First Sunrays

For Saxophone Ensemble
Two Soprano, two Alto, two Tenor, two Baritone, one Bass Saxophone

6 pages Scores and nine parts

I was delighted when the Equinox Ensemble told me, two years ago, that they had performed and recorded a version of my recorder-orchestra piece UXOLO. I have always loved the saxophone. When I was 18, I taught myself to play it so that I could perform a duo with my pianist-composer friend Chandresh. At the time, I wrote an entire evening programme for piano and saxophone — pieces that I have continued to rearrange throughout my life.
So I was even happier when Equinox asked me to write something especially for them!

For this piece, I used a theme that has been spinning around in my head for the past 15 years. To me, it embodies in an almost pure form the raw, boldly optimistic and overwhelmingly positive “African” energy that has inspired my music for the past 40 years.
I first encountered this energy in 1984, when I discovered albums such as African Marketplace by Abdullah Ibrahim. Later, I experienced it first-hand during my travels through Africa. In 2023, I even published a book in Germany about my experiences couchsurfing in Africa.
My musical idea has always been to combine the vitality and life-affirmation, as well as the harmonic and rhythmic patterns, of African music with the forms and design principles of European concert music. My aim is to create music that can be sung — and that makes you want to dance!
For the past five years, I have been living alternating in Hamburg and Warsaw, Poland, where the winters are long, dark and cold. So you can imagine the enthusiasm that the “First Sunrays” of March can inspire!

My biggest thanks to Equinox for this wonderful premiere! You can watch it here on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tan_6PPNvFc

Equinox are:
Alistair Parnell
Nicola Pennill
Claire Tomsett
Keri Degg
Cat Hanson
Lindsey Smith
Michelle Philips
Deb Hutt
Alison Knight