St. John’s Dance

For alto saxophone and piano (2014), 10’

Commissioned by David Wozniak.

Premiered March 16, 2013, Salem, MA; David Wozniak, alto saxophone; Liz Ames, piano.

Purchase from Black Tea Music

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Program Notes

The title, St. John’s Dance, refers to the medieval phenomenon of “dancing mania”, in which large groups of people would spontaneously break into frenetic dancing for hours at a time until they would collapse. Reportedly, some participants would strip naked, attack spectators, or dance so intensely that they fatally injured themselves. The explanations behind “choreomania” run the gamut from religious cults to poisoning by ergot, a fungus on grain that caused hallucinations in epidemic proportions. Or perhaps it was all just medieval flashmobs! The piece moves breathlessly and schizophrenically through much of its duration, making great demands on both performers, with a wide use of extended techniques in the sax.