known compositions in the saxophone repertoire. It has

appeared on countless recitals, has been recorded several times, and has been cited by Marcel Mule as

one of the definitive works for saxophone and piano.8

Analysis

The three movements of op. 19 correspond to a typical plan of sonata-allegro, ternary, and rondo with

certain modifications of each: the first movement does not include the second theme in the

recapitulation; the contrasting middle portion of the second movement does not present new melodic

material; and the seven-part rondo (A-B-A-C-A-D-A) third movement presents three rather than the

usual two contrasting sections.

Creston has unified the sonata through key relationships. The first movement ends in the key of E major

to create a fifth relationship with the second movement in the key of A major, which is itself in a fifth

relationship with the third movement's tonality of D major.

The Sonata is characterized by the full texture of the piano part. Typically, intervals of a tenth in the left

hand are filled in while voices are further doubled in the right hand. The use of octaves in the piano may

be used to signal a new formal area, such as the B section of the second movement (mm. 23-24). A

rapid harmonic rhythm that often changes with every eighth-note contributes to the fullness of texture.

Sonorities are often some type of seventh chord, occasionally with a ninth; minor sevenths are common

in the first movement and major sevenths are more prevalent in the second and third movements.

First Movement

The opening movement, marked "With vigor [MM=126],” begins immediately with Theme I, which

may be read as E major with considerable use of the raised fourth scale degree, which could be

considered as E Lydian.

7 Leeson, p. 38 8 Eugene Rousseau, Marcel Mule: His Life and the Saxophone (Shell Lake, WI: Etoile, 1982): p. 108.

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The harmony is non-functional, with root motion by seconds and thirds. The first theme area is divided

into two four-measure phrases. The rhythm (m. 5) is expanded to (m. 7) for later

exploitation in the development. A transitional passage (m. 9) is imitative, first at the space of a

measure, then of a half-measure.

The second theme area (m. 13) provides a more definite sense of the tonic key of E major.

In this three-part section, the two outer parts are similar. They are united by an undulating sixteenth-

note pattern in the piano, which takes on added significance as the exposition's closing theme (m. 29).

Theme I material is the first to receive attention in the development (m. 36), especially the rhythmic

figure noted in mm. 5-7. Theme II, this time in the piano alone, is again used to establish the tonality, in

this instance D-flat major (m. 56). It occurs in a lower register than in the exposition, and the

accompanying sixteenth-note pattern is again prominent. The saxophone entrance at m. 65 is also in a

lower register than the previous material. The central tonality of E major is re-established at this point

and the accompanying sixteenth-note pattern becomes a sort of fore-imitation between the two

instruments. Rhythmic activity in the saxophone part gradually increases throughout the section from

eighth-notes (m. 65) to triplets (m. 72) to sixteenth-notes (m. 78). The inverted mordents (mm.78-80)

may be in anticipation of the principal theme of the third movement. Material from the closing theme

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and from Theme I is recalled (mm. 82-85). The measures which follow (rom. 86-94) again focus on the

dotted rhythm first presented in m. 7 of the exposition.

The beginning of the recapitulation is obscured and occurs at approximately m. 95. A change in

dynamics and in texture mark the coda (m. 107) which begins with material first heard in m. 46.

Material from the transition (mm. 9-12) is combined with the dotted rhythm of the first theme area until

m. 120. The piano cascades downward through a D-sharp major/minor seventh and a G-sharp scale

before the saxophone’s final figure which seems to combine elements of both Theme I and Theme II.

Second movement

Marked to be played "With tranquility [MM=66]," the middle movement opens in A major. The first

seven measures serve as an introduction as the piano presents the melody above a descending series of

second inversion major chords. The opening melodic gesture of 7-1-2-3 is the same used by the

saxophone to conclude the preceding movement. A distinctive feature of Creston’s personal tonal

language may be heard at each cadence point where the melody forms the interval of a major seventh

with the root of the chord. The phrase is seven measures in length and is in 5/4 meter.

The saxophone entrance in m. 8 presents the same melody heard in the piano, which now has a thicker

texture and contains several imitative gestures (mm. 10, 11, 13) to fill cadences. Material diverges

melodically in m. 10 and harmonically in m. 11 as an approach is made very briefly to the key area of F-

sharp major.

The melody is begun again by the saxophone (m. 15). but in D major. Melodic activity increases to

triplet motion, which creates rhythmic tension against the nearly continuous flow of sixteenth-notes in

the piano while increasing in volume and tempo.

The contrasting section marked to be played "a little broad" (m. 27) retains the original melodic material

but in the key of E major, the dominant of A. An indication to retard the tempo articulates this section.

Saxophone and piano exchange material in mm. 29-31. M. 31 may be heard as an intensification of the

rhythm of m. 1.

Dominant-tonic relationships within a movement are infrequent in this sonata; this makes the harmonic

motion to the third section (mm. 34-35) all the more satisfying. Although the concluding A section

begins in C major, the return of thematic material, dynamics, and texture is convincing. Saxophone and

piano again exchange material (mm. 41-43) before reaching a final cadence in A major (m. 45). The

melodic theme is recalled in the piano, which descends to an A major chord while the saxophone

ascends to the mediant as it did in the first movement.

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Third movement

This seven-part rondo, "With gaiety [MM=160]," has an A theme that is notable for its inverted

mordents, running sixteenth-notes in the right hand of the accompaniment, and the 5/8 pattern in the

pianist's left-hand.

Creston cites the theme in his book Principles of Rhythm as an example of rhythmic overlapping, i.e.,

the extension of a phrase beyond the bar line, a common sixteenth century practice. Overlapping,

according to Creston, is of two types: the segment of duration is obtained by multiplying the number of

measures by the number of units or by multiplying the number of pulses by the number of units. "The

fundamental idea of overlapping is the non-importance of the bar line as regards accentuation.” 9 Mm.

36-38 are also cited by Creston as an example of trimetric regular subdivision overlapping. Regular

subdivision overlapping is defined as

the organization of a group of measures into equal beats overlapping the bar line. The difference

between it and simple regular subdivision is that the beats are contained within a frame of two or

9 Paul Creston, Principles of Rhythm (Melville, NY: Belwin Mills, 1964): p. 104.

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more measures instead of a single measure. What distinguishes it from simple overlapping is the

presence of a repeated rhythmic pattern.10

Trimetric refers to rhythms contained within three measures.

The piano emerges from its trimetric rhythmic pattern in the key of F-sharp major, which is the tonality

for the B section (m. 45ff). Contrastingly lyrical in the saxophone, rhythmic energy is retained in the

piano by the frequent use of 3/8 groupings. Root motion, which had made use of fourths and fifths

(tonic, subdominant, and dominant) in the A section, is primarily by seconds in the B section and

provides additional contrast.

At the return of the second A section in the key of D-flat major (m. 76), material is reversed between the

two instruments. A passage in 3/16 pulse returns the thematic material to the saxophone in the key of E

minor (m. 95).

Diminished arpeggios in the saxophone create a quick transition to the C section, a second contrasting

area in the key of B major (m. 110ff). The accompaniment is in a steady 2/4 meter beneath a broadly

lyrical theme. Rhythmic interest is maintained by triplets in the theme against eighth-notes in the piano.

Tonally the section moves through a series of minor thirds: B major (m. 110), D major (m. 122), F

major (m. 126), and A-flat major (m. 136) to outline a diminished seventh. The triadic A theme appears

in augmentation (mm. 150-159) to effect a close to the section, at which point the piano resumes its

rhythmic punctuations.

The third A section creates a clear return to the material, this time in F-sharp major. There is an

interruption by the piano (mm. 176-179) and an extension by both instruments beginning in m. 186.

Once again a rhythmic change (m. 198) signals the approach of a new section.

10

Creston, p. 111.

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The burlesque-like D section (m. 206ff) is in A major, creating a dominant relationship to the final A

material in the key of D major. The basically steady rhythm functions as a strongly contrasting element

despite two occurrences of four against five (m. 213) and two against three (mm. 224-225).

The final A section (m. 245ff) returns to D major and is initiated by the piano, to be joined by the

saxophone which later presents the A theme in different registers (mm. 262-264 and mm. 266-268). A

short coda (m. 270ff) is marked by a rhythmic grouping of 3+3+2 which becomes a squarely placed 2/8

pulse in m. 276. The saxophone's half note (m. 284) creates a brief suspension of pulse before the piano

close which recalls the principal theme with the pitches 1, 5, and 3 and a written out inverted mordent in

the final measure. Although this is the only movement in which the saxophone ends on the tonic pitch,

attention is again drawn to the mediant, this time by the piano.

Common Interpretative Practices

Five recordings of the Creston Sonata by Vincent Abato, Marcel Mule, Harvey Pittel, Sigurd Rascher,

and Donald Sinta were compared to determine if interpretative indications given by the composer in the

score are generally followed and to determine if additional "nuances" have become commonly accepted.

Before the comparative listening was done, the Abato recording was assumed to be of special interest

because the composer presided at the piano. Other pianists in the recordings are Robin Solange with

Mule, Levering Rothfuss with Pittel, Russell Sherman with Rascher, and Nelita True with Sinta.

A timing of the performances disclosed that there was a difference of two minutes and thirty-six seconds

between the longest and the shortest (Mule -- 11'43" and Sinta -- 14'19"). The greatest difference

between timings of a single movement was one minute and twelve seconds in the second movement,

again between Mule (4'13") and Sinta (5'25").

TABLE 1.1.

Timings of the Saxophone Sonata by Creston

Movement Abato Mule Pittel Rascher Sinta

I 4'17" 3'58" 4'41" 4'27" 4'43"

II 4'17" 4' 13" 4'32" 4'49" 5'25"

III 3'32" 3'32" 3'46 3'44" 4'11"

Total 12'06" 11'43" 12'59" 13'00" 14'19"

Each movement of the Sonata contains passages in which there is no tempo change for thirty or even

sixty seconds. Metronomic tempos for each of the sections were determined by counting the number of

beats per minute; thirty-second passages were multiplied by two and fifteen second segments were

multiplied by four to obtain the equivalent. The figures are understood to be inexact but still valuable

for some purposes of comparison, particularly within an individual performance. Tempos that are

roughly equivalent may be considered the same. For example, Rascher' s MM=104 for Theme II of the

exposition of the first movement should be considered the same as his MM=100 for Theme II in the

development of the same movement.

As expected, the performance by Abato (with Creston) was in many respects the closest to the tempos

indicated in the score. Their performance of the first movement is notable as the only one in which the

"in time" at m. 13 is observed for the outset of the second theme; all other performances slow

considerably at this point. When Theme II is presented by the piano in the development, the tempo is

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always slower. Also noteworthy is Abato's and Creston's faster performance of Theme I in the

recapitulation than in the exposition or the development.

Recordings of the second movement produced two unexpected results. First, all performances were

considerably slower than the tempo of MM=66; this was especially true of Sinta's MM=42. Second,

although Creston's indication "a little broad" at m. 27 might imply a still slower tempo, all performers

increased the speed. At "in time" in m. 35, there was an almost uniform return to each of the original

tempos; Pittel, who played the preceding "a little broad" the fastest, gives a quicker original tempo on

the return.

The tempo within the third movement is generally constant for each performer. Pittel is again an

exception and seems to change tempo at each new section of the rondo.

TABLE 1.2.

Tempos of the Saxophone Sonata by Creston

Score Abato Mule Pittel Rascher Sinta

First

movement

Exposition

Theme I MM=126 126 144 120-126 126 126

Theme II "in time" 126 116 104 104 92

Development

Theme I 126 138 120-126 126 120

Theme II "in time" 108 116-120 96 100 88-90

Theme II "a shade slower” 92 108 68 100-104 64-68

Recapitulation

Theme I 132-

138

144 130 130 126

Second

movement

MM=66 54 58-60 48-50 50 42

"a little broad" 63 64 72 56 54

"in time" 56 5 8-60 58 52-56 46

Third

movement

Theme A MM=160 160 170 148-150 156 138-144

Theme B 160 170 144 156 138-144

Theme C 164 160 160 156 132

Theme D 160 160 166 156-160 138-144

The following generalizations concerning tempos may be made --

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First movement: With the exception of Abato, Theme II is played slower than Theme I in the exposition

and perhaps slower yet in the development (Abato is the most obvious example of this). The indication

"a shade slower" is subject to a wide variety of interpretations.

Second movement: The metronome marking of MM=66 is considered by the performers to be too fast

and Sinta’s MM=42 is the most far removed. "A little broad" is interpreted as a quickening of the

tempo.

Third movement: Whatever tempo is selected, that tempo is maintained throughout the movement.

There may occur some slight fluctuation faster or slower for Theme C.

A common question regarding Creston’s Sonata is the placement of the inverted mordents in the last

movement – each of the saxophonists examined began the embellishment on the beat. A less frequently

asked question concerns the placement of the inverted mordents in the first movement. There was less

agreement about the execution of these figures -- Mule and Sinta placed them on the beat (as in the last

movement) and Abato, Pittel, and Rascher placed them before the beat; the embellishments by Rascher

were heavily accented.

The second movement contains indications marked "retard slightly" (m. 14) and "in time" (m. 15). In

each of the five recordings the return to tempo occurs on the fourth beat of m. 14. Another common

question, this time concerning where to breathe, arises in the same movement around m. 40, at which

point a new phrase begins but with no clear place to take a necessary breath. Three performances (Mule,

Rascher, and Sinta) break the tie to the third beat of m. 39; Pittel breathes after the third beat of m. 40

and Abato breathes after the first eighthnote of beat four of m. 40. The melodic fragment presented

three times in mm. 41-44 invites varying interpretative responses. The passage is met in very different

ways by the performers: Rascher and Sinta seem to play each of the three fragments with the same

volume; Abato plays the second fragment more quietly to create an echo effect; Pittel plays each

successive fragment more softly, and Mule does the same, but with a crescendo and decrescendo added

to each fragment. The retard of the last measure of the movement is also interpreted in different ways:

Abato only slightly slackens the pace, while Mule and Rascher effect a much broader conclusion; Pittel

greatly lengthens the second eighth-note of the second beat and Sinta makes almost no retard, perhaps

because of his unusually slow tempo.

The concluding third movement is more straightforward. As mentioned earlier, all performances have

the inverted mordents placed on the beat at the beginning of the movement. It may be noted, however,

that later on (mm. 164-166), Rascher seems to place them before the beat; in mm. 266 and 267, Abato

seems to omit them and Pittel interprets them as an embellishment of a minorthird rather than a major

second as before. All saxophonists except Pittel breathe after m. 144 in the C section; this practice

seems to be at odds with the piano at this point. The values of the sforzando eighth-notes in the D

section (mm. 205-245) are generally curtailed; Pittel interprets them as being long, and Sinta's

interpretation seems to be as an eighth-note in length.

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Errors and Discrepancies

Saxophone score

The tempo, dynamic, and articulation indications listed below are found in the piano score and should be

included in the saxophone score.

First movement

m. 64: add "retard slightly"

m. 107: place "less loud" under the first sixteenth-note, not the first eighth-note

m. 122: add "hold back"

Second movement

m. 24: add "and accelerate"

m. 26: add "retard" on the last half of beat 4

m. 27: add "a little broad"

m. 34: add "retard slightly"

m. 35: add "in time"

Third movement

m. 6: continue the crescendo marking through the measure

m. 63: slur each beat

mm. 127-129: begin a crescendo marking on beat 2 of m. 127 through m. 129

mm. 130-131: begin a decrescendo marking in m. 130 through beat 1 of m. 131

m. 285: add "hold back slightly"

m. 286: add "in time"

Piano score

First movement

m. 101: in the first chord of the right hand the lowest note is G-sharp

Third movement

m. 273: add an accent to the first sixteenth-note of beat 2 in the right hand

Fingerings and Suggestions

First movement

Tempo of MM=126 maximum

m. 1: place the agogic accent on beat 1, not beat 2

m. 5: use "5" fingering for the first two A-sharps, then bis key fingering

m. 11: covered D-flat fingering (octave key and ring finger of left hand, first, second, and third

fingers of right hand); Side Key (SK) G-flat fingering

m. 13: "in time," but slower; it is possible to omit the Left Side Key 2 (LSK 2) for F to bring the

pitch down

m. 15: it is possible to add for E-flat to bring the pitch down

m. 16: SK G-flat fingering

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mm. 18 and 20: covered D-flat fingering

m. 70: play both C-sharps at the same volume

m. 75: beat 3 is subito piano

m. 86: "in time," but not yet "a tempo"

m. 103: front F fingering; G may be played

m. 107: "less loud" after the first eighth-note

m. 121: wait for beat 3

Second movement

Tempo of MM=60

m. 11: subito piano on last half of beat 4

m. 14: do not overdo "retard slightly"

m. 15: retain the "piano" dynamic indication

m. 31: wait for the piano left hand octaves in order to come in with the piano right hand chord

mm. 31-34: almost cadenza-like

mm. 42-43: play as an echo to mm. 41-42 and mm. 43-44

m. 45: cadence on the downbeat, letting the final two measures evaporate

Third movement

mm. 1-3: place the inverted mordents on the beat here and in all other similar measures

mm. 7-13: each repeated pattern is insistently louder, leading to m. 14; the same is suggested for

mm. 27-32, leading to m. 33, and for mm. 188-193, leading to m. 194

m. 20: "5" A-sharp fingering

mm. 27-32: Side Key (SK) F-sharp fingerings

m. 37: Right Side Key 1 (RSK 1) B-flat fingering

m. 56: "5" A-sharp fingering

mm. 66-67: SK G-flat fingerings

m. 76: play the "mezzopiano" dynamic indication softly in order to stay under the piano's

melody

mm. 122-123: "5" A-sharp fingerings

mm. 143-144: continue to "increase"

m. 170: continue the "pianissimo" dynamic indication

mm. 206-245: give full value to the eighth-notes followed by rests

mm. 212, 228, 232: observe the cadences

mm. 228 and 232: D may be fingered

m. 237: the second D-sharp may be fingered with the RSK 3 alone

m. 286: play the dotted eighth-note the same value as the piano's three sixteenth-notes

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APPENDIX OF SUGGESTED FINGERINGS