Project Description
Saxophone Quartet
2012
48 min.
Listen Now
Masato Kumoi Saxophone Quartet.
live recording
Preview Score
Movements
- At This Time
- Breathing
- Awakening
- For the Dead
- Letting Go of the Past
- The World is New
- When I cannot love I wait for morning
- The soul is here for its own joy
- Song for the Coming Day
Commissioned by
Songs for the Coming Day was commissioned by the Masato Kumoi Sax Quartet. The members of the quartet are: Masato Kumoi, Wataru Sato, Kazuyuki Hayashida, and Takahiro Nishio. This music is gratefully dedicated to them, and to the following who supported the commission:
- Amethyst Quartet
- Sean Hurlburt
- Nathan Nabb
- Johnny Salinas
- Masahito Sugihara
- Arion Saxophone Quartet
- Yusuke Horie
- Shinji Komori
- Norie Sano
- Hiroyuki Endo
- Assembly Quartet
- Lauren Meccia
- Ian Jeffress
- Matt Younglove
- Adam Estes
- Collegio Sax Quartet
- Masato Kumoi
- Yusuke Horie
- Aiko Fujiwara
- Kaya Mamuro
- Project Fusion
- Daniel Espinoza
- Matt Amedio
- Michael Sawzin
- Matt Evans
- Syzygy Saxophone Quartet
- Naomi Sullivan
- Dominic Childs
- Paul McEachran
- Neil McGovern
- Donors in support of the Syzygy Saxophone Quartet include the Clarinet and Saxophone Society of Great Britain, Birmingham Conservatorie, and Caroline Marriott.
- Zzyzx Quartet
- Stacy Wilson
- Stephen Page
- Matt Evans
- Dana Booher
- Rex Ltd.
- Kota Odashima
Premiere
30 September, 2012 by the Masato Kumoi Saxophone Quartet in Tokyo, Japan
Program Note
Songs for the Coming Day is in nine movements, and runs about 48 minutes. It was commissioned by the Masato Kumoi Sax Quartet and consortium. The movements are relatively brief “songs without words” with titles such as Breathing, Awakening, Letting Go of the Past, and The Soul is Here for its Own Joy. Eight of the nine movements are varying degrees of slow, emphasizing longer durations and quieter dynamics. There is a high demand for precise ensemble awareness and blended tone qualities. The title Songs for the Coming Day reflects my belief that under the chaotic surface of our world there is a rising creative energy through which is growing a new idea of living in harmony with ourselves and the Earth.
Program Notes by David Maslanka
Further Reading
From the Maslanka Archive – No. 34, Julian Velasco’s Interview of Gary Green
From the Maslanka Archive features media and stories of David's life and work. This week, we are excited to feature Julian Velasco's interview of Gary Green from the Wharton Center in East Lansing, MI from October 24, 2017.
From the Maslanka Archive – No. 31, Julian Velasco’s Interview of David – Part 1
From the Maslanka Archive features media and stories of David's life and work. This week, we are excited to feature Part 1 of Julian Velasco's interview of David from his home in Missoula, MT in 2016.
Maslanka Weekly: Best of the Web – No. 90, New Performances of “The Soul Is Here for its Own Joy”
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature three of the very best new performances of "The Soul Is Here for its Own Joy" from Songs for the Coming Day for Saxophone Quartet.
Maslanka Weekly: Best of the Web – No. 74, Time
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature three of David’s works that contemplate the enigma of time: “At This Time” from Songs for the Coming Day, Symphony No. 10: The River of Time, and "A Song for the End of Time" from Song Book for Flute and Wind Ensemble.
Maslanka Weekly: Best of the Web – No. 68, More New Performances of Saxophone Music
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature three new performances of some of David’s best saxophone music: Songs for the Coming Day, Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble, and David's transcription of J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations for Saxophone Quartet.
Maslanka Weekly: Best of the Web – No. 57, Morning
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature three of David's works that celebrate or look to the joy of morning: "When I cannot love I wait for morning" from Songs for the Coming Day, On This Bright Morning, and Morning Star.
Maslanka Weekly: Best of the Web – No. 56, New Performances of Saxophone Quartet Music
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature three new performances of saxophone quartet music: "Fanfare/Variations on Durch Adams Fall” from Recitation Book, "Inwardly" and "Dramatic" from Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Wind Ensemble, and "The soul is here for its own joy" from Songs for the Coming Day.
Maslanka Weekly: Best of the Web – No. 44, Songs Without Words
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature three beautiful examples of David's "Songs Without Words," of which there are literally dozens to choose from: "Awakening" from Songs for the Coming Day, Evening Song, and "Lost" from Song Book for Alto Saxophone and Marimba.
Maslanka Weekly: Best of the Web – No. 5, Masato Kumoi Saxophone Quartet
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature the Masato Kumoi Saxophone Quartet with amazing performances of Songs for the Coming Day, Mountain Roads, and Recitation Book.
David Maslanka: Works for Younger Wind Ensembles
Here are more than twenty works for wind ensemble, arranged in approximate ascending order of difficulty, with commentary by David Maslanka
Recording the Wind Ensemble Music of David Maslanka
Mark Morette of Mark Custom Recording shares his extensive experience in recording wind ensembles.
