GAIA: Earth Day Music for Soprano Saxophone and String Quartet
I composed GAIA for an Earth Day celebration and wanted to express musically some of the themes of the day. This live performance is with Merryl Goldberg, saxophone and the California String Quartet. The piece is in four movements, each involving one aspect of life on Earth. The first movement, “Drifting,” (0’00”) represents creatures of the sea (whales), the second, “Lumbering,” (3’42”) creatures of the land (grizzly bears), the third, “Crying,” (6’56”) a lament for the destruction man brings to our ecosystems, and the uplifting final movement, “Flying,” (9’43”) represents creatures of the air (birds). Gaia was the Greek goddess of the earth. The piece is written so that the solo part can be played by any of the high woodwinds (flute, oboe, clarinet, soprano sax).