18, Joan Arnau Pàmies

Repertoire

Image from the booklet of Made in BCN (LMG, 2154)

In my opinion, 18 is a nice concert piece because of its particular atmosphere, almost meditative. Furthermore, it is a very interesting work in pedagogical terms.

The composer

JOAN ARNAU PÀMIES (Reus, Catalunya/Spain, 1988) is a composer whose music has been performed in festivals including MATA, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Mixtur Barcelona, Ostrava New Music Days, XXXVI Foro Internacional de Música Nueva Manuel Enríquez, and Darmstadt Ferienkurse. Pàmies has collaborated with Fonema Consort, Ensemble Dal Niente, Ensemble Recherche, Loadbang, the Arditti and JACK Quartets, BCN 216, and other new music specialists.

He is also a record producer, a multi-instrumentalist, and a performing artist. In 2022, he founded Protomaterial Records, producing and releasing debut albums by classical pianist Oksana Shymanska, experimental composer Luis Fernando Amaya, drummer and sound artist Genís Bagés, and Dada-pop band Espai Dual.

Click here to read more about the composer.

Details of the work

Tape.
Publisher: Éditions Bar&Co (FRA) – https://mdpublications.fr/produit/18/
Duration: 7:20
Range (written): Db3 – C5
TECHNIQUES: Timbres research, dynamics in ppp, intonation, breathing control (optional circular breathing).
PERFORMANCE: Colour changes, sound integration with the electronics part, creativity (the composer allows the performer to add sound textures as flatter, air, bisbigliandi, vibrato and oscillations, etc.).

Meaning and structure of 18

I wrote 18 in 2009, during my junior year of college at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts. 18 is the number of written pitches for the saxophone part. I remember that I prioritized a space of relative simplicity, outside of the music that I usually make, so that performers could use these materials as a means for improvisation. The piece was written from a pedagogical perspective, for beginner baritone saxophone students. (Joan Arnau Pàmies, 2018)

I premiered 18 at the contemporary music festival “Sincrònic” in Lleida (Catalunya) in October 2009. Later, I played it in some concerts and included it in Made in BCN (La Mà de Guido, 2018). In addition to its artistic value, I like to work this piece with my students for many reasons.

18 is a very good introduction to the study and practice of the repertoire with electronics. You don’t need any special patch or program. A computer (or audio player), a microphone, a sound target and speakers are required (and your baritone, of course). You can improve your skills of the saxophone amplification (equalization, reverb, etc.) and finding a good balance with the audio.

Furthermore, 18 is a useful piece to work on basic technical skills of the baritone saxophone as the quality of the sound, the intonation, the breathing and the embouchure. The work has to be played strictly in PP so it should be very important to acquire a good sound and a control of the intonation, especially in the middle and treble registers. In addition, this piece could also be a good opportunity to practice the circular breathing since the durations of the notes are long.

However, the most important reason for me is the improvement of creativity. You can seek to change the colour of sounds by adding techniques such as flatterzunge, bisbigliandi, oscillations and vibrato, aeolian sounds, etc.

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Would you like to know more about 18 by Joan Arnau Pàmies? Would you like to work on it with me? Don’t hesitate to contact me for more questions.