The Garden of Cyrus

alto saxophone and bass trombone

Program notes:

Sir Thomas Browne’s book The Garden of Cyrus (1658) is an early inquiry into the geometrical arrangement of plants, such as the structured leaves of a fern or the spiraling seeds of a sunflower. The study of botanical patterns grew into the field of phyllotaxy throughout the following centuries. This piece for alto saxophone and bass trombone conveys a similar sense of organic proportion and geometric shape on both small and large scales. The overall form of the piece is marked by a gradual shrinking of the unit size–much like the tapering of a fern–and the cyclical harmonies of the overlapping registers create spiraling and interlocking cells.

Written for the Wind Collision Duo (Jonathan Kierspe, alto saxophone; Samuel Anderson, bass trombone).

Please contact me if you are interested in performing this work.