Ohio Music Education Association - Alto Saxophone Class A Repertoire
Solo Alto Saxophone and Piano Accompaniment
Difficulty: Advanced
Duration: 11:00
I. Curiosity
II. The Grin of the Cheshire Cat
III. Land of Imagination
This piece is not a narrative of Alice’s adventures, instead, it as a descriptive piece that expresses the ideas and feelings at three different points of Carroll’s tale. The first movement, “Curiosity,” is slow and pensive. It expresses how Alice has grown tired of everyday life and longed for something more interesting and exciting. The haunting fugue at the end of the movement symbolizes departure; whether the departure is emblematic of a physical transition from reality to Wonderland, or a metaphysical transcendence into the vast reaches of a child’s imagination is left to the audience upon entering into the piece.
One of the most interesting characters in Wonderland is the Cheshire Cat. This zany character runs in to Alice a few times throughout her journey and Alice finds that the cat’s madness is as playful as it is disturbing. The second movement characterizes the playful and mischievous character of the Cheshire Cat. The final movement illustrates the scenery of a world created by one’s imagination: a world without limits. There are several different melodies and motives used throughout this movement. Eventually, all of them overlap in the final section of the movement, leading to a climatic ending.