The Crossing

For Tenor Saxophone and Piano (7′)

Programme Note

The Tongariro Alpine Crossing on the North island of New Zealand is regarded as among the top ten single-day trek’s in the world. Located in New Zealand’s oldest national park, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the 12 mile hike features unique landforms, including the volcanic peaks of Ngauruhoe, Tongariro and Ruapehu.
‘The Crossing’ is a musical journey through this unique and other-worldly landscape. Beginning in the very early morning, still dark and silent, the gently undulating piano appoggiatura’s gradually increase in density, signally gently building birdsong. Sunrise is indicated through a sudden shift into slowly moving piano chords. This steady climb along board walks in the Mangatepopo Valley builds into a steeper climb up a staircase to a short plateu in South Crater, and here the tenor saxophone line builds in intensity. At the Red Crater, the highest point on ‘The Crossing’ at 1886m, the music breaks into a more intensely rhythmic dance, gradually building in movement and therefore breathlessness. This soon gives way to the eerie, calm, and more tranquil motif that represents the mysterious and other-worldly Blue and Emerald Lakes, built upon an unevenly undulating rhythmic motif. Eventually, the opening ‘sunrise’ chords return, along with a darker and more reflective iteration of the birdsong.

Commissioned by Andy Scott