This is This is This is (fo David Foste Wallace) fo two alto saxophones in unison and pepaed piano Eic Wubbels (200910)
Compose's Note Wite David Wallace committed suicide in late 200 In addition to the love and admiation I feel fo his wok, a numbe of othe coincidences of biogaphy and pesonal histoy had made me feel quite close to him, and his death was not only a shock, but also just an incedibly sad thing Fo me and many of my fiends, it seemed like confimation of some of ou dakest thoughts about well, eveything In his late witings, Wallace outlines the stuggle fo a type of consciousness, a momenttomoment vigilance of mind that tansfoms the epetitious business of daily life into something saced He descibes this kind of attention as both a path outwad fom habitual selffocused thought pattens, and a stay against the constant gnawing sense of having had and lost some infinite thing that those pattens eventually poduce In addition, his conviction that at should be both moal and pactical, that fiction's about what it is to be a fucking human being, has become something of a guiding pinciple fo me So This is fo David Foste Wallace This is unison, concentation, and attention This is extended epetition as a foce against habit ( This is a Bonxbound 2 expess tain ) This is the constant gnawing sense of having had and lost some infinite thing This is the connection between attention and ecstasyecstasy of physical gestue, ecstasy of sound, ecstasy of epetition (EW) Geneal Notes The piece is playable eithe as a tio, with the two alto saxophones in unison thoughout, o as a duo, fo one saxophone and piano The alto saxophone line is notated in Eb Five notes of the piano (Eb, F#, D, G, and G#) ae pepaed by theading dimes between the tiple stings These pepaed notes ae distinguished in the scoe with tiangula noteheads, but they ae played nomally The "/2" bas signify pulses of a 16thnote sextuplet within the pevailing tempo Figues in these bas move at the speed of 16thnote sextuplets, but occu in pattens that cannot be subdivided into goups of 6 A detailed explanation of the symbols and techniques fo the saxophone is eseved fo the saxophone pat
1 o 2 A Sx in Eb Pepaed Pno A Sx Pno e= 60 M j b b ˆ16 b j ( ) n ± b ± * ˆ16 * on x n j b± m± ˆ16 m [9x] [ low Bb C 6 [0x] ai µ n b b 16 p vey aiy, blended w/ Pno ^ * ( ) b ± ± 16 ± ± m sfffz b 16 * on 0x b p [x] [ C ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ m m n 16 : f πf ^ nm b n m m m n b ± ± ± 16 ± e= 61 : : m b p poco it 2ˆ16 2ˆ16 2ˆ16 p : poco accel secco; little m pitch n : sub f F ^ b m m± n ± n ± ± b [19x] b± m± ^ ± : b m± : n 16 [ C ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ m m f m f [2x] m n b n b m n 2ˆ f [x] F : : b m m± n ± n ± v ± : b± m± b ± m ± v n n ç b v f 2ˆ 2ˆ
A Sx Pno 2ˆ [ M 1 = low B [ [ A Sx M 2 Pno M = low C = low Bb C 1 2ˆ 2ˆ b m n µ n m m f [x] m m± n ± ± ± ÿ ÿ b± b b M 1 M 2 pecussive; almost no pitch ç ^ m ç b± b ~ K b µ n m B ç f nm b b n m ± ^ ^ n ^ m ^ n ^ m ^ ^ ^ ç f, matellato b (c) + sceam 1 [ C1 1 C C [x] M µ M m m ç ^ m ( ) ç ± ± b ± b * on x 2ˆ 6 6 2ˆ 2ˆ 6 M M [ 2 +ve key µ m m ÿ ÿ b j f m n b m n n j m æ F ± ± f b± ± (pluck; ossia od) bisb ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ m µ o [ o C m M M m b b M F f F b b± m n b mm n n b n m m n ^ n n n n b ÿ ÿ v n ç f b ± m b 7 7 7
A Sx Pno 7 7 7 b ± n b b b, macato m ± n± b ± ± b± m m m ± b b b ± ± n ± b ± ÿ b± b ± ÿ b ± ÿ ÿ b± b ± ÿ b± b b ± m m b ± m b m ± n m ± b m± n b A Sx Pno 22 7 ÿ [x] b ± b± 7 7 ÿ ÿ b ± b± ± [1x] Ô K 16 2 ^ b (loco) b Ô K b± b 16 2 16 2 Ô K ^ b b Ô b± b 1 b 1 1 q= 72 m [9x] Î m^ ^ ^ ^ v v v v [x] f, within Piano's sound m^ ^ ^ ^ v v v v m^ [x] v ^ v
A Sx 0 b (c) b Pno A Sx m ^ ^ ^ ^ m n b 0 Î ^ m matellato sempe m b m m m ^ ^ m ^ m n b b m ^ b m m Pno m m ^ m ^ ^ ^ m n b m m^ m^ ^ m ^ m n b ^ m ^ m n b m^ ^ m^ ^
A Sx 0 b b Pno m^ m ^ m ^ ^ ^ m n b m m^ m m ^ ^ m ^ m n b m^ m^ A Sx 60 b b Pno m ^ m ^ ^ ^ m n b m m m ^ ^ m ^ m n b m m m (poco it) m
A Sx Pno A Sx Pno 70 7 [x] ~~~~~ m µ o bisb j o o M M m m bb± m n m ^ sfffz ( ^ ) j m± ± ÿ n ÿ v ip sfffz m m q= 6066 Z e= 17 6 6 6 teeth on the eed, violent hamonic glissando on C# fundamental * on x : j [ 1 j M µ ˆ16 m n m n b (sing) p F j : j b ± æ ˆ16 æ m n p F [1x] o b± F ˆ16 2ˆ 1 2ˆ1 2ˆ 1 M M m µ m bb± b ± ÿ ÿ m± n o ~~~~~~ o m n ± n v m± m b m m j ± j ± L n w, U, Bw 1 o π w b ww w 2nd x mbnb ww,u n ± 1 < q= 0 [x] [2x] sí, "bell" attack ˆ 1 1 ˆ ˆ 1 2nd x q= 90 1 M, µ mb Ô 6 j :2 sub p p F q= bn b n [6x] ± ± p mb± ± m sub F b n F m ± F [2x] ± b (d and th x only) Ó 6 6 b n F m m ± n ± ± subp [7x] ± m ± b
A Sx Pno 79 b * (ba=ba) b 16 n m m ± n ± ± [26x] m ± b ± e=x (e= 0) 16 16 n f m sub f b± * play the complete figue as often as possible, leaving out individual notes ad lib to pevent excessive fatigue m b± m b± 2ˆ16 2ˆ16 2ˆ16 Ÿ ~~~~~~~~ n m m (f) [1x] m e= 1 sub b v b m b ± v sub m ± m± m b b± [x] ~~~~ n m m m 2 Ÿ~~~ b n ( ) 2 b± n b b± b v m 2 A Sx Pno 2 2 ~~~~ n m m m b n Ÿ~ b sí 2 b v m q= 60 m m ˆ p b p m [6x] ˆ ˆ m ai o π m Ó π [d6th x] n o 1 poco 1 1 [6x] cesc ove 6x π
A Sx 9 2 16 7 ˆ16 1 M m m m m sempe Pno [61x] æ v F slow cesc ove epeat 2 2 v v v v v Î poss 16 7 16 7 v v v v v v v ˆ16 ˆ16 1 1 v v v v v v v Ï A Sx 96 m m [2x] 2 M b b 1ˆ16 b b ˆ16 b b 1 2 n 1ˆ16 ˆ16 n 1 Pno 2 n b 1ˆ16 b ˆ16 n b 1
A Sx 100 1 m m m m m m 2 b b 1ˆ16 Pno 1 1 n n 2 2 n n b 1ˆ16 1ˆ16 A Sx Pno 10 1ˆ16 1ˆ16 n 1ˆ16 b b b ˆ16 ˆ16 ˆ16 b b n n b 1 n 1 1 m m sempe sim m m n
A Sx Pno 10 m m n 2 2 2 b b n n b 1ˆ16 1ˆ16 1ˆ16 b b b ˆ16 ˆ16 ˆ16 b b n n b n 1 1 1 A Sx 2 1 1 m m m m m m 2 2 b b n 1ˆ16 1ˆ16 Pno 1 2 n 1ˆ16 b
A Sx Pno 6 1ˆ16 1ˆ16 1ˆ16 n b b n b ˆ16 ˆ16 ˆ16 b b n n b 1ˆ 6 1ˆ 6 1ˆ 6 m b [x] 1ˆ16 6 n m m 1ˆ16 6 b 1ˆ16 6 A Sx Pno 9 1ˆ16 6 1ˆ16 6 1ˆ16 6 m b m m n b ç m q= 2, m, m m m m
A Sx Pno A Sx Pno 7 ˆ ˆ ˆ m m b m 2 2 2 ( 6 ) m n m b m ( 6 ) 2 2 2 m n b n m m b b m m n m b b m j b m j m m j Ó b Ó j m m b m m ˆ ˆ ˆ b m
A Sx Pno m m b m n m m n m m 2 1 2 b 2 2 b b [1x] n m x=x (ba=ba) 2 1 2 1 A Sx Pno 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 m n n b m m n m m b b [7x] j b j m m ^ ^ ( ) F (x7x) ( ) e=e (ba=ba) m n m m n m 16 m ( b) b sub p n b b b 16 n^ sub p [7x] m 16 pesante m^ ^ ^ ^ ^
A Sx Pno 19 m nmmn m 16 2 m ( f b) n b b b ± f [x] m 16 2 16 2 b n^ m^ ^ ^ 2 2 2 mn mmn b 7 mnmn m m b b n n b m ± bb ± n± [x] 7 7 m n b Ó 16 b m Ó 16 16 A Sx 1 16 m n m n b m 16 ˆ m n m n b m n m ˆ Pno 16 16 b b n n b 16 ˆ 16 ˆ b b n n b m ˆ ˆ n
A Sx Pno 17 2 2 2 m n b m m n m m b b ± e= q= 2 ˆ16 1 b m b n b b m n n p sub ˆ16 1 ˆ16 1 [ 2 +ve key b Ó mb± bb m n b b m n n b p Ó [x] in the middle of each ep the pianist signals the duation of th added pause eithe 1,2, o x's Closed fist= signal to go on mb± P 9 9 9 A Sx Pno 1 9 9 9 M n [ low C# 1 L w Bw Ó o π o b n b ± < [x] Í, "bell" attack * Sax tacet 1st x Coda e= 6066 nicht schleppen M n L B o nb b mb n ± ± ± ± Í (p) π ± ± ± ± ± (1st x only) ± ± ± ± [2x] o ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± (p) b± poco f
A Sx 7 Pno ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± (p) m± poco f ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± A Sx 16 Pno ± ± ± ± (p) b± poco f ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± m± F ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± nm± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ±
A Sx 171 K o o ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± Pno b± poco f b± A Sx 177 ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± Pno nm ± F bb± poco f m± bb±
A Sx 1 Pno ± ± ± ± ± m± ± ± ± ± bb± ± ± ± ± ± m± poco sub p b± n m m± ± A Sx 1 U Pno b± b ± ± m± b± b ± ± m± b ± ± m± U