Les quatre éléments

1. Earth (3 min 40 s)
2. Water (3 min 35 s)
3. Wind (4 min 15 s)
4. Fire (3 min)

The Four Elements is a four-movement cycle for solo alto saxophone composed with the intention of actively involving the performer in the creative process. Although each element is a separate piece that can be played alone, the performer may also combine the elements in any quantity and order they please. When the performer chooses to play more than one element, they may imagine a story and arrange the movements to tell it. The source of the story may be autobiographical, fanciful, or even taken from current events, and I suggest that the performer communicate their imagined story to the audience orally or in program notes. An example of a story might be the order Fire-Earth-Water-Wind , which evokes the story of an ancient rite followed by a downpour and the singing birds after the storm.