Posadas, Alberto - Poetica del Laberinto - Cycle for Saxophone Quartet - Sigma Projec

The paths of our thoughts, fantasies, and dreams are often complex. Since ancient times, the labyrinth has been a symbol of life itself, with its paths, crossroads, dead ends, and odysseys. In some of these mazes, even though they are full of nooks and crannies, there is only one path, one destination, and one exit. Others offer different routes. Spanish composer Alberto Posadas's work "Poética del Laberinto" [Poetry of the Labyrinth], written for saxophone quartet in 2016/17, is a cycle of three particularly iconic labyrinths from ancient times to the present day. Unlike his usual compositional style, these three works are also framed by loosely defined paths of memory and a sequential development of instrumental sound – from the unity of four soprano saxophones through the diversity of four separate registers to the dominance of the bass register at the end. The Sigma Project, the combined talent of Andrés Gomis, Ángel Soriano, Alberto Chaves, and Josetxo Silguero, is more than a saxophone quartet. It is an important channel for instrumental music in the 21st century. The ensemble's joint research and experimentation with Alberto Posadas led to a new understanding of the possibilities of the saxophone. In their search for the sounds Posadas imagined, the musicians developed groundbreaking techniques to bring the composer's ideas to life – sounds that the saxophone had never produced before.