I. Always by Joel Love | Composer published on 2016-05-07T19:16:51Z This piece was commissioned by Musiqa and was premiered at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston on May 5, 2016. Dan Gelok, soprano saxophone; Matt Singletary, alto saxophone; Seth McAdow, tenor saxophone; Evan Withner, baritone saxophone Program Note: The five short miniatures of Saxophone Quartet No. 2 are all responses to Mark Flood’s 2016 exhibition called “Mark Flood: Gratest Hits.” In his exhibit, Flood engages with pop culture (among other things), which he refashions or adulterates in some way in order to comment upon mass media. I decided to mirror Flood’s practice of altering familiar mainstream messages in my first and last miniatures. In “Always,” I chose to parody the theme from a 1993 Coca-Cola ad campaign by overlaying the familiar melody on top of a somewhat janky funk groove, which is colored with multiphonics. In a similar vein, “This Just In” parodies the ABC World News theme. “Whispers” and “Lullaby” are responses to Flood’s lace paintings. In the context of his art, the lace paintings stand out as intentionally direct as they are constructed in an obvious way – lace applied, painted over, and removed – and are ostensibly free of the outspoken satire or social commentary pervading the rest of the exhibit. “Whispers” and “Lullaby” echo Flood’s technique and entice the listener through willfully familiar uses of traditional texture, harmony, and melody. Genre Classical