Integra Records: ING1002

'Anyone who has studied the saxophone from a classical perspective will be aware of the centrality theFrench school has played in the instrument’s development. There is an abundance of 20th century repertoire often written as test pieces for the Paris Conservatoire and inspired by the likes of Marcel Mule and Jean Marie Londeix. This repertoire was undoubtedly conceived with a specific style of playing in mind and consequently has become synonymous with traditional French concepts of sound. My own approach to the instrument is from a vocal perspective, incorporating the body’s natural resonance chambers and striving to phrase and interpret the music as a singer. When embarking upon this recording project it was my intention to keep this aesthetic at the heart of my interpretations, choosing tempi which allowed the music to sing and breathe, and using vibrato flexibly to colour the sound according to the musical context. My previous discs (Sanctuary and Renouncement) have been an exploration of an ecclesiastical sound-world incorporating voices and church organ. In this context the primary objective was to achieve a purity and ethereal nature to the sound. When it came to revisiting the repertoire on this disc I found myself exploring an alternative sound palette which also involved greater finger dexterity. Many of these were, after all, “test pieces” designed to highlight a performer’s technical prowess. The process has highlighted for me just how individual the saxophone is, and how the performer dictates the end result rather than the instrument.' Christian Forshaw, April 2008