Scoring
SATB saxophones and electric guitar
Abbreviations (PDF)
Publisher
Boosey & Hawkes (Hendon Music)
Territory
This work is available from Boosey & Hawkes
for the world.
World Premiere
03/06/2025
Christ & St. Stephens Church, New York, NY
Steven Mackey, electric guitar / PRISM Quartet
Composer's Notes
The Phoenix begins with scrappy artifacts of saxophone playing –?breath noises, key clicks, an accidental note or two – combined with bittersweet harmonies arpeggiated on the guitar. Like the legendary bird, the music lifts and ultimately soars, living its life cycle and then returning to the ashes from which it can be renewed and reborn.
I still have family and sentimental attachments in my home state of California although I have lived on the East Coast for 45 years. While composing this piece Los Angeles was on fire and it was with a hopeful spirit that I connected the trajectory of the myth to the events in LA.
-Steven Mackey
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