Joan Tower : Wings

Version for solo Alto Saxophone. Wings for solo clarinet (1981) typifies those works of Tower's that bear evocative symbolic titles drawing on abstract action-filled imagery. One of her most frequently performed works Wingsuses fluid melodic contours and musical contrasts to evoke the soaring flight of falcons who can glide effortlessly on thermal currents or dive at breakneck speeds. The work was tailor-made for the smooth seamless playing ofclarinetist Laura Flax and demands great dynamic control over a wide registral range. Directly influenced by Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time Wings also examines the stretching of musical time. Tower arranged Wings forsolo alto saxophone in 1991.