Rapture’s Abyss for Saxophone Quartet and Solo Alto Saxophone Composed for Nois Saxophone Quartet with soloist Kendra Wheeler

In Rapture’s Abyss, I explore the paradox of ecstasy and devastation—the moment when one stands at the peak of emotional vulnerability, only to be met with tragedy. The title emerged from this tension, a meditation on extremes: joy and sorrow, fire and ice, heaven and hell. These dualities have long fascinated me, from the elemental oppositions in Robert Frost’s poem Fire and Ice to the spiritual and rhythmic polarities found in West African traditions.

The work opens with a dense polyrhythmic texture inspired by the Bata drumming of the Yoruba people—layered, cross-cutting rhythms that evoke ritual, urgency, and ancestral memory. Against this rhythmic tapestry, drones in contrary keys create harmonic instability, a sonic metaphor for emotional dissonance. The solo alto saxophone, performed here by the extraordinary Kendra Wheeler, weaves through this landscape with both vulnerability and defiance.

Midway, the piece settles into a soulful blues—a moment of catharsis and grounding. But resolution is fleeting. The music returns to its unsettled origins, reminding us that rapture and abyss are not endpoints, but coexisting states.

I am deeply grateful to Nois Saxophone Quartet and Kendra Wheeler for their fearless musicianship and emotional generosity. Their ability to inhabit both the fire and the ice of this work brings its extremes vividly to life.