Lemay, Rolin premieres

Website(s) : http://www.duodentredeux.com

Biography

Comprised of saxophonists Nick Zoulek (USA) and Tommy Davis (Canada), Duo d’Entre Deux is a dynamic ensemble which was formed in 2011 in Paris, France. While studying at the Conservatoire de Boulogne-Billancourt, Nick and Tommy discovered their shared propensity for contemporary music. Together, they have performed at esteemed venues including the Society of Composers Inc. National Conference (Ball State University), SNECMA Headquarters (Paris, France), and the North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference (University of Illinois). An erudite ensemble, the duo strongly advocates music education, and has presented masterclasses at universities across the midwestern United States.

More information

Robert Lemay’s “Deuce #2” and Etienne Rolins “East West Bridge” were written for Duo d’Entre-Deux in 2014, and premiered by the duo at Kent State University on September 27, 2014. This performance will mark their French premiere.

–East West Bridge, Etienne Rolin
This work, written for and commissioned by Nick Zoulek and Tommy Davis (Duo d’Entre-Deux), has a special place in my catalogue of works for saxophone.

Its complexity is a direct result of the many research and experimental projects that I have undertaken over the past thirty-five years. As a contemporary performer I have discovered the richness of improvisation and the use of extended techniques, which include multiphonics and the use of voice. As a dedicated researcher and performer of Hindustani music I have been very fond of including the rich melodic and rhythmic notions of raga. As a composer who needs the element of surprise in each performance of a work, I have asked the saxophonists to include short improvised interludes between the three movements as well as to interact with a sound engineer projecting samples of a prepared tape part.
In reality there are many bridges that can be perceived in this score :
Eastern organic raga development links with open jazz phrasing à la Coltrane, the esthetic choices of composition and improvisation tend to join hands, the live and sampled sound projection oscillate between saturated textures and extremely defined articulation modes.
Since there is an element of chance built into the score, the performance of this piece will change over repeated hearings, offering the listener a rich soundscape to travel in.

–Deuce #2, Robert Lemay
“The metaphor of the mirror – subject / object, self / other, object / image, has long kept the Other in a subjugated role in its representation. Here Canadian composer Robert Lemay is interested in the equality of the two performers – Deuce is a term that refers to tennis also. It is therefore a fluid and ambiguous relationship where each line is built by the other, almost the opposite of the independence of counterpoint, where the resulting texture is a hybrid. However, the mirror is kept in the composer’s compositional practices; the statement and the reversal of tone rows (where you can decipher the names of Rafael Nadal et Novak Djokovic) and imitation; perfect example of the playing of two.”–Text by Zach Pfau and Robert Lemay

–Duo d’Entre-Deux
The phrase “d’entre deux guerres” is a French expression that refers to the cultural transitions caused by the two World Wars. This expression, these societal changes, inspire the duo’s name, referring to the results of the turmoil and reevaluation of music and culture. This turmoil spurred a paradigm-shift for many composers, such as John Cage, Edgar Varèse and Arnold Schoenberg. These periods are often associated with the birth of modern, electronic, and multidisciplinary musics following the Romantic period. Duo d’Entre-Deux strives to incorporate a ple