Join the Quasar Saxophone Quartet and composers Michael Edwards and Martin Parker at St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh on the 31st March 2017.

Michael Edwards' hyperboles 3 'so vast a vacuity' for saxophone quartet and electronics is a 52 minute work demanding great stillness and calm on the part of the players and the audience. Its large form consists almost exclusively of multiphonics. Michael chose the most delicate multiphonics upon which to superimpose the electronic part which surrounds the audience. The combination of multiphonics and electronics creates a sonic impression which is continuously being transformed, but in which silence plays a crucial role.

Martin Parker's scripts are inserted into this large form as a type of punctuation. They seamlessly intervene in Michael's piece, but are distinctively different in that they offer the players (and listeners) an opportunity to move and breathe in a different way before Michael's piece resumes.

Changes in lighting are aligned with the formal changes in the piece and serve as cues to distinguish different sections.

The project was premiered on Thursday January 19th 2017 at the magnificent Église du Gesù in Montréal and we're delighted to welcome you to the UK premiere in the wonderful acoustic at St. Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh.

The concert is free, but please reserve tickets below. There will be opportunities to make a donation before and after the concert.

This will be the Quasar Quartet's second visit to Edinburgh and is part of a considerble tour in the UK and beyond. In Edinburgh, they're working closely with students at the Reid School of Music, workshopping new pieces. They’re also recording hyperboles 3 and scripts for later release.

• This performance is generously supported by Reid School of Music, Edinburgh College of Art at the University of Edinburgh & John Hails at Edinburgh Napier University, School of Music.
• It forms part of the Old Town Concerts Series and ECA's series of public events.
• Quasar Quartet acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, which last year invested $153 million to bring the arts to Canadians throughout the country.
• Quasar Quartet remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien. L’an dernier, le Conseil a investi 153 millions de dollars pour mettre de l’art dans la vie des Canadiennes et des Canadiens de tout le pays.
• Quasar Quartet thanks the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec for its financial support.