In many cultures the bridge symbolises a transformation from one state to another, or change, or the desire for change. Iris, the winged goddess of the rainbow, was the bridge between the heavens and the earth, delivering messages. She would go from one end of the earth to the other, travelling at the speed of wind, to the bottom of the sea or to the depths of the underworld, leaving a rainbow in her wake.
Yet another figure linking worlds is the shaman, who travels between ‘lower and ‘higher’ realms of subconscious to perform his work. The saxophone soloist in ‘Iris’ is the shaman: ‘one who walks between the worlds’. The two most different ‘worlds’ in this piece are a mournful chorale and a spiky, obessively rhythmic section. The saxophone builds bridges between the two and acts as an intermediary, taking material from one to the other.
The saxophone is associated with the percussion, which is largely used to signal change. Percussion instruments (in particular the rattle) are used in shamanic practise to create a transition from one level of reality to another- a bridge between worlds.
Iris was created through the London Sinfonietta's Blue Touch Paper scheme, supported by the Gulbenkian Foundation, and first performed at the Cheltenham Festival in July 2004.
© Tansy Davies
