Caliban (2014)
(Original Version for Soprano Saxophone and Piano)

Written just before starting work on a ballet for Birmingham Royal Ballet with choreographer David Bintley, this short piece is one of a series of character sketches exploring facets of the main players in Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

The saxophone seems to embody the hybrid creature Caliban – half human half spirit – and the music is edgy and rhythmic. The central section shows a more reflective side: in spite of his abrasive and resentful nature, one of the most beautiful passages in the play is delivered by Caliban (‘the isle is full of noises’).

Caliban was commissioned by Richard Ingham to celebrate the Adolphe Sax bicentenary 2014, with funds from Creative Scotland.