Golden Light

From Wind Repertory Project
David Maslanka

David Maslanka


Subtitle: A Celebration Piece for Symphonic Wind Ensemble


General Info

Year: 1990
Duration: c. 8:35
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Carl Fischer
Cost: Score and Parts - Rental   |   Score Only - $17.00


Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe
Bassoon
B-flat Clarinet I-II
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II
Horn in F I-II
Trombone I-II
Baritone
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion, including:

  • Bass Drum
  • Bell Tree
  • Bongos
  • Cabasa
  • Claves
  • Cow Bell
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Glockenspiel
  • High Hat Cymbal
  • Marimba
  • Suspended Cymbal
  • Tambourine
  • Temple Blocks
  • Tom-Tom
  • Tom-Tom, Indian
  • Triangle (3)
  • Vibraphone
  • Woodblock
  • Xylophone


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

I lived for many years in upper Manhattan -- one block from the A train. One block the other way was Inwood Hill Park, a beautiful “wild” place that still contained old growth trees. It was there that I did my walking meditations. “Golden Light” refers to the quality of late afternoon sunlight that could be seen through the trees as I walked. It was a delicious “green-gold” color. My walking meditations are inward journeys which I use to find the impulse for a piece of music. In the meditation for this piece I was taken to the coast of Africa. It was a summer night and a community of people was engaged in a lively song and dance fest. I was allowed to join in. The dance rhythms and the joyous quality of the singing became the push for my music.

Golden Light is not African music, but the small, repetitive bits of tunes, the call-and-response patterns, and the layers of independent rhythms give it a distinctly African feel. It is a very difficult piece to perform because it asks each player to be rhythmically independent much of the time -- each person contributing his or her separate voice to make the joyful sound of the community at play.

- Program notes by composer


Premiered August 1990 at the Cohasset Music Circus, Cohasset, Mass.: Senior Wind Ensemble of the South Shore Conservatory, Malcolm W. Rowell, Jr., conductor

Golden Light was written for a high school wind ensemble. It is a very demanding study in rhythmic independence and speed, and is a fair test of any ensemble.

- Program notes by publisher


Media


State Ratings

  • North Carolina: V


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • University of Louisiana at Lafayette Wind Ensemble (William J. Hochkeppel, conductor) - 16 February 2023
  • University of South Carolina (Columbia) Symphonic Winds (Jay Jacobs, conductor) - 21 November 2022
  • Eastman School of Music (Rochester, N.Y.) Wind Orchestra (Mark Scatterday, conductor) - 3 May 2021
  • Clark College (Vancouver, Wash.) Concert Band (Doug Harris, conductor) – 13 March 2020
  • University of California (Berkeley) Wind Ensemble II (Matthew Sadowski, conductor) – 17 March 2019
  • University of Cincinnati (Ohio) College-Conservatory of Music Wind Ensemble (Thomas Gamboa, conductor) – 25 September 2018
  • Contra Costa Wind Symphony (Walnut Creek, Calif.) (Brad Hogarth, conductor) – 4 March 2018
  • University of Georgia (Athens) Hodgson Wind Symphony (Jaclyn Hartenberger, conductor) – 20 September 2017
  • San Francisco Wind Ensemble (Brad Hogarth, conductor) – 10 June 2017 (Golden Gate Park Band Festival)
  • Williams College (Williamstown, Mass.) Symphonic Winds (Steven Dennis Bodner, conductor) – 23 March 2006 (CBDNA 2006 Eastern Division Conference, Montclair, N.J.)
  • Georgia Southern University Wind Symphony - 30 April 2010
  • South Shore Conservatory (Mass.) Summer Wind Ensemble (Malcolm W. Rowell, conductor) - 3 August 1990 *Premiere Performance*


Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources