Fragment (consider revising) (2018)
Instrumentation: Saxophone Quartet (SATB)
Length: 4'00
Premiere: World Saxophone Congress, Zagreb, July 2018Performer: Kaleidoscope Saxophone Quartet
Commissioned by the Kaleidoscope Saxophone Quartet
Programme Note:
Fragment (consider revising) was a common grammatical error displayed in pre-2013 versions of Microsoft Word. This error caused great frustration to many users due to the fact it would often be very difficult to find a way to rephrase sentences to appease the grammar checker. According to the definition on Urban Dictionary,“No one can quite work out why it appears, or how to correct the sentence. Some have had success in removing the green line that accompanies the "fragment consider revising" grammatical error by simply adding commas and full stops randomly…”.
Fragment (consider revising) explores the frustrations of the Fragment (consider revising) error. The piece begins with a short fragment of a musical idea, which is then developed in different ways to try to find a solution. After a frustrated opening passage, the user finds a solution and moves on blissfully with the rest of their document. Throughout the middle section, there is a niggling doubt in the user’s mind (represented by the omni-present concert A#) about whether their new sentence is really as good as their original. Eventually, they give in and return to trying to find an alternative sentence that both makes sense and evades the persistent error message. In the end, however, it proves impossible, so they stick with their original “fragment” and the error remains!
Digital product includes PDF score and parts.