"Nightingale's Devotion" was commissioned in 2020 by the Atsugi Civic Wind Symphony and was performed at the 26th Higashi-Kanto Ensemble Contest, where it won the Silver Prize. The original composition was for woodwind septet (6 flutes and one oboe). Still, the following year, I revised it to a woodwind octet (2 flutes, 4 clarinets, 1 alto clarinet, and 1 alto saxophone) for Oyamadai Metropolitan High School, my alma mater. The members participated in the 45th Tokyo Ensemble Contest, where they received a bronze prize.

The title "Nightingale" represents the bird known for its beautiful call, as well as Florence Nightingale, a famously devoted British nurse.
The opening of the piece evokes the scene of a coronation. Overlapping themes represent an entrance by candlelight. After that, the piece expresses tension from the Crimean War, and the middle section represents the empathic caring of soldiers and civilians who have been physically and mentally wounded in the war. The work concludes in brightness, portraying a sense of peace and hope.
The score was completed with various considerations to publish as flexible work. Since there are so many combinations of instruments, it is difficult to predict if all of them will work without actually hearing those varieties. We hope that you will play the piece in a "flexible" way, for example, by switching parts to achieve best balance.

(Tomohito Matsushita)