John Albert Harris
Alfonso’s Sprites for two different wind instruments
for Alfonso Iannelli (1888–1965)
Alfonso’s Sprites John Albert Harris For any two different wind instruments. (ex. flute/bassoon, tenor sax/soprano sax, bass clarinet/oboe, etc.) - All pitches are concert pitch. If your instrument cannot play a pitch, transpose the section up or down the octave. - All notes with an ‘x’ head are approximate pitch, picking your own pitches and using the contour as a guideline. Use the range of the staff to determine what pitch to play (above the staff – high, below – low). - Lines after notes are indicators to hold pitch. - When the wavy line appears, repeat and continue the bracketed figure. - Notation is spatial, so the relationship between parts should be observed (i.e. spaces between notes on one part). - If you do not understand an unspecified notation, have fun with it! - To begin, hold statue position (below) for 10”, angled away from the stands and each other (memorize the first system). Player B should move first to play, and slowly turn to the music. Player A begins to move identically as soon as Player B sounds the first note. Ease into it. - During the last section, players should slow down their physical movements, After the last note, both players slowly return to statue positions.
Optional Speech: Before the piece, to be spoken by someone other than the performers, who are already in statue position:
Alfonso’s sprites stand guard over Midway Gardens, Chicago, 1929. Fifteen years they have been diligent, but will soon be unneeded. The sprites recall their time overseeing the merrymakers, and come to life one last time.