Ariana, Kaboul by French-Canadian composer Robert Lemay is a musical composition for solo saxophone and optional film accompaniment written for Miguel Moràn in 2009. Memorializing victims of terrorism, Ariana, Kaboul allows the saxophonist to choose and/or create an optional accompanying film or “concert video” for the music. Whereas other compositions for saxophone and film have a concert video created by someone other than the performer beforehand, Lemay leaves this crucial facet of the presentation to the discretion of the saxophonist.
This performance guide prepares saxophonists to approach Ariana, Kaboul from both musical and filmic perspectives. Brief overviews of Lemay’s biography, the creation of the composition, the history of cinema in Aghanistan, an interpretive analysis of the score, and technical and pedagogical considerations for performing extended musical techniques offer a comprehensive analysis of Ariana, Kaboul’s music. In regards to the accompanying concert video (chosen by the performer), this guide argues that tropes in film music serve as a basis for creating a film that is reflective of Lemay’s score. Additionally, it asserts that presenting Ariana, Kaboul with the accompanying film is an extension of silent film performance practices and relates those concepts to other variations of combined musical and visual mediums.
Since the subjects of extended techniques for saxophone, film-scoring practices, film music scholarship in general, and silent film performance practices are too complex to address comprehensively, appendices for related readings are included.