Spirituals for Saxophone: Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child Cover Image

Spirituals for Saxophone: Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child: Alto Saxophone & Organ Score & Part

$18.95 USD

Spirituals for Saxophone: Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child: Alto Saxophone & Organ Score & Part

Name: Spirituals for Saxophone: Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child: Alto Saxophone & Organ Score & Part
Brand: Alfred Music
SKU: 01-ADV7062
Price: 18.95 USD
Availability: InStock

Traditional / arr. Friedemann Graef

Item: 01-ADV7062

$18.95

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This collection of pieces for saxophone and organ or piano, Spirituals for Saxophone arranged by Friedemann Graef, is designed for use in concert performances as well as for church services and other ceremonies. This traditional American spiritual, "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child," has been extended by composed introductions and endings, or interludes and written solos. The notated solos here are the results of more than ten years of the arranger's personal experience with these tunes and chord changes. The organ part may also be played on acoustic piano if the bass voice is played one octave lower in respective passages---these passages are marked. There is a transposed part for B-flat and E-flat saxophones. Due to the different register of the tenor and alto saxophone, a few notes of the alto saxophone parts have been changed for a more effective sound.

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Series: Advance Music: Spirituals for Saxophone

Publisher: Advance Music

UPC: 805095070620

SKU: 01-ADV7062

Instrumentation: Alto Saxophone & Organ

More about this title

About the Arranger: Friedemann Graef

Friedemann Graef is an arranger and saxophonist whose work with spirituals reflects deep familiarity with the genre's harmonic language and expressive traditions. His arrangements for Advance Music draw on more than a decade of direct performance experience with these melodies and chord progressions, resulting in writing that feels both respectful of the source material and idiomatic to the saxophone.

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Why we love this

Graef's setting honors the spiritual's emotional weight while giving saxophonists real solo material that sounds natural in the instrument's range. The composed introductions, interludes, and endings transform a traditional melody into a concert piece without losing its soul, making it equally at home in a worship setting or a recital program.

What to expect

The spiritual's plaintive melody emerges from composed introduction into a conversation between saxophone and organ, with moments of solo reflection layered over rich harmonic accompaniment. The arrangement carries the weight and dignity of the spiritual while allowing the saxophone to sing with clarity and emotional directness.

Who it's for

Alto saxophonists seeking repertoire that bridges sacred and concert contexts will find this arrangement both musically satisfying and practical for multiple performance settings. Whether you're preparing for a church service, a recital, or a festival, this piece offers substantial solo material grounded in a beloved American tradition.

How to get the most out of it

Shape the notated solo passages with the organ's harmonic support in mind; Graef's voicings were written to complement rather than compete with the saxophone line.
Pay attention to the marked passages where the organ part shifts register for piano doubling; these indicate harmonic density shifts that should influence your dynamic phrasing.
Let the spiritual's inherent rubato guide your interpretation through the composed sections; this arrangement preserves space for expressive breath and emotional landing points.
Work closely with your organist on the interplay between the two parts, especially in passages where the organ provides countermelody or harmonic embellishment.

How to use it

This works beautifully as a centerpiece in a recital that mixes sacred and secular repertoire, or as a signature piece for a sacred music service. Consider pairing it with other spirituals or hymn-based works to build thematic coherence, or use it as a bridge between classical and contemporary programming.