The second time will be different (2021)
for tenor saxophone and metronome - 2x 1 minute
written for 15 Minutes of Fame: with Andrew Hosler
60 seconds, 255 new lives, 107 farewells.
You are not ought to know before,
but the second time
will be different.
SPOILER ALERT!
The call seemed easy: compose a piece for tenor saxophone that lasts no longer than one minute. But how can you develop a musical idea within this small time frame that has a concept, a direction, and is whole in itself?
I started thinking about those advertisement videos where they say how many people passed away in the last … seconds. They always leave an impression, concrete yet still so impalpable. I wondered what the effect would be when translating these types of data representations into a musical context.
The second time will be different is a musical depiction of the average number of births (255) and deaths (107) occurring within 60 seconds in the year 2021 (prognosis from 18.04.2021).
The metronome beats every time someone is born, and the saxophonist plays a pitch every time someone dies. Together, the events form a polyrhythmic texture of life and death.
This information is not shared with the audience until after the piece is performed a first time. The music should then be performed a second time, giving people a chance to listen and reflect on our demographic growth.
The second time will be different was composed for Andrew Hosler and premiered in the USA in November 2021 during the online concert Fifteen Minutes of Fame: with Andrew Hosler.