As I talked with a friend from Barcelona, I learned that his region has a complicated historical background, so I decided to compose a piece on the theme of Catalonia, to which Barcelona belongs.
The piece opens with a Catalan folk song, "Song of the Birds". Many people may recall the world-renowned cellist Pablo Casals' performance. When performing, I hope that the soft, deep tone of the woodwinds will be sung with great care. Then, an intense scene of war comes, and overall tension increases with the clash of chromatics. In the middle section, the atmosphere changes completely and the music becomes beautiful, representing the stained glass of Sagrada Familia. Play this part with both the horizontal flow and the harmony in mind. Barcelona had various artists such as Gaudi and Dali. The last part expresses such a city of art. Techniques of minimalist music are used, so please enjoy the repetitive patterns and layering of new sounds to the work.

This was commissioned by Atsugi Civic Wind Symphony in 2021 as a clarinet octet, and the following year I created a woodwind octet version for Tokyo Metropolitan Koyamadai High School. For this publication, it has been revised as a flexible ensemble. Depending on the combination of instruments, it may sound better if the parts are partially interchanged. We hope that you will experiment with this piece as you play it."

(Tomohito Matsushita)