for E flat clarinet and soprano saxophone

Polymer: a naturally occurring or synthetic compound consisting of large molecules made up of a linked series of repeated simple monomers

…life is now a polymer in which the earth is wrapped so tightly…—Kurt Vonnegut, Breakfast of Champions

Polyme(t)ric threads is one of my personal favourites of my pieces. I wrote it eight years ago, and my recollections of the circumstances under which it came into being are a bit vague, but as I recall, saxophonist Don-Paul Kahl asked me for a work for his duo with clarinetist Jackie Glazier, duo entre-nous. Now the clarinet/saxophone medium offers a mouthwatering range of prospects: B flat clarinet/baritone sax, soprano sax/bass clarinet, if you want contrast; bass clarinet/baritone sax, B flat clarinet/alto sax if you want unanimity, etc. But, in my experience at least, noone had essayed anything for E flat clarinet/soprano sax. These two instruments have an almost entirely shared range, a similar timbral world, and a comparable dynamic envelope; it seemed to me that this unusual combination would blend particularly effectively.

Having decided that I did not want to try to contrast the instruments I set out to compose for them as a single organ, and the musical texture of polyme(t)ric threads is predominantly homogeneous. The essence of the work is captured in the title, which is essentially the word ‘polymeric’ with a ‘t’ inserted (not everybody immediately notices that), a pun on the idea of a tightly-wound, rhythmically elaborate polyphonic process that unfolds as a pair of entwined threads. Interrupting this string of wound counterpoint, and providing textural variety, are moments of drone-accompanied melodic exposure, and chordal repose. For all that the title suggests an undifferentiated journey, the piece visits several expressive peninsulas.

duo entre-nous gave the premiere of the piece in 2018, but recorded the work only recently, after a pair of performances in Chicago – coincidentally, one was at the same venue where Thomas Giles premiered my 〈ʀ〉emote in 2023. Don-Paul Kahl will be including the piece on his forthcoming CD Quicksilver, which features works that “evoke the ever-changing nature of a mercurial substance that refuses to remain fixed in a single state. It slips between forms—elusive yet tangible, reflective yet opaque.” I could not come up with a better description of polyme(t)ric threads, with its rope of ever-changing sonic monomers. Quicksilver will appear on the PARMA label in early 2026, and film of one of the Chicago concerts will be posted on the Video tab when it becomes available.