Joan Martí-Frasquier, Albena Petrovic and Cynthia Knoch during the recording session of POÈMES-MASQUES (Dreamlover, SM 394)

POÈMES-MASQUES was composed for a very original chamber music ensemble: soprano voice and baritone saxophone. Both instruments are in constant dialogue, showing a great symbiosis between the voice and the saxophone. It is a very interesting piece that allows for the exploration of the numerous possibilities of this unusual formation.

The Composer

ALBENA PETROVIC-VRATCHANSKA (Sofia, Bulgaria, 1965) is a renowned Luxembourgish composer of Bulgarian origin. Based in Luxembourg since 1996, she completed her composition studies with Claude Lenners and was awarded the Knight of The Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Her production includes more than 600 works of various genres of music. Her music has been performed at several music festivals around the world.

Click here to read more about the composer.

Details of the work

Publisher: Contact the composer (superalbalonga@gmail.com)
Duration: Around 12:00
Range (written): Bb2 (or A2) – F5 (or the highest possible).
TECHNIQUES: Clicks on the instrument. Bisbigliandi. Diversity of articulations. Slaps. Tonguing accuracy. Use of the voice and bifonies. Multiphonics. Flatter. Glissandi and portamenti. Bend. Key sounds.
PERFORMANCE: To play with lots of expressive energy. Very contrasted changes of character and techniques. Scenic attitude, interacting with the singer. Excerpts with improvisation.

Meaning and structure of Poèmes-Masques

POÈMES-MASQUES Op. 236 is a cycle of four songs for soprano voice and baritone saxophone, composed in 2021 for Cynthia Knoch and me. Both music and lyrics (or text) are done by Albena Petrovic. We premiered it at the Barcelona Modern Festival in May 2022, a few months after the recording of  DREAMLOVER, released by the German label Solo Musica GmbH (SM 394).

DREAMLOVER (listen to it here) is not just a compilation of the production for saxophone by Luxembourgish composer Albena Petrovic. An accurated listening will reveal you a very personal musical language, a highly original treatment of the saxophone and a diverse repertoire for different formations. In particular, I find the combination of voice and saxophone especially interesting, not only for its rarity, but also for the wide amount of possibilities.

In this work, the baritone saxophone does not only work as a rhythmic and harmonic base, but also takes on a more melodic role, almost dialoguing with the voice. While the saxophone adopts a more experimental role in terms of sound resources and the voice usually has sung and spoken passages, both instruments interact perfectly.

As Albena Petrovic said:

I was inspired by the idea of presenting different masks (and today, the mask is an unavoidable object in pandemic life [keep in mind that the piece was composed a year after COVID-19]; it protects us and becomes a source of inspiration), as a symbol of fear, hypocrisy or another identity with multiple hidden faces. (Albena Petrovic in Revista Ritmo, 2022)

The four songs of POÈMES-MASQUES Op. 236 address various current subjects such as social distancing, the struggle for power, gender issues, etc., featuring some female protagonists:

1. In a mysterious atmosphere, “Natalia” looks like to reveal a confidence, but after some trials, she tells us nothing.
2. “Commedia dell’arte” describes a masked ball scene where the old stingy Pantaleone and the maid Colombina swap their gender roles.
3. “Le favori du roi” is the most rhythmic of the songs and, with the murder of treason of a clown, becomes the most violente by the use of silences, sudden outbursts and screams.
4. “Post mortem” is inspired by the late discovery of Frida Kahlo’s secrets. Her “Libro de Hierba Santa”, a recipe book dedicated to Holy Death, mysteriously disappeared just the first day it was to be exhibited.

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Would you like to know more about the POÈMES-MASQUES by Albena Petrovic? Would you like to work on it with me? Don’t hesitate to contact me for more questions.

Joan Martí-Frasquier
Barcelona, April 2025