About the piece
In Insomnia the course and mood of a sleepless night has been allegorised. For this reason it is essential that the players give the piece a suspense curve by enhancing the musical discourse through acting.
The piece is based on many gestures and affects, e.g. resembling a state of sleep being continually interrupted. The work is testing the dynamic and sonic borders of the saxophone and goes to the very technical limits of the instrument, just as the insomnia state can bring human beings to the limits of their minds.
In a sleepless night you are neither asleep nor really awake. It is more of a delirium where the perception of space and time is distorted. Sounds, rhythms and tempi, which are usually clear and defined, are now distorted and deformed. Therefore phrases, gestures and indications should be strongly emphasized.

Malte Giesen