MERCURE (1990) Saxophone-Mercure is one of ten pieces forming the “SIX SOLAR THEMES”, composed for the Stepping Stone 1990 Edition of the Canadian Music Competition-Canimex. At the root of the piece is the Piano-Sun, which symbolizes raw energy, intense heat, radiance, and diffusion. This energy enlightens each planet under a different “day”. Saxophone-Mercure is a variation of the light-music of the sun. AHUATZIN I & II (2013, 2014) Ahuatzin I & II for alto saxophone and 16th tone piano were premiered at the Montreal Conservatory on January 21, 2015 by Alfredo Mendoza on saxophone and the composer on piano. The alto saxophone was chosen because the entire range of the 16th tone piano - which is one octave - is situated in the middle of this saxophone’s gamut. The saxophone plays in quarter tones, which gives it 25 tones in common with the piano. UN LIEU VERDOYANT (1999) This piece was composed as a gesture of affection and admiration for the great French composer Gerard Grisey, who had recently died. Using a voice he had liked and an instrument for which he had composed, it speaks of yes and no, of anxiety and bitterness, as well as of an introspection that extends beyond death. The text is composed according to the lamentations of the prophet Jeremy. The saxophone is treated as the shadow of the voice but also as a loving duet with the singer, one moment uniting with her, the next, separating from her. The piece speaks of the violence of death to which we are subjected, but also to the hope alluded to by Jeremy, “…maybe there is still hope…” DESAFINADO (2005) At first glance, the most significant particularity of this piece is the use of the “auto-playing” snare drum. The snare drum contains a speaker that acts as the “conductor”. Controlled by computer generated sound waves, the speaker hits the membrane of the snare drum as though it were a drumstick, but even more so. The title refers to the lyrics of the Antônio Jobim piece “Desafinado”. The auditor may notice that the singing is left to the snare drum. It is up to the listener to question how else this piece could be “out of tune” (desafinado). UBUKHO (2010) Second opus of an ensemble of pieces inspired by the music of Xhosa, this piece presents a competition for the space left between the instrumentalist and the speakers. It explores different modalities: placement, diffusion, intimate spaces, grandiose, confined, spread out, etc., using a writing principle that pushes the alternating sequences to their limit. The music thus evolves in a brutal, jumping game of contrasts that transposes to the instrument the idea of scissors cutting magnetic tape. Ubukho means "reservoir", in this case a basin of notes from which the musician draws his game. Ubukho also evokes the concept of the presence of a giant, invisible, and unpredictable entity next to the instrumentalist, with whom he will weave a supernatural dialogue.