Cantus Curatio I (Healing Melody I) for Alto Saxophone and Piano by Da Jeong Choi was commissioned by saxophonist Chiaki Hanafusa. This work is dedicated to victims of breast cancer.  The structure is ABCA’B’C’: A (meditation of life mm. 1-38) - B (vitality of life, mm. 39-71) – C (joy of life, mm. 72-98), with the same structure recurring with variation in the second half of the work: A’ (mm. 99-117) – B’ (mm. 118-137) – C’ (mm.137-163) - Coda (cure of life, mm. 164-174).  The piece starts with a section for meditation, featuring long and stretched notes in the saxophone.  String effects and sustained resonance inside the piano aids the meditative effect. The following fast jazz-like passage (C) describes the joy of life and the piece ends with a "cure" motive.

                                Composer's Note of Cantus Curatio Series

Another artistic outlet that I have been working on as a composer is my composition series titled Cantus Curatio ("Healing Melody" in Latin) for solo instrument, which is similar to the solo composition series by Luciano Berio and Vincent Persichetti.  Each piece is dedicated to victims who are diagnosed with a different disease.  The inspiration for this series originated from a meeting with a dancer Debra Keller (Dance faculty at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey) with whom I was working for dance class in 2003.  One day in 2006 she asked me whether she could use one of my works, “Healing Melody” for Violin and Marimba (2003) for her dance project "to Mother" in Princeton, NJ because this particular piece reminded her of her mother who died of breast cancer.  After the performance, I ran into several people who have suffered from beast cancer which inspired me to write a first Cantus Curatio series piece, Cantus Curatio I for alto saxophone and piano dedicated to breast cancer patients.

“This piece has a deep musical characteristic and is not chasing a trend. Also, the way Choi blends Asian elements and jazz elements is innovative. Her ability to express ideas into music and skill of composition is extraordinary. This piece represents her astonishing ability. I believe that she can compose great music to the world.”

                       - Katsuki Tochio, Saxophonist, Kosei Wind Orchestra, Japan