Panta rhei

'Panta rhei - everything is in a state of flux' is the bottom line of what the Greek philosopher Heraclitus believed. 'Everything is in a continual state of flux and change' - to him, this was 'logos', rational order. It is at the interface between personal thought and archaic ritual that the four mantras for saxophone quartet have been created. In Hinduism and Buddhism, 'mantras' are sacred sentences, key messages, 'instruments of thought and speech'. They were addressed to the deities as a form of worship and way of concentration and mainly consist of continuously repeated syllables and words. With this in mind, each movement in 'Panta rhei' has been given a principal motif (especially a basic rhythmic gesture) which is repeated in variations and cycles but always differently - in a perpetual state of flux. (Enjott Schneider)