Antequera (alto saxophone)

I originally wrote this piece for solo flute for the competition of the Asociación de Flautistas de España held in Málaga in 2023. At the request of my brother Alastair Penman, I have created this version for alto saxophone. The inspiration for this piece comes from the area of Antequera, in the province of Málaga, in the heart of Andalusia.  In the rural area surrounding the city, we can find the striking “Lovers’ Mountain”, where, according to legend, a Christian commander and a Muslim princess threw themselves to their deaths, in order to be reunited in the afterlife in a love which proved impossible during their lives.  Beneath the mountain, the land is rich in white poppy plantations, flowers that are cultivated to obtain medicinal opium.  These are a few of the images that inspired this composition: the joy of love, the bravery and desperation of the lovers, their remains that lie below the flowers that now bloom in the fields and their free spirits that fly eternally through the skies of this land.

Katrina Penman, abril 2025.

Antequera – YouTube  (flute version)