Recitation Book

David Maslanka

Subtitle: For Saxophone Quartet

General Info

Year: 2006
Duration: c. 20:00
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: David Maslanka
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $49.00; (digital) - $34.00

Movements

1. Broken Heart: Meditation on the chorale melody Der du bist drei in einigkeit (You who are three in one) – 4:35
2. Prelude/Chorale: Meditation on the chorale melody Jesu meine Freude (Jesus my joy) – 4:00
3. Ecco, morirò dunque (Look! My Death is Near!) – Carlo Gesualdo (1596) – 1:20
4. Meditation on the Gregorian Chant O Salutaris Hostia (O Salvation’s Victim) – 3:05
5. Fanfare-Variations on the Chorale Melody "Durch Adams Fall" (Through Adam's Fall)

Instrumentation

Full Score
B-flat Soprano Saxophone
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone

Errata

E-flat Alto Saxophone, m.123: Should be read as bass clef (G3, B3, C#4, E#4, A#4).
E-flat Alto Saxophone, m.124: Should be read normally in treble clef.

Program Notes

I have loved Italian madrigals since my student days. Recitation Book for saxophone quartet feels something like a madrigal collection, but with a grand finale. My approach to composing is vocal, and the singing quality of saxophones is one of their fine strengths. The movements in this piece are relatively brief and intimate songs.

Much of my recent music draws its inspiration from the distant past. An old melody pushes open a door in my mind, and a parallel world or dream makes its way out. Each piece in this set found its inspiration in that way.

The title, Recitation Book,” implies a set of lessons. I don’t want to say explicitly what each “lesson” means, but the titles of the pieces circle around the theme of death, which for me implies the passing of the old, and the coming of the new.

I have not only quoted a number of old melodies in Recitation Book, but two whole brief pieces as well. This first is J.S. Bach’s four-part chorale Jesu, meine Freude, and the second is an arrangement for the four saxophones of the five-voiced madrigal Ecco, morirò dunque by Gesualdo di Venosa.

My acquaintance with the Masato Kumoi Saxophone Quartet began several years ago when I received a CD in the mail. When recordings come unbidden I am generally prepared for something less than I want to hear. But this rendition of Mountain Roads (my first composition for saxophone quartet) was the finest performance of the piece that I had ever heard. Since then the Kumoi Quartet has performed the piece many times, and they have promoted it widely among players in Japan. In 2004, Masato Kumoi commissioned me to write another quartet especially for his group.

In May of 2005, Masato Kumoi recorded a solo alto CD (Simple Songs, Cafua Records), and included my Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano. This is a wonderful performance, and I am deeply indebted to him for his brilliant play, and the depth of his musical insight. I look forward to many more years of our collaboration.

- Program Note by composer

Commissioned by the The Masato Kumoi Saxophone Quartet of Tokyo.

- Program Note from score

Commercial Discography

Audio CD: Barkada Saxophone Quartet - 2014

Media

Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Michigan State University (East Lansing) Wind Symphony (Kevin Sedatole, conductor) – 21 March 2019
The Ohio State University (Columbus) Wind Symphony (Russell C. Mikkelson, conductor) – 5 March 2019
Mirasol Quartet – 12 April 2015

Works for Winds by This Composer

Alex and the Phantom Band (2002/2015)
Angel of Mercy (2015)
California (2016)
A Child's Garden of Dreams (1981)
Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble (1999)
Concerto for Marimba and Band (1990)
Concerto for Clarinet and Wind Ensemble (2015)
Concerto for Piano, Winds, and Percussion (1979)
Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Wind Ensemble (2012)
Concerto No 2 for Piano, Winds, and Percussion (2002)
Concerto No 3 for Piano and Wind Ensemble (2016)
Concerto for Trombone and Wind Ensemble (2007)
Crown of Thorns (1991)
Desert Roads (2005)
Fanfare-Variations on the Chorale Melody "Durch Adams Fall" (Through Adam's Fall). See: Recitation Book
First Light (2016)
Four Pieces for Band (1980)
Give Us This Day (2005)
Golden Light (1990)
Heart Songs (2001)
Hell's Gate (1997)
Hohner (1999)
Hosannas (2015)
Husa (2016)
Hymn for World Peace (2014)
Illumination (2013)
In Memoriam (1990)
Laudamus Te (1995)
Letter to Martin (2015)
Liberation (2012)
Little Concerto (1990)
Mass (1995/2005)
Montana Music: Chorale Variations (1993)
Morning Star (1997)
Mother Earth (2008)
Mountain Roads (1997)
On This Bright Morning (2013)
Peace (2012)
Prelude on a Gregorian Tune (1981)
Procession of the Academics (2008)
Quintet for Winds Number 2
Recitation Book (2006)
- Fanfare-Variations on the Chorale Melody "Durch Adams Fall" (Through Adam's Fall) (2006)
Remember Me (2013)
Requiem (2013)
Rollo Takes a Walk (1980)
Saint Francis (2015)
Sea Dreams (1998)
The Seeker (2016)
Song at the End of Time
Songs for the Coming Day (2012)
Song Book (2001)
Symphony No. 2 (1987)
Symphony No. 3 (1991/2007)
Symphony No. 4 (1993)
Symphony No. 5 (2000)
Symphony No. 6 (2004)
Symphony No 7 (2004)
Symphony No 8 (2008)
Symphony No. 9 (2011)
Symphony No. 10 (2018)
Tears (1994)
Testament (2001)
Traveler (2003)
A Tuning Piece: Songs of Fall and Winter (1995)
ufo dreams (1999)
Unending Stream of Life (2007)
Variants on a Hymn Tune (1995)

Resources

Maslanka, D. (2006). Recitation Book: For Saxophone Quartet (2006) [score]. David Maslanka: New York.
Perusal score