They Might Be Gods
John Leszczynski, Soprano Saxophone
Davis Jones, Alto Saxophone
Kevin Arbogast, Tenor Saxophone
Julian Clarkson, Baritone Saxophone
THEY MIGHT BE GODS
by Claire Ensley
Awake.
A rustle, a snap
Footsteps and shadows and
Eyes
Seeing, unseen.
Pursuit.
Chasing or chased,
Can’t tell. Running
Just run
Run
Run. Until
Tripping, trapped.
Your quest, sir?
Yes, a quest.
A quest and a map and a bear.
A dancing bear?
Twirls, too delicately
Faster. Faster, then fading.
Gone.
Falling.
Falling, sveltely.
Look—Raindrops!
Tiny gleaming globes
Falling too
Falling, faster
The ground—but won’t collide.
And light.
Asleep?
Light—Somewhere far?
No.
Like watching lanterns
Now,
Through a glass darkly.
But then
Seen face to face, then—
They might be gods.
Like with most of my pieces, They Might Be Gods was not conceived of programmatically, although it probably sounds like it was. In the summer of 2009 when I was working on this quartet, I was having a hard time writing any serious music that I liked. Eventually, I decided to have fun with this piece and make something that was exciting, sarcastic, and a bit profane.
After the piece was finished, I asked my friend Claire Ensley to write a poem for it. I gave her some vague ideas and an audio file, and she came up with an excellent companion poem for the quartet.
They Might Be Gods was commissioned by The West Point Saxophone Quartet and the Zzyzx Saxophone Quartet. It was completed in early October of 2009.