Mesh
HOOK – MESH – STUB – CUD
Music by Graham Fitkin
1. Hook - performed by Ensemble Bash
2. Mesh - performed by Icebreaker
3. Stub - performed by John Harle Band
4. Cud - performed by Delta Saxaphone Quartet
Argo 443 396-2
Music by Graham Fitkin
1. Hook - performed by Ensemble Bash
2. Mesh - performed by Icebreaker
3. Stub - performed by John Harle Band
4. Cud - performed by Delta Saxaphone Quartet
Argo 443 396-2
Mesh was written for Icebreaker in 1991 and is scored for three keyboards, three saxophones, electric guitar, bass guitar and two flutes (one doubling piccolo). Fitkin’s treatment of instrumental groups is austere and rigorous; the three saxophones work together as a single unit as do the flutes and each keyboard has a specific function within the texture.
There are five thematic ideas in Mesh; the first, the sustained saxophone chords of the opening, acts as a central point of reference for the whole structure, functioning like up-beats to the other sections. This is the only idea that consistently increases in duration on each reappearance. The other four are similar in character but have their own time signatures which are nevertheless unified by a single unchanging pulse. The structuring of Mesh is in blocks which remain strictly self-contained, while at the same time feeling fresh and dynamic.
Laurence Crane
There are five thematic ideas in Mesh; the first, the sustained saxophone chords of the opening, acts as a central point of reference for the whole structure, functioning like up-beats to the other sections. This is the only idea that consistently increases in duration on each reappearance. The other four are similar in character but have their own time signatures which are nevertheless unified by a single unchanging pulse. The structuring of Mesh is in blocks which remain strictly self-contained, while at the same time feeling fresh and dynamic.
Laurence Crane