Mai - Alto Sax Unaccompanied

Maï by Ryo Noda, a Japanese composer, is a unique piece of work for solo saxophone that is strongly influenced by Japanese music. With sonorities intended to be close to those of a koto and of a shakuhachi, this piece is technical and complex to play.

The story behind this work is about the ghost of a Japanese Samurai. While his wife asks why he left her behind and went to fight in the war, he tries to justify his choices. The screaming altissimo at the end is the climax of hte struggle within the mind, which is then followed by a 10 second silence that represents his death. The technical abilities required are: large interval leaps, rapid trills, alternate fingerings to achieve pitch bending, multiphonics, altissimo, portamento and cutting tone.

Includes poem in French by Jean Leduc.