This work was originally composed for prominent violinist Paul Zukofsky and recorded by him for Japan Victor Records. The music refers to stasis (static) and kinesis (motion) of the movements of sound and a sensation of velocity; of "coming and going" sonority in its spatial vector. I imagined the expanding flight of Time in between infinite rapidity and utter stillness while working on this piece.
The title "My Blue Sky" means the following: an infinite depth of the clarity of the sky, a unity of Man and the Universe and eternal solitude as defined by Dr. Daisetsu Suzuki. This work has been performed in Berlin, Hamburg, Stockholm, and several other European places.
I composed "Enlacage I" for mixed choir and orchestra in 1977. Enlacage is a French word which means, to me, the intertwining or interlacing of a homogeneous melody group and rhythm group. Since this work, the concept of enlacage has become the most important concept in my music.
The image of enlacage as sound movement was developed in several directions. However, since 1987 with O-JU for violoncello solo as a start, enlacage has become my new method of composition with Asian and Japanese materials. Now, I hope it will realize not only a new aspect of music, but also an expression of Asian and Japanese spirit which can become common property throughout the peoples of the world.
Kazane consists of an enlacage of three lines, similar to three strings being spun into yarn. The main motif is extracted from Japanese traditional music for shakuhachi. (TN)
Kazane is in eight sections; each section explores a different register and rhythm surrounding a unison pitch shared among the three instruments. The subtle color contrasts, pitch bends, grace notes, microtones, changes in vibrato and trill styles, and phrase lengths according to breath length rather than to a regular discernable pulse or meter all connect this music to shakuhachi "honkyoku" music. (EMR)
In this music, I tried to express a sort of religious impression caused by what I felt to be the most primitive and yet vitalistic aspects of the unity of man and the universe. The work is based on several modes and consists of five sections which are placed in sequence in a non-European way, rather like a traditional Japanese picture scroll. There is also some reflection of Noh music in respect to the spacing and timing of the sounds. The word "Haptic" is taken from a passage in the book "Icon and Idea" by Sir Herbert Read, where he uses it to describe a certain type of art which depicts forms not by outer observation, but through one's internal and systemic senses.
Language naturally conveys verbal information. However, once language is articulated in sound a nonverbal communication emerges; a metacommunication in the spoken language. As each language is different, so each means of metacommunication is different.
Two aspects of metacommunication have interested me. One is the distinction between verbal information and the information carried by a speaker's tone of voice. For example, one cannot say "pardon me" arrogantly without undercutting the original meaning of the phrase. This aspect is closest to musical information carried by the speed and intensity of pitches. The second aspect which I have explored is closest to timbre (color) in music. It is found in onomatopoeia. For example, the term "ping-pong" carries sonic information, and most listeners hear the word as high-low in pitch.
"Observations on Weather Forecasts" (performed Saturday evening by [THE]) demonstrates one example of my exploration of metacommunication. In this piece, intense emotional expression is superimposed on what is usually understood to be dry and objective verbal description.
In his book, "Hidden Dimensions," Edward T. Hall defines four different communicative distances for human discourse: intimate (as lovers), personal (one-on-one), social (three or four, as at a party), and that of public address (giving a speech). To these four I have added a fifth; that which addresses the infinite (to God, for example). "Calling Together" is a theater piece for mixed voices which improvisationally explores the metacommunication induced at these distances; that is, the performer's tone of voice is specified according to one of these five distances, but the verbal information, in any language, is freely improvised.
"Calling Together" is a musical and verbal activity which, without regard for answer or response, evokes a communication-space through the medium of calling with sounds or words. It is a musical space as well as a kind of poetic space.
The work is performed and constructed according to the following rules. The plan below shows the placement and performance space for the performers. One performer each is stationed at A, B, C, and D. Five or more performers move from point to point of the pentagram, calling out at each point. At each point of the pentagram, the object of the calling is determined according to a designated distance:
Intimate distance (where it is possible to touch one another)
Personal distance (conversational space)
Social distance (distance of relationship with a group, a party, etc.)
Public distance (one vs. many, distance of a speech)
Infinite (e.g. calling out to the dead, to the unknown, or to God)
performers: Christopher Dixon, Martha Graedel, Daniel Granof, Erich Horsly, Grace Kim, Mary Ellen McKenna, William Powers, Scott Shipley, Stefanie Snow, Janet Weaver
This work is written for the Hamilton College Orchestra, E. Michael Richards, and Kazuko Tanosaki.
"Hirai" is a Japanese word which means "come flying." I have not failed to visit the top of Mt. Norikura and its surrounding area these past several summers. There is a great snowfield where one can enjoy skiing even in the summer, and that is a fine location to command a view of all the mountains in Japan. But what I like better than this wonderful scenery is its space itself that expands high up in the air through the stratosphere finally into the universe, or the color of its sky, and the sound of its wind.
This is the fifth piece named "Hirai" based on the image written above. I am sure that you will find what this image is like when you listen to the opening. But the work is not an aim at descriptive music, but, rather, at the expression of human sentiment, the soul of Asia, and passions in the face of Mother Nature.
What I took notice in, while composing this work, was to take full advantage of the piano as a resonator, and to make the most of microtonal systems, multiphonics, and fingerings on which Mr. E. Michael Richards has long been working. I also used some of them in my other work, "Distraction" for clarinet and piano that was written for the Tanosaki-Richards Duo in 1987.
Construction of the piece is in the following form:
The Hamilton College Orchestra, an ensemble of 60 students, has undertaken two concert tours within the last five years. After travelling through New England during the Spring of 1987, the Orchestra was invited by the governments of Bulgaria and Romania to tour those countries for 14 days during January 1988. This trip was partially sponsored by Friendship Ambassors Assocation of Montclair, New Jersey. The Orchestra has also performed with internationally renowned bassist, Bertram Turetzky; virtuoso performer of the koto, Nanae Yoshimura; and commissioned and premiered new works for orchestra by Samuel Pellman, Masao Honma, Jay Reise, and Richard Boulanger. E. Michael Richards has conducted the Hamilton College Orchestra since 1984.
Matsuo's work has been recorded on an Opus One CD.