AVNER FINBERG

Fossilization is a composition for orchestra with obbligato parts for saxophone quartet. It was written in 2012. I was working on this piece during a summer workshop in the island of Brač in Croatia. The white stone buildings with ornate facades, crumbling under the bright sun, brought to my mind the image of fossils under a bright desert sun. From this image emerges a melancholy choral, played by the saxophone quartet, which is accompanied by a muffled sound of gigantic stomping feet. Following this opening, a new solo theme – “the song of the extinct birds” is played by the alto and soprano saxophones. The song of the birds and the fossils come out of their fossils and rise up, alive again, in the next climactic section. The animals disappear, fading out of existence, and only an echo of the song of the extinct birds remains, when they suddenly fly away and the composition comes to a close. This is my second piece for orchestra, and was written as part of my doctoral degree at Manhattan School of Music in 2013. Fossilization was premiered at Manhattan School of Music’s Borden Auditorium on February 22nd, 2013. David Gilbert conducted the MSM Philharmonia.