Printed set (Score & Parts)
Piccolo (1 player over)
Flute (3 players over, 2 players also Piccolo)
Oboe (1 player over)
Bassoon (1 player over)
Contrabassoon (1 player over)
Eb Clarinet (1 player over)
Bb Clarinet (8 players over)
Bb Bass Clarinet (2 players over)
Bb Contrabass Clarinet (1 player over)
Bb Soprano Saxophone (1 player over)
Eb Alto Saxophone (2 players over)
Bb Tenor Saxophone (1 player over)
Eb Baritone Saxophone (1 player over)
Bb Trumpet (6 players over, if possible, 3 players also Flugelhorn)
F Horn (6 players over)
Trombone (4 players over)
Euphonium (2 players over)
Tuba (2 players over)
String Bass (1 player over)
Piano (1 player)
[Percussion 1] 4 Tom-Toms, 3 Triangles, Wind Chime
[Percussion 2] Bass-Drum, Mokusho
[Percussion 3] Tam-Tam, Wood Blocks, Anvil
[Percussion 4] Marimba, Glockenspiel, Vibraphone, Steel Drum
[Percussion 5] Glockenspiel, Vibraphone, Chimes, Bongos
[Percussion 6] Chimes, 4 Temple Blocks, Slap-Whip
People reflect on their personal journey as they observe the growth of flowers. Budding, blooming and withering away. The growth of a flower is, in a sense, the flow of time. It is a natural phenomenon precisely because it always progresses.
Therefore, a moment taken out of that flow is an infinitely strange existence, no matter how beautiful it may be, and it becomes an abnormality on its own.
The frozen flower is a moment of stopped time, as evoked by novelists Sakon So and Michael Ende.
The music was composed with the theme of "How to use the major chord," aiming to make the most natural and beautiful chord sound "unnatural." If it were possible to achieve this, then it could be experienced as a "chilling beauty" that transcends mere aesthetics.
In order to create a space of alienation, the piece also incorporates special playing techniques in certain parts. In this background section, the goal was to set up a world that could only be created through the medium of a wind ensemble.
This is the realm between the everyday and the unique, where a flower of frozen ice emerges. The writer dreamed of such a result and continued to compose.
The first edition of the piece was commissioned by the Yamaha Symphonic Band, premiering on April 16, 2011 at the 45th-anniversary concert of the ensemble held at Act City Hamamatsu's Main Hall, conducted by Chikara Imamura. The ensemble later made significant revisions to perform it as their free piece at a wind ensemble competition that same year. With the revised version conducted by Nobuya Sugawa, the ensemble won a gold prize at the All Japan Band Competition.
This final edition includes six measures (about 25 seconds) that were cut from the first edition due to time constraints but were reinstated in this edition. These measures are located between measures 29 and 34. In 2022, another ending was commissioned by the Katakura High School Wind Orchestra.
(Yoshio Nakahashi)
(Yoshio Nakahashi)
World Parts Download
