A Portfolio... Traditional Japanese Aesthetics in The Solo Guitar Works of Toru Takemitsu

INFORMATION TO USERS
T he negative microfilm of this dissertation w a s prepared and in sp ected by the

school granting th e d e g re e . W e are using this film without further inspection or
ch an g e. If th ere a r e any questions about th e content, p lease write directly to the
school. T he quality of this reproduction is heavily dependent upon th e quality of
th e original m aterial.
T he following explanation of techniques is provided to help clarify notations which

m ay ap p ea r on this reproduction.
1. M anuscripts m ay not alw ays be com plete. W hen it is not possible to

obtain m issing p a g e s, a note a p p e a rs to indicate this.
2. W hen copyrighted m aterials are rem oved from the m anuscript, a note
a p p e a rs to indicate this.
3. O versize m aterials (m aps, draw ings and charts are photographed by

sectioning th e original, beginning a t the u pper left hand co rn er and
continuing from left to right in equal sectio n s with small overlaps.
UMI
P roQ uest Information an d Learning
300 North Z ee b Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA
800-521-0600
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
UMI N u m b e r : 3 0 1 1 2 7 2
___ ®
UMI
UMI Microform 3011272
Copyright 2001 by Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company.
All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against
unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code.
Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company

300 North Zeeb Road
P.O. Box 1346
Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346
A PORTFOLIO OF FOUR COMPOSITIONS: SNARL,
STRUWWELPETERLIEDER, SEVEN M IRRORS, A N D
TO M USIQ UE
PARTI
A D issertation
Presented to the Faculty of the G raduate School
of C ornell U niversity
in P artial Fulfillm ent of the R equirem ents for the D egree of
Doctor of M usical A rts
by
V ineet A shok Shende
M ay 2001
R e p r o d u c e d with p e r m is s io n of th e cop yrigh t ow n er. F u rth e r re p ro d u ctio n prohibited w ithout p e rm issio n .

© 2001 V in eet S hende
R e p r o d u c e d with p e r m is s io n of th e copy right o w ner. F u rth e r re p ro d u ctio n prohibited w itho ut p e rm issio n .

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
B om 14 June 1972, Vineet S hende sp e n t his form ative years in Pune,
India a n d in the Chicago area. His earliest m usical instruction w as from his
m other, a vocalist trained in the N o rth In d ia n classical m usic tradition. A t
Cornell, S h en d e h as studied com position w ith Roberto Sierra a n d Steven
Stucky a n d con d u ctin g w ith Scott T ucker. Shende received his M aster of
Music d eg ree in 1996 from Butler U niversity, w here he stu d ied com position
w ith M ichael Schelle and James A ikm an, a n d his Bachelor of A rts degree in
1994 from G rinnell College, w here he stu d ied com position w ith Jonathan
Chenette.
S h ende has received several a w a rd s for his com positions from
organizations a n d institutions such as th e ASCAP, Cornell U niversity, the Des
M oines S y m p h o n y Orchestra, an d G rinnell College. His m usic has been
perform ed th ro u g h o u t the U nited S tates, Europe, and Taiw an. In addition to
com posing, S h ende's musical interests in clu d e choral conducting an d
perform ing as a guitarist an d tenor. H e is a m em ber of ASCAP, Society for
C om posers, Inc., an d the A m erican C om posers Forum. H e cu rrently holds the
position of M ellon Postdoctoral Fellow in M usic at Grinnell College in
Grinnell, Iow a w h ere he teaches com position, orchestration an d m usic theory.
p e r m is s io n of th e co pyrigh t ow n er. F u rth e r re p ro d u ctio n prohibited w ithout p e rm issio n .

dedicated to m y nephew Daven Andrew Crossland, zuhose bright and mischievous
eyes reflect all of humanity's infinite possibilities.
iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I w o u ld like to th an k the m em bers of m y com m ittee - R oberto Sierra,
M artin H atch, Steven Stucky, and Scott T ucker - for all of their in sig h t an d
help w ith m y dissertation. Also, I w o u ld like to fu rth er th an k R oberto Sierra
and Steven S tucky for all of their com positional a n d professional advice, and
Scott Tucker for h is conducting suggestions, basketball help, a n d friendship
du rin g m y te n u re a t Cornell.
I especially w a n t to thank m y fam ily - m y parents A shok a n d H em a,
m y sister U rm ila, an d m y brother-in-law C h risto p h er - for all of th eir love,
understan d in g , a n d su p p o rt th ro u g h o u t m y life. I also w a n t to th a n k S hannon
H edtke, w ho for nine years w as a constant source of strength, love, an d
inspiration.
Finally, I w o u ld like to express m y g ratitu d e to Chris A rrell, Birgit Berg,
Brian Booton, H illary Brown, Jon C henette, Jason D urno, L eonard Feldm an,
Susan Infantino, John Palm er Kern, Kate L ew is, Jane Lien, G ary M oulsdale,
Paul O sterfield, C arter Pann, H annah R obbins, John R om m ereim , M ark Davis
Scatterday, K ate Sw enson, Dim itri S hapovalov, a n d A rthur W oll. They, along
w ith m y fam ily, have helped me th ro u g h w h a t h as been the m o st difficult
period in m y life, an d I w ill always cherish their friendship.
p e r m is s io n of th e copy rig ht o w ner. F u rth e r re p ro d u ctio n prohibited w ithout p e rm issio n .

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Biographical Sketch iii
D edication iv
A cknow ledgem ents v
List of Figures vii
List of E xam ples ix
CHAPTER ON E: Introduction 1
CHAPTER TW O: Ma, Sazuari, Iki, a n d Japanese G ardens 9
CHAPTER THREE: Folios - B ackground a n d Form al C onstruction 17
CHAPTER FOUR: Folios - Ma a n d Sawari 34
CHAPTER FIVE: A ll in Twilight a n d Equinox 47
CHAPTER SIX: Conclusion 60
APPENDIX A: T akem itsu's G uitar W orks 66
APPENDIX B: Recordings of T akem itsu's Solo Guitar W orks 68
WORKS CITED 70
vi
R e p r o d u c e d with p e r m is s io n of th e co pyrigh t ow ner. F u rth e r re p ro d u ctio n prohibited w ithou t p e rm issio n .

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. The gidayu singer and fiitozao player of bunraku 4
Figure 2. V iew o f the Rock G arden pf Ryoanji in Kyoto 10
Figure 3. Bizva a n d bachi 11
Figure 4. V iew of a traditional Japanese g ard en 14
vii

LIST OF EXAMPLES
Example 1. Folios, I, opening 18
Example 2. Folios, I, end of the first line 19
Example 3. Folios, I, en d of the th ird line 19
Example 4. Folios, I, end of the fifth line 19
Example 5. Folios, I, second page, fo u rth line, top voice 20
Example 6. Folios, I, beginning of the fo u rth line 20
Example 7. Folios, n , second page, m id d le of the fifth line 20
Example 8. Folios, I, m iddle of the fo u rth line 21
Example 9. Folios, HI, end of the first m easu re 21
Example 10. Folios, I, end of the fo u rth line to beginning of the fifth line 21
Example 11. Folios, II, second page, b eg in n in g of the first line 22
Example 12. Folios, I, m iddle of the fifth line 22
Example 13. Folios, I, m iddle of the sixth line 22
Example 14. Folios, I, second page, fo u rth line 23
Example 15. Folios, II, end of the th ird line 24
Example 16. Folios, II, beginning of the fifth line 24
Example 17. Folios, II, second page, sixth line 25
Example 18. The three octatonic sets 25
Example 19. Folios, II, octatonic d eriv atio n of the first tw o lines 26
Example 20. Folios, II, end of the fifth line 27
Example 21. Folios, IH, rondo them e 27
viii
R e p r o d u c e d with p e r m is s io n of t h e co py rig h t o w ner. F u rth e r re p ro d u c tio n prohibited w ithout perm issio n .

Exam ple 22. Folios, HI, th ird line 28
Example 23. Folios, HI, m id d le of the fifth line 29
Example 24. Folios, IE, m id d le of the sixth line 29
Example 25. Folios, IE, second page, b eg in n in g of the second line 29
Example 26. M m . 2-3, from J.S. Bach's St. M atthew Passion,

C horale: "W en n ich einm al soli scheiden" 30
Example 27. Folios, IE, second page, fo u rth line 30
Example 28. Folios, IE, second page, b eg in n in g of the fifth line 32
Example 29. Folios, IE, second page, m id d le of the fifth line to the e n d 32
Example 30. W estern transcription of the shizugaki gakuso p attern 32
Example 31. Folios, I, first line 35
Example 32. C h o rd al reduction of Folios, I, first line 36
Example 33. H arm o n ic series based o n "C " 36
Example 34. H arm o n ic reduction of Folios, I, first line 37
Example 35. Intervallic relationships b etw een the harm onically red u ced
chords of the first line 37
Example 36. Intervallic relationships b etw een focal pitches of Folios, I 38
Example 37. Intervallic relationships b etw een focal pitches of Folios, E 38
Example 38. Intervallic relationships b etw een focal pitches of Folios, IE 38
Example 39. Folios, I, en d of the second line to beginning of the th ird line 39
Example 40. Folios, I, p hrase-ending ch o rd s of the first page 40
Example 41. Folios, I, p h rase-ending ch o rd s of final two lines 41
Example 42. Folios, E, set reduction of first tw o lines 42
Example 43. Folios, E, en d of the fo u rth line 44
ix
R e p r o d u c e d with p e r m is s io n of th e cop yrigh t ow n er. F u rth e r re p ro d u ctio n prohibited w ithout p erm is s io n .

Exam ple 44. Folios, IE, set red u ctio n of the rondo theme 45
Exam ple 45. Folios, m , set red u ctio n of second page, fo u rth line 45
E xam ple 46. A ll in Twilight, I, m . 1 48
E xam ple 47. A ll in Twilight, I, m . 2 48
E xam ple 48. All in Twilight, I, m m . 10-14 49
Exam ple 49. All in Twilight, II, m m . 6-7 50
Exam ple 50. All in Tzvilight, II, m . 17 50
Exam ple 51. All in Tzuilight, m , m m . 1-2 50
Exam ple 52. All in Tzuilight, HI, m m . 16-19 51
Exam ple 53. All in Twilight, IV, m m . 1-4 51
Exam ple 54. All in Twilight, IV, m m . 26-27 51
Exam ple 55. All in Twilight, I, m. 21, m. 42, mm. 57-58 52
Exam ple 56. All in Twilight, I, m m . 52-53 53
Exam ple 57. Equinox, m. 1 56
E xam ple 61. Equinox, m. 17 57
Exam ple 63. Equinox, mm. 42-44 58
Exam ple 64. Equinox, mm. 83-85 59

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
In the p a st forty years, T orn T akem itsu has em erged as one of the
p reem in en t com posers of his time. H e w as the first Japanese com poser
w hose m usic achieved w orldw ide recognition, an d even after his death in 1996
his w o rk continues to receive frequent perform ances. H is o u tp u t includes
w orks in all traditional W estern concert m usic genres as w ell as music for
Japanese instrum ents an d ensem bles, electronic m usic, an d film scores.
B om in Tokyo in 1930, Takem itsu cam e of age d u rin g a time w hen
W estern m usic w as b anned by the ultra-nationalist Japanese governm ent. H is
education en d ed du rin g W orld W ar II at the age of fourteen w hen, though still
at a v ery y o u n g age, he w as ordered to serve in the depleted ranks of the
Japanese m ilitary. Takem itsu w rote of this period in his life:
Tow ards the end of the w ar, as the A m erican

forces w ere p reparing to invade Japan, the
Japanese m ilitary constructed bases deep in the
m ountains. I w as ... conscripted to w o rk at one of
these m ountain bases. It w as far from Tokyo an d
all the young conscripts like m yself lived in a kind
of rough barracks. For m e, the experience w as an
extrem ely bitter one.1
T hough traditional Japanese m usic an d aesthetics w ould eventually
prove to be a great influence on Takem itsu, as a y o u n g m an he rebelled
against his native culture in reaction to this sense of bitterness accrued from
his w artim e experiences. Takem itsu began to distance him self from things
1 Takemitsu, Perspectives of New Music, p. 199

2
Japanese a n d w h o leh earted ly em brace W estern culture. A fter W orld W ar II,

h e d ecided n ot to continue h is sta n d ard education, b u t in stead to becom e a
W estem -style com poser, th o u g h h e h ad never form ally stu d ied music.
A lthough h e alw ays considered him self to be self-taught, a t the age of
eighteen T akem itsu b eg an to s tu d y m usic u n d er the g uidance of Japanese
com poser Yasuji Kiose. R ather th a n a stru ctu red s tu d y of com positional
technique, how ever, these lessons consisted of discussions on the nature of art
an d aesthetics.2
A distinctive feature o f T akem itsu's m usic is its use of poly-focus (in
term s of vertical stratification an d m ultiplicity as w ell as horizontal non-
teleological p resentation of m usical ideas) an d m in u te attention to color an d
orchestration. T akem itsu w a s led dow n these p ath s o f m usical exploration n o t
b y an y living com poser, b u t in stead through stu d y in g the m usic of C laude
D ebussy:
I learned m u ch fro m the m usic of D ebussy. (Of

course, I stu d ie d in m y ow n w ay, b u t I th in k of him
as m y great m entor.) While his m usic can be
analyzed in d ifferen t w ays, his greatest contribution
w as his u n iq u e orchestration, w hich em phasizes
color, light, a n d shadow . Unlike the orchestration
of G erm an com posers, that of D ebussy h as m any
m usical fo cu se s....
H is m usic is u n iq u e in that, rath er th an em phasizing
one principal them e, it displays m ultiple aspects of
sound. This m a y h av e som ething to d o w ith French
m usic, w h ich —com pared to G erm an m usic b y such
com posers as Bach —show s special atten tio n to
color. ... It is n o t coincidental that the first
orchestration treatise and stu d y of orchestral color
w as w ritten b y Berlioz. D ebussy w as a n atu ral heir
to th a t tradition.
2 Ohtake, p. 15
R e p r o d u c e d with p e r m is s io n of th e cop yrigh t ow n er. F u rth e r re p ro d u c tio n prohibited w ithout p e rm issio n .

3
... each p itch —E, Ek, A, for example —has a different

tim bral sp e c tru m a n d m ovem ent. The effo rt to
perceive such m in u te differences characterizes the
sensitivity o f D e b u s s y ....
... A nd th a t is w h a t I learned from him .3
N ever thinking of co m position as a strictly so litary process, Takem itsu
also learned from an d w as in flu en ced b y his peers. This influence w as n o t
restricted to the field of m u sic —collaboration an d in fu sio n of concepts from
o th er non-m usical artists a n d disciplines has alw ays b ee n a v ery im portant
facet of his w ork. In 1951, a lo n g w ith other perform ers, choreographers,
p ainters, poets, and com posers, T akem itsu founded the Jikken Kobo, or
E xperim ental W orkshop. F or th e n ex t dozen years, this g ro u p w ould p u t o n
several m ulti-disciplinary exhibitions a n d be responsible for the Japanese
p rem iers of m any W estern av a n t-g ard e com posers. M o st of the m usic
T akem itsu w rote d u rin g th ese y ears w as for E xperim ental W orkshop
perform ances. W orkshop m em b ers also h ad a direct im p a ct o n T akem itsu's
creative process at this tim e, as evidenced by the pieces Distance de Fee (1951),
in sp ired b y the poetry of W o rk sh o p co-founder Shuzo Takiguchi,4 and The
Crossing (1962), a graphic score w ritte n in collaboration w ith graphic designer
K ohei Sugiura.
In 1961, Takem itsu a tte n d e d a perform ance of th e traditional Japanese
m usical p u p p e t theater g en re k n o w n as bunraku. The m usical com ponent of
bunraku, k now n as gidayu, consists of a singer an d a p lay er of the futozao —a
deeper-toned, larger v ersio n of the traditional Japanese sham isen, a fretless
long-necked lute (see Fig. 1, o n p . 4). These two off-stage m usicians have the
responsibility of aurally p o rtra y in g the environm ent of the p la y and the
3 Takemitsu Confronting Silence, pp. 110-111
4 Ohtake, p. 45
R e p r o d u c e d with p e r m is s io n of t h e co py rig h t o w ner. F u rth e r re p ro d u c tio n prohibited w ithout perm issio n .

4
in d iv id u al em otions a n d actions all the characters go th ro u g h an d respond to

d u rin g the course of th e n arrativ e. This task is accom plished b y the constant
Figure 1. The gidayn singer and jutozao player of bunraku5
5 Adachi, p. 71
5
a n d intricate use of nuance, ornam entation, an d tim bral shift - w hich at tim es
is delicately subtle, a t tim es violently intense. U p o n h earing gidayu, T akem itsu
w as im m ediately an d deeply affected:
For som eone w h o began b y d o u b tin g traditional

values, m y first im pression of Japanese m usic w as
un usually strong. The gidayu of the bunraku theater
th at I h ap p e n ed to hear - especially the intensity of
the m elodies a n d the rhythm of thefutozao - m ade
m e aw are of a com pletely different w o rld of music.
The w orld of so u n d created b y the single futozao was
no less im pressive than the w o rld of the W estern
orchestra w ith its h u n d red different instrum ents.
Perhaps to m e it w as even richer. Such com parisons
m ay n o t m ake m uch sense, b u t m y s tu d y of
W estern m usic only strengthened a n d verified the
extraordinary em otional reaction I experienced.6
From that m om ent on, T akem itsu im m ersed him self in a deliberate and
concentrated stu d y of his country's traditional m usic an d aesthetics. In d o in g
so, he realized how m uch he h ad repressed his o w n n atu ral inclinations
tow ards w riting m usic infused w ith traditional Japanese sounds and artistic
concepts. Takem itsu's in -d ep th stu d y "b rought fo rth the sensibilities of
Japanese music that h ad alw ays been w ithin."7
Takem itsu's interest in his country's native m usic an d cultural aesthetics
resulted in the 1966 piece Eclipse for shakuhachi (the five-holed Japanese e n d -
blow n bam boo flute) a n d biwa (the raised-fret Japanese short-necked lute).
A fter hearing a tape of this piece, N ew York Philharm onic conductor L eo n ard
Bernstein asked Takem itsu to w rite a piece for shakuhachi, biwa, and o rchestra
for the 125th anniversary of the N ew York P hilharm onic.8 The resulting piece,
6 Takemitsu, Confronting Silence, p. 53
7 Takemitsu, Perspectives of New Music, p. 201
R e p r o d u c e d with p e rm is s io n of t h e co py rig h t o w ner. F u rth e r re p ro d u ctio n prohibited w ithout perm issio n .

6
November Steps (1967), firm ly established T ak em itsu 's career as an

internationally reco g n ized com poser.
In ad d itio n al to traditional Japanese m usical concepts, Takem itsu's
interest an d cu rio sity in aesthetics led h im to s tu d y a n d w rite about a m y riad
of topics, all of w h ic h h a v e inform ed his m usic to so m e degree. These areas of
interest include a fascin atio n w ith all levels of em otional an d structural
construction in Jap an ese gardens; the French n o v elist Jean-M arie G. Le
Clezio's w ritings o n th e sym bolism of trees; m u ltip licity in the w ritings of
James Joyce; sim u lta n e ity o f reality and fantasy im ag es in the w orks of
Japanese au th o r K en z ab u ro Oe; concrete p ercep tio n of the unseen in the
w orks of the G erm an p o e t R ainer M aria Rilke; nonchalance and ab su rd ity in
the w orks of F rench a rtis t M aurice D ucham p; com binatorial construction in
the works of Italian sc u lp to r Bruno M unari; a n d extrem e m onochrom atic
contrast in the w o rk s o f the French artist O dilon R edon, to nam e a few.
Takem itsu also w as in flu en ced by and collaborated w ith m an y close personal
friends in various a rtistic fields, including com poser John Cage, sculptor Isam u
Noguchi, dan cer a n d choreographer Merce C u n n in g h am , artist Jasper Johns,
an d movie directors Fliroshi Teshigahara, M asahiro Shinoda, and A kira
K urosaw a.
Major co m p o sitio n prizes w ere aw ard ed to T akem itsu, including tw o
UNESCO R o stru m o f C om posers Prizes, the Prix International Maurice Ravel,
the Kyoto M usic G ra n d Prize, and the G raw em eyer A w ard. He held
com poser-in-residence positions at m usic festivals su ch as the International
C ontem porary M u sic W eek in Paris in 1971 an d th e A ldeburgh Festival in
1984. His film scores for o ver ninety films w o n h im tw elve Mainichi M otion
Picture A w ards, tw o Ja p a n A cadem y A w ards, a n d a Los Angeles Film C ritic's

7
A w ard. H e w as g iv e n h o n o rary m em bership in th e A m erican A cadem y a n d

Institute of A rts a n d L etters and the French O rd re des A rts et des L ettres, a n d
he guest lectured a t H a rv a rd , Yale, Boston U niversity, an d the U niversity of
California a t San D iego.9
Takem itsu w ro te for the guitar th ro u g h o u t the course of his career.
H is guitar oeuvre in clu d es the cham ber w o rk s R ing (1961), Sacrifice (1962),
Valeria (1965), Stanza I (1969), and Toward the Sea (1981); orchestral g u itar p arts
in the piano concerto Arc (1963-66), Dream/Window (1985) for orchestra, a n d
Gemeaux (1986) for oboe, trom bone, two o rch estras an d two conductors; the
guitar concerto To the Edge o f Dream (1983) a n d the tw o double concertos
Spectral Canticle (1994) for guitar, violin, a n d o rchestra an d Vers TArc-en-Ciel,
Palma (1984) for g u ita r, oboe d'am ore, an d orchestra; the set of p o p u la r song
arrangem ents 12 Songs for Guitar (1977); the g u ita r d u et Bad Boy (1993); a n d the
four solo guitar w o rk s Folios (1974), All in Twilight (1987), Equinox (1993), an d
In the Woods (1995). T h o u g h not prim arily k n o w n as a "guitar com poser," his
total volum e of m u sic for the instrum ent actu ally exceeds that of w ell k n o w n
"guitar com posers" su c h as Villa-Lobos.10
Terminology
The follow ing chapters examine trad itio n al Japanese aesthetics an d
com positional technique in Takem itsu's solo g u ita r oeuvre. H is first solo
guitar w ork, Folios (1974), is analyzed in d e p th , a n d an overview of tw o of the
rem aining three w o rk s, A ll in Twilight (1987) a n d Equinox (1993), are g iven for
9 Torn Takemitsu: Index o f His Works
10 Fukuda, p. 3

8
com parison a n d in sig h t into Takem itsu's com positional m ethod for the g u itar
over a p erio d o f n ea rly tw en ty years.
The m ain focus of this stu d y is to investigate the use of tw o traditional
Japanese aesthetic principles - ma and sawari, (discussed at length in the n ex t
chapter) —o n a stru ctu ral level. Related to the concept of sawari are w h a t I
term intervallic relationships an d referential sonorities, i.e., the interval a n d
pitch collections w h ich Takem itsu em ploys as the unifying elements a n d
structural dem arcation points of his m usic. H ere, I very consciously use the
term "referential sonority" as opposed to "tonality" or "key." Both "tonality"
and "key" have im plications of specific hierarchical relationships betw een
chords an d in voice-leading techniques (such as ideas of tonic an d d o m in an t
chords an d reso lu tio n of dissonances) as w ell as an expectation of overall goal-
oriented harm onic developm ent. For the m o st p art, these concepts sim p ly do
not exist in Takem itsu's music:
In m y m usic there is no constant developm ent as in

the s o n a ta ;... A single elem ent is never em phasized
w ith developm ent through contrast. ... M y music is
com posed as if fragm ents w ere th ro w n together
u n stru ctu red , as in dream s. Y ou go to a far place
an d su d d e n ly find yourself back hom e w ithout
h aving noticed the return.11
A lthough, as Takem itsu states, there is a "hom e" sound in his m usic,
this "hom e" is n o t defined b y the rules of functional tonality (or any so rt of
m odern-day derivative of those rules). R ather, the "hom e" Takem itsu alludes
to is created aurally through the use of definite collections of intervals a n d
pitches th a t stan d o u t, in a non-developm ental w ay, from the m usic w h ich
surrounds them . In this study, these collections are term ed "intervallic
relationships" an d "referential sonorities."

CHAPTER TWO
MA, SAWARI , IKI, AND JAPANESE GARDENS
Two Japanese artistic concepts, ma a n d sawari, play a m ajor role in the

structure of T akem itsu's guitar music. In a literal sense, ma refers to em p ty
space an d tim e. In Japanese aesthetics, how ever, em pty space an d tim e are
not considered to be energy-less voids or m om ents of stasis or rest. R ather,
they are periods an d distances defined b y th e potential energy of th e d o rm an t
possibilities lying w ithin. Consider the fam ous Z en Rock G arden of Ryoanji in
Kyoto (see Fig. 2, on p. 10). In this garden, fifteen stones are set in g ro u p s of
two and three am id st a sea of carefully rak ed w hite gravel in a n area
m easuring tw enty-three b y nine m eters. T he stones are placed in a non-
uniform w ay such th at no view ing from an y one horizontal angle allow s all
fifteen to be seen, an d no two angles give a sim ilar layout. The g ard en is
know n b y the nam e of M utei (the g ard en of nothingness) or Kutei (the g arden
of em ptiness). W hat significance can be ascribed to this raked w hite gravel
em ptiness p u n ctu ated w ith stones? In the w o rd s of philosopher E liot Deutsch:
The Rock G arden dem ands o u r inw ardness; it

com pels us to still our m in d , to look beneath the
relentless flow of im age, idea, an d desire; it tells us
th at w e w ill find neither an abyss from w hich w e
m u st flee n o r a rad ian t sp len d o r that will enrapture
us: beyond th a t it tells us no m ore. It is an invitation
to contem plation.1
It is this act of contem plation that gives m ean in g to the spaces in the Rock
Garden.
1 Deutsch, pp. 26-27
p e rm is s io n of t h e co py rig h t o w n er. F u rth e r re p ro d u ctio n prohibited w ithout perm issio n .

10
Figure 2. V iew of the Rock G arden of Ryoanji in Kyoto.2
The concept of ma, as em ptiness given m ean in g by its p o tential activity,

exists as an aesthetic in m an y Japanese art form s. For exam ple, in sum i
painting, sw ath es of canvas are left o pen for th e view er to fill in w ith his or
her im agination; the aphoristic nature of haiku p o etry conveys as m u c h w ith
w hat is said as w ith w h at is not.3
2 Slawson, p. 29
3 Chenette, p. 4

11
In T akem itsu's m usic, phrases a n d sections, often differing in m usical

content, character, a n d structure, are sta te d one after another, w ith rests
serving as the b o u n d arie s in betw een. If one interprets this m usic from a
strictly W estern aesthetic view , these m usical statem ents seem to lack
connection. In lig h t o f the concept of ma, how ever, one realizes th at
T akem itsu's p h rases a n d sections can b e m a d e com plete by the contem plation
of potential so u n d s left u n stated in the silences from which they begin an d
end. T akem itsu him self writes:
Those different sound ev en ts are related by silences

th a t a im a t creating a h a rm o n y of events. Those
p au ses are left to the p erfo rm e r's discretion. In this
w ay, th ere is a dynam ic change in the sounds as
th ey are constantly reb o rn in n ew relationships.
H ere, th e role of the p erfo rm er is n o t to produce
so u n d , b u t to listen to it, to strive constantly to
discover so u n d in silence.4
The second Japanese concept in teg ral to understanding T akem itsu's
guitar m usic is sawari. The Japanese short-necked four- or five-string lute
Figure 3. Biwa a n d bachi. Sawari

plate is a t top of in stru m en t.
4 Takemitsu, Confronting Silence, pp. 84-85

12
know n as the biwa (Fig. 3, on p. 11) h as a grooved ivory plate several inches
long at the location w here the n u t w o u ld be on a guitar o r violin. W hen the
open strings of th e in stru m en t (u su ally only the top one or tw o strings are
fretted) are stru ck w ith the in stru m e n t's large plectrum (called the bcichi), a
characteristic "b u zz " is produced. R ath er than som ething to be avoided,
how ever, this rattlin g "noise" is cu ltiv ated in biwa perform ance practice. The
nam e given to the grooved ivory p la te as w ell as the buzzing so u n d p roduced
by the strings v ib ratin g over it is sawari.
In the Japanese language, sawari also m eans "inconvenience" or
"obstacle." H ow ever, just as the concept of ma conveys m ore th an sim ply
em pty space or tim e, so too does sawari h av e a further connotation. As an
aesthetic term , sawari m eans n o t o n ly an inconvenience, obstacle, o r noise, b u t
also the potential for some specific creative action w ithin th at inconvenience,
obstacle, or noise. Perhaps the b est illustration of this concept is th a t in
Japanese, m en stru atio n is referred to as the m onthly sawari, a term th at
conveys n o t only the inconvenience of the biological process, b u t also the
potential for creation of life in h eren t in it.
The idea of som ething definite a n d concrete arising o u t of an obstacle
or obfuscation is a t the heart of T ak em itsu 's com positional process:
Sawari [here referring to the plate on the biwa] is the

"ap p aratu s of an obstacle" itself. In a sense it is an
intentional inconvenience th a t creates a p art o f the
expressiveness of the so u n d . C om pared to the
W estern attitude to w ard m usical instrum ents, this
deliberate obstruction represents a very different
ap p ro ach to sound. ...
... For me, there is so m eth in g symbolic about this:
the inconvenience is p o tentially creative. In m usic,
the artificial inconvenience in creating sound
p ro d u ces the sound.5
5 Ibid., pp. 64-65
with p e r m is s io n of th e co pyrigh t ow n er. F u rth e r re p ro d u ctio n prohibited w ithout p e rm issio n .

13
As w ill be dem onstrated in subseq u en t chapters, sawari, w ith its connotation

of definite in tention w ithin obstruction, is a key factor in u n d erstan d in g the
structural u nderpinnings of T akem itsu's guitar w orks.
D evelopm ent in T akem itsu's m usic is generally n o t teleologically
constructed. M otives float in, are n o t com m ented on for som e time, and then
w ill subtly m aterialize, seem ingly o u t of now here, in original or vastly varied
statem ents; h arm o n y does n o t progress in large-scale m o tio n tow ards a
definite goal, rath er it is glim psed in lo n g glances w h ich som etim es return,
som etim es do not; harm onic language a n d texture are also n o t b o u n d by any
anchor - dense sections of m usic w h ich are com pletely pitch-class or cluster
based w ill transform into delicate, sp arse solo-line p h rases based upon
extended tertian harm onies, w ith o u t a n organic connection betw een the two.
As w as stated above, the concepts of ma an d sawari are u sed to make
psychological a n d secret bridges b etw een these m u ltip le a n d varied materials;
as for the choice of such varied m aterials though, as w ell as w here and how
often those m aterials are heard, y et an o th er Japanese cu ltu ral concept is at
w ork, nam ely the aesthetics b eh in d the traditional Japanese garden6 (Fig. 4,
on p. 14). U nlike W estern gardens, w h ere the focal p o in t is usually restricted
to beds of flow ers and, occasionally, groves of trees, Japanese gardens
incorporate a m y riad of m aterials, including those of the n atu ral w orld -
rocks, sand, earth, trees, plants, flow ers, moss, w aterfalls, an d p onds - as well
as those of the m an-m ade w o rld - tiles, bridges, lanterns, basins, pillars, and
sculpture. These vastly varied elem ents are all balanced together to create a
6 Note - the aesthetic concepts of the traditional Japanese garden, w ith its emphasis an.
confluence of many varied elements toward peace and tranquility, is quite different from
that of the sparse, meditative nature of the Zen rock garden discussed above.

14
'■'* •••“ '• . ^ " * « ...

^
_— ••';’ -w
r'< -
: U > * a ( iy * » /. '
.. —'**-- ^ ■jynifi,
C . r i V ■•>> 4 * K '- ir - ;
i ■ ■■ - . - . - • i . .. \ r \ . - c v ■. ' ■’ ■■/ „
F igure 4. V iew of a traditional Japanese garden7

single com position.8 T akem itsu acknow ledges the im p act of Japanese gardens
o n his choice of m aterials a n d sense of form:
M y m usic is d eep ly influenced by n atu re a n d b y

Japanese gardens. F ro m gardens, I'v e learn ed to
7 Seike, et al., p. 33
8 Slawson, p. 61

15
trea su re the Japanese sen se of tim e an d color. Each

v a rie d elem ent is precious, every rock an d tree.
A n d som ehow , w e see reflected in all of them the
en tire universe. ... Y ou v iew a Japanese garden this
w a y - circulating th ro u g h it. It's n o t a linear
experience at all. It is circular. I w rite m usic by
p lacin g objects in m y m usical gard en ju st the w ay
objects are placed in a Japanese garden.9
T h o u g h n o t inform ing his m u sic o n a constructional level, a fou rth
Japanese co ncept is also at w o rk on a n aesthetic level in T akem itsu's guitar
w orks: the co ncept of iki. As w ith m a n y Japanese w ords, iki is a h om ophone
w hose definitions include "virtuosity" as w ell as the verb "to live." In his
m usic, T ak em itsu purposefully tries to fuse b o th of these definitions together.
The solo g u itar w o rk s are m ad d en in g ly difficult —frequent d em ands are m ade
for quick juxtapositions of m ultiple colors; artificial harm onics are p lay ed
sim u ltan eo u sly w ith fingered notes a n d trem olos; a w ide variety of extended
an d uncon v en tio n al guitar techniques are u sed - in short, the p erfo rm er's
capabilities (a n d frequently, hands as w ell) are stretched to their lim its.
H ow ever, the cause for this v irtu o sity is never to aggrandize the perform er or
com poser. T he solo guitar w orks are n o t show-pieces. Sounds are gently
p u sh e d o u t o n their w ay - an d n o t in such a fashion as to m ake the listener
m arvel consciously at the p erfo rm er's dexterity or the com poser's technical
prow ess. R ather, Takem itsu uses virtuosity to enable a tradition to live. In his
o w n w ords:
I d o n o t like self-conscious artificiality. Even in

com posing, techniques are req u ired to build up
so u n d s an d shape a piece of music. But even here,
th e appearance of effortlessness is considered an
ad v an ced technique. A t the sam e time, a strikingly
9 Sm ilow, et al.

16
brilliant technique is n o t the m ark of a m aster an d

is n o t to be adm ired.10
In 1977, Takem itsu arran g ed a set of tw elve p o p u lar songs for solo
guitar. Songs u sed in this set include A rlen's Somewhere Over the Rainbow,
G ershw in's Summertime, an d four different Beatles' songs. H ow ever, even
though the h arm onic vocabulary of these arrangem ents is decidedly simpler
than T akem itsu's original w orks, the intricacy and technical d em ands m ade
u po n the p erfo rm er are just as difficult- T akem itsu's reason for creating this
set of arran g em en ts is a direct reflection of his belief in the m arriage of
virtuosity a n d vitality of a tradition:
To be quite frank, I feel b o th surprised and

d isappointed by the sp arsity of the repertoire for
the m od em guitar. In Jap an especially, the w orld
of the classical guitar is a self-enclosed one w hich
seem s to have lost all contact w ith the w orld of
today. This is largely a resu lt of the fact that
p lay in g the guitar h as becom e little m ore than a
tasteful pursuit, p erfo rm ers of the instrum ent
exercising their h ighly p olished techniques on the
presentation of a severely lim ited repertoire.
M usic does indeed h ave its beginnings in individual
taste, preference, a n d diversion. But it will never
com e to life unless it transcends this stage.
I h a d no particular g ran d aspiration as I w orked on
these arrangem ents; it w as m y intention rather to
o p en a w indow o n a n ew vision differing from the
stereotyped vision generally possessed by
guitarists.
Each of the 12 Songs m akes considerable technical
dem ands on the perfo rm er, b u t the m ain p u rp o se
is to serve as studies for instilling a sense of
flexibility in the p erfo rm er's spirit.11
11 Takemitsu, 12 Songs far Guitar, performance notes

CHAPTER THREE
FOLIOS— BACKGROUND AND FORMAL CONSTRUCTION
In th e sp rin g of 1974, T ak em itsu com posed his three-m ovem ent solo
guitar piece, Folios, for the guitarist K iyoshi Shom ura. T he collaboration
betw een S hom ura an d T akem itsu w o u ld prove to be a lo n g a n d fruitful one
indeed, as th e guitarist w o u ld w in d u p prem iering all o f T akem itsu's solo
guitar w o rk s a n d arrangem ents (w ith the exception o f 1987's A ll in Twilight)
and the m ajority of T akem itsu's ch am b er w orks in v o lv in g guitar. In addition
to Folios, S hom ura w o u ld also be th e dedicatee of Equinox in 1993 an d the
m iddle m o v em en t of In the Woods, "R osedale," in 1995.
T akem itsu w rote the follow ing ab o u t his choice of title: "The "folio" of
the title is u se d here in the sense of a sh eet of p ap er fo ld ed in h alf to make tw o
leaves. I accordance w ith this m ean in g , the w o rk consists of several pieces
each w ritten o n tw o p ages."1
T h o u g h preceded by guitar w ritin g in the ensem ble pieces Ring (1961),
Valeria (1965), Arc (1963-66), an d Stanza I (1969), Folios m ark s the first time
Takem itsu w ro te for the guitar as a solo instrum ent. In d o in g so, Takem itsu
shows a rem arkable know ledge of a n d attention to th e in stru m e n t and its
colors. Folios em ploys sul tasto a n d su l ponticello playing; right- a n d left-hand
com bination artificial harm onics; ch o rd s and passages w h ere certain notes are
given p rom inence through the color contrasts b etw e en fingered notes and
open, reso n atin g strings or harm onics; string-specific (a n d therefore color-
1Fukuda, p. 4
17
p e r m is s io n of th e cop yrig ht ow ner. F u rth e r re p ro d u c tio n prohibited w ithout p e rm issio n .

18
specific) glissandi; an d fingered trem olandi. In addition, Folios uses m any

ex ten d ed techniques, including ta p p in g the body of the g u ita r w hile fingering
chords to give a v ery percussive, y et p itch ed sonority; slu rs on the same string
b etw een n a tu ra l harm onics a n d fin g ered notes; yielding a sh a rp contrast
b etw een th e m ellow , n aturally reso n atin g harm onic a n d sh arp a n d distinct
fingered n o te w ith in the sam e chord; specifying rig h t-h an d thum b strokes on
the treble strings to give a harsh, brittle sound; u tilizing th e left-hand thum b in
fingering to allow for five-note n o n -b arre chords; an d p la y in g w ith the top
side of th e nail to facilitate rap id u p - a n d dow n-stroke stru m s across strings.
M ovem en t I
T he first m ovem ent of Folios can be divided into fo u r sections, each of
w hich h as a particular structural or stylistic function. T he first section serves as
an in tro d u ctio n , stating the m ain m otive (see Ex. 1) of th e m ovem ent, as well
Exam ple 1
as the g o v ern in g harm onic law s a n d referential sonority2 o f the entire w ork.
A key cohesive factor in the first m o v em en t of Folios is m otivic variation,
b ased o n this opening m otive. In looking at the m otive, tw o factors should be
considered: (1) its chrom atic n atu re (as exemplified by its u se of the chromatic
te tra ch o rd Bt-B-C-C#) an d (2) its g en eral contour (a d escen d in g sixteenth-note
follow ed b y a series of ascending sixteenth-notes). T h ro u g h o u t the first
m ovem ent, m usic derived from this m otive is featured prom inently. The
chrom atic series expands from a set o f four notes to seven, w hile m aintaining
2 The harmonic laws and referential sonority of Folios w ill be discussed at length in
Chapter Four.
with p e r m is s io n of th e copy rig ht o w ner. F u rth e r re p ro d u ctio n prohibited w ithout p e rm issio n .

19
the contour o f the motive. By the en d of the first p h rase, the m otive's internal
intervals are ex p an d ed (for exam ple, the original first interval of a descending
m inor th ird b etw een C# an d Bl> is ex panded to a descen d in g m inor tenth from
A to Ftf, the ascending m inor second betw een Bl> a n d B is ex panded to an
ascending m in o r seventh b etw een Fit an d E, an d so on), a n d a n additional note
is ad d ed to th e ascending series, as show n in Ex. 2. This expansion of ascent is
b ^ '
a*
Exam ple 2
further intensified b y use of a glissando. A t the beg inning of the second

section of m u sic (the last p h rase of the third line in the score, approxim ately
30" into the piece),3 the m otive is p resented in tru n cated form , w ith only its
fa
Exam ple 3
ascending gesture stated (Ex. 3). The last phrase of this section (Ex. 4, show n
here w ith o u t accom panying chords) expands the d escending gesture of the
Exam ple 4
3 No barlines are used in this m ovem ent (and in fact they are rarely used at all in the
entirety of Folios). Therefore, music is designated by where it appears on the page.
However, given the work's frequent fermati and liberal use of rubato, simply indicating
where music is on the page does not convey an accurate sense o f temporal structure and
proportional w eight between sections. Therefore, time elapsed before sections/phrases
(according to the 1996 Shin-ichi Fukuda recording on Denon) is also given for identification
purposes. The reader should realize that this method of identification, though imparting a
better sense o f formal proportion, is reliant on the interpretation of one performer, and
should be used not as an exact measure, but rather as a relative one.
R e p r o d u c e d with p e r m is s io n of t h e cop yright ow ner. F u rth e r re p ro d u c tio n p rohibited w ithout p erm issio n .
20
m otive, u sin g tw o p airs of d ow nw ard notes instead of one (G-C, Ab-E); this
v arian t of the m otive also em phasizes its chrom atic n atu re w ith its use of the
notes F#-G-Ab-A. The culm ination of these motivic variants occurs in the last
section of the m ovem ent in the phrase th at leads to the clim ax of the piece
(fourth line of m usic, second page - see Ex. 5, once again sh o w n w ithout
accom panying chords). Here, there are tw o descending pairs of notes (F#-Eb,
G-C#), as w ell as an expanded chrom atic series (Eb-E-F-F#-G-G#-A).
_ u — fcj.
m m f f
Exam ple 5
The second section functions as a n allusive section, foreshadow ing the
m aterial of the second and third m ovem ents and transitioning from material
of the first section to the third. After an opening gesture (beginning w ith Ex.
3, on p. 19), the m usic slows d ow n an d em phasizes an A m inor chord w ith
chrom atic ornam entation (fourth line of m usic, show n in Ex. 6). This alludes
rail.
b a t-
Exam ple 6
to m usic of a v ery sim ilar gestural a n d harm onic n atu re in the coda of the
second a n d th ird m ovem ents (music from the second m ovem ent's coda is
show n in Ex. 7). The next phrase of this section (Ex. 8, on p. 21) is striking in
leg a tissim o
m f
Exam ple 7
21
Exam ple 8
th a t it m arks the first instance o f hom ophonic chordal m o tio n in the piece. In
this respect, as w ell as b y its u se of prim arily triads w ith neighbor-note
chrom aticism an d its co n clu d in g em phasis on a D m inor ch o rd ,4 this phrase
h in ts a t w h a t is to come in the th ird m ovem ent (a p o rtio n o f the ro n d o subject
o f the th ird m ovem ent is sh o w n in Ex. 9 for com parison). In the following
" c - r
f
Exam ple 9
p h rase, guitar orchestration is u s e d as a connecting device. H ere is the first

tim e harm onics are h eard in Folios (see Ex. 10). T hat tim bre, as w ell as the
>
O O
■—
E xam ple 10
sparse, single-ringing-note te x tu re a n d preponderance of A , foreshadow s
m usic fo u n d in the e n d of the se co n d m ovem ent's m iddle section an d coda
(the en d of the second m o v em en t's m id d le section is fo u n d in Ex. 11, on p. 22).
The p o n d erin g n atu re of this p h ra se is fu rth er continued in th e next phrase of
this section, w here five tones fro m the w hole-tone scale are d ream ily sounded
4 The significance of the D minor chord in the third movement is elaborated upon below on
pp. 30-31.

22
Example 11
(Ex. 12). W ith four of these notes (A, F, B, a n d Ctf) repeated freely, a m om ent
of h arm o n ic stasis w ithin a kinetic texture occurs for the first tim e (previous
m om ents o f h arm o n ic stasis w ere restricted to held single n o tes or chords).
legato (poco) rapid...__________
= ifb= f H H pfcf h ^ L m- 1 f f =
1
(p iu f )
Example 12
The d o m in a n t sonority of the n ext section is replete w ith this so u n d , a n d thus
this last p h ra se serves as a transition to it.
T he th ird section, w hich b egins o n the bottom line of th e first page (c.
1'15" into th e piece), is m ade u p of four separate phrases. Each of these
phrases m ain tain s the texture discussed above in Ex. 12 w hile m odifying its
pitch co n ten t to four different p en tach o rd s th at incorporate sem itones. The
first of these phrases is show n in Ex. 13. The pitch language as w ell as
legato an d rapidly... po co rail...
> 5
o 6
i
pp
E xam ple 13
repeated n o te -p a tte m texture reflects the influence of T akem itsu's 1974 trip to
Indonesia a n d the gam elan m usic he h e a rd there5 (Folios w as the first piece
5 Fukuda, p. 4

23
w ritten after his trip). Specifically, this section evokes the concepts o f
interlocking tex tu re com m only fo u n d in the musics of Bali.
The final section, w hich begins w ith the fourth line o f m usic o n the
second p ag e (c. 2'07" into the piece) com bines the m ain m otive of the first
m ovem ent w ith the harm onic lan g u ag e, drive, an d texture of the third. The
opening of this section (and clim ax of the movement) is p resen ted in Ex. 14.
f
Example 14
This figure is a n expansion of Ex. 1 o n p. 18, now show n w ith accompanying
chords. As w as show n above, th e top line is derived from the opening motive
of the m ovem ent. M eanwhile, the line's ascending chrom atic n atu re and
hom ophonic chordal texture m ad e of chromatically tinged, triadic-based
chords allu d e to the third m ovem ent (see Ex. 9 on p. 21). In ad dition, this
section firm ly states the referential sonority of the piece n u m ero u s times an d
at key stru ctu ra l m om ents.6
M ovem ent II
The second m ovem ent is set in ternary form, w ith equally balanced A B
A sections follow ed by a shorter C oda. As opposed to th e first movement,
w here no barlines are used, barlines function in this m ovem ent as sectional
delineation m arkers. The first o f these occurs m idw ay th ro u g h the third line
of m usic, a n d begins the transition betw een Section A a n d Section B. Section A
6 Once again, see Chapter Four for further discussion of the referential sonority.

24
is characterized b y a repeated, constant, octatonic sixteenth- a n d thirty-

second-note m otoric m usic (see Ex. 19, on p. 26). The transition is m arked by
a hom ophonic chordal texture an d longer note d urations. The repeated-note
idea w ith w h ich the m ovem ent begins is here expanded to a repeated chord
idea (see Ex. 15). The second barline, a t the en d of the fo u rth line of music,
PP
Example 15
im m ediately precedes Section B. Section B (approxim ately 45" into the piece)
is far m ore fragm entary in nature than the p receding section, m aking m uch
use of v ary in g rhythm s, dynamics, an d articulations w hile still using the
octatonicism of the previous section (see Ex. 16). Serving as borders am ong all
Exam ple 16 ^
of these m y riad changes of param eters are rests. In this sense, the aesthetic
concept of ma is invoked.7 The third barline, found tw o-thirds of the w ay
through the seventh line of music, m arks the transition b etw een Section B and
the retu rn of Section A. As w as stated before, m usic here is rem iniscent of
m usic h e a rd in the second section of the first m ovem ent (see Ex. 10 and 11, on
pp. 21 a n d 22, respectively). The fourth barline, three-quarters of the w ay
through th e first line of the second page of m usic, im m ediately precedes
Section A 's return. A literal repeat of A begins here (c. 1'30" into the piece).
7 See Chapter Four for further clarification

25
The recapitulation is n ea rly s ta te d in full, om itting o n ly th e final two chords of

the transitional p art of the A se ctio n an d a d d in g five m o re in the same texture
a n d general rhythm ic feel, b u t th is tim e m oving to the C oda. This transition
from the second Section A to th e C oda is m arked w ith a n o th e r barline three-
fourths of the w ay th ro u g h th e th ird line of m usic o n the second page, an d the
C oda is im m ediately p re c e d e d b y a barline one-fourth o f the w ay through the
fifth line of m usic o n the se co n d page. The Coda (c. 2'20" in to the m ovement)
is d iv id ed into two subsections. A s indicated above, the first of these has a
connection to m usic from the allu siv e section o f M ovem ent I (see Ex. 6 and 7,
o n p. 20). The two subsections also bear tim bral distinctions. The first uses
ordinario playing (w ith the ex cep tio n of one note), w h ile the second uses
harm onics (w ith the excep tio n o f one chord). The h arm o n ics subsection is
closely related to the tran sitio n al m usic betw een Section B a n d the
recapitulation of Section A in its tim bre, texture, a n d u se of p ed al A and C
(com pare Ex. 17 w ith Ex. 11 o n p . 22). These tw o subsections are delineated by
o
■p - F ^
o O
Example 17
the m ovem ent's final b arlin e a t th e end of the fifth line o f m usic on the second
page.
Also contributing to fo rm al delineation in this m o v em en t is
T akem itsu's use of octatonic p itc h collections. The three octatonic sets are
sh o w n below (Ex. 18}:8
OctI O ctll | O ctlll
- - 11 ^ .
Exam ple 18
8 This method of labeling the three octatonic sets is consistent w ith van den Toom, p. 50

26
In Section A, a t first only OctHI is u sed . Then, slow ly b u t w ith increasing

frequency, small segm ents of m u sic u sin g O ctll are interjected. Exam ple 19
sh o w s the first two lines of Section A , a n d indicates the o ctatonic sets from
w h ich m aterials are derived:
OctHI >
O ctlll , Octll
O ctlll s, O ctlll Octll
Octll
4
%
Exam ple 19
This increase of change b etw een th e tw o sets continues to the e n d of the

section, w here each individual c h o rd is derived from a different pitch
collection. Both of these collections are, of course, eq u al in term s of the
intervallic relationships found w ith in them . A sense of h arm o n ic drive is thus
created in this section n o t in the classical sense of increase of dissonance and
ev e n tu al resolution, b u t rath er th ro u g h increased frequency of change
b etw e en tw o intervallically equal sets of pitch m aterials.
Takem itsu m odifies this sam e concept to m ake th e m id d le B section
sta n d a p a rt from its flanking A sections. The B section is the o n ly time the first
octatonic set is used. Thus, in Section B, three octatonic sets are u sed (with
increasin g rates of change b etw e en them ) w hereas in the tw o A sections, only
tw o are used. The difference of shifting betw een three eq u ally intervallic pitch
collections as opposed to tw o fu rth e r ad d s to the distinctiveness of this section.
In ad d itio n , Takem itsu fu rth er accents the use of OctI th ro u g h th e use of

27
duratio n a n d guitar orchestration. T he first tim e w e h ea r elem ents from OctI

is the fo u rth p h rase of line five (Ex. 20). Use o f these n otes also coincides w ith
—
—M
nj ^ " —m
__-»
■ H
E xam ple 20
the first su stain ed chord of this section an d the first harm onics of this
m o v em en t.
M ovem ent III

The th ird an d last m o v em en t of Folios is cast in ro n d o form. Though
each rep etitio n of the rondo th em e extends the m usic of this section, the first
two bars o f the them e alw ays rem a in the same. These tw o bars are distinctive
in th at th e y are one of the few places in Folios w here consistent barring and
m eter are m aintained: A lth o u g h th e y are not m arked w ith a tim e signature,
both m easures are clearly set in 1 0 /1 6 time, further su b d iv id ed into 4+3+3
units (Ex. 21). Musically, these tw o m easures set u p the m a in conflict of the
s,p. with one fin g er
__________ 9__________
■ ordL >
m
p S ----- ------- L=----------- =_ a mm m
--- k*—
■ • J -m
f ^# t r f
vyp m f
m f
Example 21
m ovem ent, w hich is betw een m ajor an d dim inished triad s versus
chrom atically ascending lines. B eyond these two m easures, sections
incorporating the rondo th em e fu rth er display a sense o f u n ity in that they all
have a distinctive, interlocking, m ulti-voiced, hocketed so u n d an d em ploy

28
open-string p edal tones. As w ith the hem itonic p en tach o rd section of the first
m ovem ent, these interlocking stratified rhythm ic p attern s are based on m usic
T akem itsu heard w hile on his trip to Indonesia, in specific the kecak music of
Bali.9 A vocal form, kecak's distinctiveness comes from the energizing
percussive effect of m en chanting, in m ultiple parts, the syllable "cak" in
com plex, interlocking ostinato p attern s w hich m ove in a n d o u t of coinciding
accents.10 In Ex. 21 on p. 27, th ere exist three stratified layers of rhythm -
corresponding to the tessituras of the low A, the m iddle A-B-C cluster, and the
h ig h er A —w hich interlock together throughout the statem en ts of the rondo
them e, rendering accents m ore because of their agogic sim u ltan eity than their
dynam ic m arkings.
The third m ovem ent has the form A B A ' C A " D C oda, w ith each
episode h aving a particular function. Section B, w hich begins at the last
m easure of the second line of m u sic (approxim ately 15" in to the piece), takes
the horizontal chrom aticism of the rondo theme an d p resen ts it vertically, in
its use of m inor second a n d m ajor seventh sim ultaneities. In addition, this
section also features the texture of fingered trem olos (Ex. 22). A ', which
begins w ith the fourth line of m usic (c. 30" into the piece), extends the rondo
them e w ith the inclusion of m aterial w here a chrom atic line, doubled at the
interval of tw o octaves, so u n d s over a pedal A (Ex. 23, o n p. 29). Section C,
9 Fukuda, p. 4
10 Sorrel, pp. 25-26
29
p o co m en o m o sso
s.t.
JP
Example 23
w h ich begins w ith the second m easu re of the sixth line of m u sic (c. 50" into the
piece), features chrom atically d escen d in g four-voiced ch o rd s (w ith each
in d iv id u al voice in sim ilar m otion) intersp ersed w ith ascen d in g single-voiced
lines. Both ch o rd s and lines elaborate o n the interval of the m in o r second
(occasionally octave displaced in the chords) featured in the p rev io u s episode
(Ex. 24). In A ", w hich begins a t the last m easure of the first p a g e (c. 1'20" into
the piece), all o f the m usic w h ich w as h eard in the previous tw o A sections is
reiterated. In addition, a n ew p h rase , w h ere four-voiced q u in ta l an d triadic
ch o rd s m ove chrom atically o ver E a n d A pedals, is included (Ex. 25). W hen
m e n o m o sso
Exam ple 25
the p h rase of m usic from A ' (w here a chrom atic line d o u b le d a t the fifteenth
over a p ed al A - see Ex. 23 above) is so u n d ed in this section, it is further
intensified b y repetition a n d a d d itio n of another octave, re n d e rin g three

30
p arallel octaves sounding in chrom atic m o tio n over a p e d a l A. Section D,

b eg in n in g a t the double b ar of th e th ird line of m usic on th e second page of
this m o v em en t (c. 2'10" into the piece) b ears the distinction th a t it is the only
m o m e n t in the w hole of Folios w h e re a p rin te d time sig n atu re a n d regular
m eter are u sed for an extended p e rio d o f time. The m aterial u se d in this
section is a quote of the A section o f C horale No. 72, "W en n ich einm al soil
scheiden" from J. S. Bach's S t M atthew Passion. The first p h ra se is a literal
q u o te harm onically and m elodically, b u t allow ing for g u ita r revoicings. The
second p h rase uses Bach's m elo d y w ith T akem itsu's reharm onization.
Interesting to note is the role w h ich the D m inor ch o rd (and its close
relative, the B dim inished chord) p la y here. Example 26 sh o w s a n excerpt from
B ach's original chorale, Ex. 27 T ak em itsu 's reharm onization o f the same
frag m en t:
Exam ple 27
As can b e seen, the simple triadic D m in o r an d B dim inished chords serve as a

co n d u it from Takem itsu's d en sely chrom atic harm ony b ack to Bach's
functional tonality. In this w ay , these chords are used in a signifying m anner,
alw ay s p receding a m om ent of arriv al (in this case, back in to the harm onic
w o rld of Bach). The D m inor se v en th chord in the ro n d o them e perform s a

31
sim ilar function (see Ex. 21, on p. 27). H ere, w e see dissonant, chrom atic
chords lead in g u p to the climax of th e passage (dow nbeat of th e second
m easure of the exam ple). H ow ever, im m ediately before the climax,
p rep arin g us for a p o in t of arrival, is the D m inor seventh chord.
The D m inor chord is u sed to sim ilar effect in o th er m ovem ents as well.
For exam ple, in the first m ovem ent, the sim ple triadic D m in o r chord
im m ediately precedes a change in tex tu re an d tim bre to single ringing-note
harm onics (see Figs. 8 and 10, on p. 21). In this w ay, T akem itsu foreshadow s
the functional use of the D m inor chord in the third m o v em en t of Folios.
The Bach q uote also serves as a basis u p o n w hich the arg u m e n t of this
m ovem ent (m ajor a n d dim inished triad s versus chrom atic lines) is founded.
For exam ple, let u s look at the final b ea t of this quote in the original Bach
h arm o n izatio n (see Ex. 26, on p. 29). If w e think of this frag m ent in term s of
functional tonality, it obviously serves the purpose of a dom inant-seventh
chord w ith anticipations in the u p p er voices. H ow ever, if in stead of functional
tonality, w e think of this chord sim ply in term s of the intervals w hich make it
u p , w e find it contains all exam ples of three elem ents p itted ag ainst each other
in this m ovem ent —a major triad (E-Gtf-B), a dim inished triad (G#-B-D), and
m inor-second chrom aticism (G#-A, B-C).
The sonority of the last beat of the Bach quote is m ain tained in the
coda, w hich begins w ith the fifth line of m usic (c. 2'40" into the piece). The
m usic here, in its chrom atically tinged A m inor sound, is also related to that of
the allusive section of the first m ovem ent an d to the second m o vem ent's coda
(com pare Ex. 28 on p. 32 w ith Ex. 6 a n d 7 on p. 20). The last three m easures of
the piece again p it major chords a n d chrom aticism against each other, w ith

Exam ple 28
the outer tw o m easu res using m inor second chrom aticism over a n open A
string pedal, a n d the inner m easure chrom atic-m ediant related m ajor triads
over an A h arm o n ic (Ex. 29):
Example 29
In his last m easure, T akem itsu im p arts one m ore inter-m ovem ent
connecting device. Frets on the biwa are v ery h ig h com pared to those found
on W estern fretted instrum ents, such as the guitar. Because of this
construction, the m ajority of pitch variance o n the biwa is created b y pulling
the string d o w n between the frets, giving a p ortam ento sound. By ending
Folios w ith a strin g b en d glissando, T akem itsu em ulates this sou nd.
M eanwhile, one of the string instrum ents u sed in the traditional Japanese
court m usic ensem ble genre k now n as gagakn is the thirteen-string zither
gakuso. In gagaku, a h ighly stylized a rt form , the gakaso m ay o nly play one of
two patterns, n am ed shizugaki an d hayagaki (the actual resultant pitches of
these p atterns, h ow ever, will v ary relatively, as different pieces in the gagakn
repertoire m ay em ploy different tunings of the strings). Exam ple 30 show s a
Example 30
p e rm is s io n of t h e cop y rig h t o w ner. F u rth e r re p ro d u ctio n prohibited w ithout p e rm issio n .

33
W estern n o ta tio n realization of the shiziigciki gakuso p attern .11 In com paring
this p a tte rn w ith the opening m otive o f Folios, striking sim ilarities are
ap p a re n t in general contour a n d rh y th m . T hus, T akem itsu b o okends h is first
solo g u itar w o rk w ith references to trad itio n al Japanese strin g in stru m e n t
playing technique.
11 Malm, p. 94

CHAPTER FOUR
FOLIOS - M A A N D SAWARI
In the tw o pages a n d eleven lines of m usic that m ak e up the first

m o v em en t, there exist a total of six ferm ati and seven caesuras. In fact, before
ev ery ch an g e in texture, h arm o n ic language, motive, or tim bre a n d at the end
of ev e ry p h ra se w e find a ferm ata, caesura, or a note of lo n g duration. G iven
the quick d ecay of the guitar, the resu lt of all three of these m ethods of time
su sp en sio n is the same —silence. (G ranted, the differences are th a t w ith the
ferm ati a n d n otes of long d u ratio n , so u n d slowly transform s into silence,
w h ereas w ith the caesuras, silence is im m ediate). H ere, w e see the concept of
ma a t w o rk - existence (the music) a n d change (differences in m usical
param eters) are defined b y their relationship to em ptiness (caesuras, fermati,
a n d n o tes of long duration).
A sim ilar concept is a t w o rk in the second m ovem ent. In the A section,
w h ere the sam e basic textures a n d rh y th m s are m aintained, there is not a
single m o m e n t of silence. H ow ever, preceding the B section, w here there
exist m an y m usical differences fro m the A section, there is b o th a fermata on
the last n o te as well as a caesura a t the barline separating the sections. As w as
stated in the previous chapter, w ith in the B section there is a g reat deal of
v aria tio n in term s of rhythm , tim bre, dynam ics, an d texture. In betw een each
p h rase w h ere such contrasts exist can be found short rests. All of these
changes of m usical param eters a re th u s enhanced b y the p otential energy of
em ptiness (see Ex. 16, on p. 24). Silence once again dynam ically signals change
34

35
a t the transition back to the A section recapitulation. H ere, a ferm ata and
caesura precede the d ram atic change of texture an d tim bre from a fast,
chrom atically dense, m ulti-voiced texture to single-note, rin g in g harm onics on
ju st three notes. The w eig h t o f transition and d em an d s fo r accord betw een
these different w orlds is p u t sq u arely on the shoulders of w h a t potentially
could have existed in the in terim void. Thus, the analogue to the classical
sense of tension an d release —the relationship of d o m in a n t an d tonic - is not
fo u n d in the harm onic sp h ere, b u t rath er in the dynam ic confrontation
betw een so u n d an d silence.
This is n o t to say, h o w ev er, th a t there is no m eth o d a t w ork in the
harm onic sphere. H ere, the concept of sawari, of o rd er a n d creation w ithin
chaos, is invoked. L et us consider the first line of m usic (Ex. 31):
If the indicated d u ratio n s (taken into account w ith feasible fingerings and the
guitar's natural acoustics)1 are considered, the follow ing harm onic
1 For example, the most logical w ay of rea liz in g the third grouping of notes in Fig. 35 would
be to barre the fourth fret, playing the Ai> on the sixth string and the Bft on the third, and
play the Gft with the fourth finger on the eighth fret of the second string. The following Ei>
w ould then be played with the second finger on the sixth fret of the fifth string. At the Eft,
the barre and fourth finger w ould be lifted to play this note on the open first string (while
still momentarily holding dow n the second finger to facilitate the indicated connecting slur
between the Et>and Eft), and the final Bft would be played with the third finger on the
seventh fret of the first string. Thus, the Gft, Bft, Ai> and Eb w ould all resonate together as a
chord. With the lifting of the barre to play the Eft, the now open sixth string would
sympathetically vibrate w ith this note, thus enabling the Eft and Bft to resonate together.
TTus fingering scenario is consistent w ith recordings of Folios made by guitarists Philippe
Azoulay, Shin-ichi Fukuda, Franz Halasz, Jukka Savijoki, Daisuke Suzuki, and John
W illia m s.
R e p r o d u c e d with p e rm is s io n of t h e co py rig h t o w ner. F u rth e r re p ro d u ctio n prohibited w ithout p e rm issio n .

36
progression results from the sim ultaneities of the line of m usic sh o n v n in Ex. 31
on p. 141 (Ex. 32):
\S
■= -L=|^— h •' ------ •
n H T
f If I i M : v * ;—z----- X---------
W hat can w e say ab o u t this progression? C ertainly, the h a rm o n ie s are

m ade of extended tertian chords w ith occasional chrom atic e m b ellish m en t,
b u t w h a t of the progression itself fro m chord to chord? To answ eir, let us first
consider the n atu ral harm onic series (Ex. 33):
.r . rfpo- dfrgfcdpo. ^
~o~ (ho w d p ,1l,“ (|tl
Exam ple 33 - H arm onic series based on "C ", show ing fu n d a m e n ta l and first
sixteen partials. Accidentals in parentheses indicate a note th at is naaturally
o ut of tu n e in the series, according to equal tem perm ent tuning.
A ny note p lay ed on a m usical in stru m en t is never a single p u re tom e, b u t

rath er a fundam ental tone p lu s a series of overtones above it. Sonne
instrum ents w ill augm ent different higher partials of their o v e rto n e series
m ore th an others - this p h en o m en o n is one of the m ain factors w lhich gives
each in stru m en t its distinctive tim bre. As a general rule, th o u g h, tthe low er the
partial is, the louder the overtone. For this acoustical reason, compplex chords
w hich contain the interval of an octave or perfect fifth (the first t w o partials
above an y note) w ill cause this interval to stand o ut am ongst the nrest because
of their n atu ral enhancem ent b y th e overtone series.2 T akem itsu •confirms
this concept of interval prim acy in his ow n writings:
2 Interestingly, Hindemith arrives at this same conclusion through derivatiom of what he

terms "combination tones" and "interval roots." Hindemith, pp. 57-74

37
... th e perfect fifth, e v e n if n o t alw ays p rese n t in

so u n d , is at the core o f m y m usical perception.
This interval is v e ry im p o rta n t in acoustical term s,
a n d to the h u m an p ercep tio n of sound, it co u ld be
reg ard ed as a basic, u n iv ersal m odule.3
If w e a p p ly th is concept to the m u sic in the first line of Folios, m ark in g only the
incidence of octaves, perfect fifths, a n d (their inversion) p erfect fourths, w e
arrive at the follow ing progression sh o w n in Ex. 34. If w e allo w for octave
H h'mh m l
^
, [?• _ q ♦ fcpS
Example 34
and inversional equivalence, w e can see h o w the fu n d am en tal harm onic
skeletons of each chord (the ro o t a n d fifth o f the sonority) are related to each
other. These relationships are d e m o n strate d in Ex. 35. N o te how , from one
u“ l -n i l
• , v- » 1.1 ; T = f=
■m V l4 m . b * "i '
P5 P5-----.-------- :-------. m2
unis.
Example 35
diad to the next, the interval of eith er a m inor second or p erfect fifth is present
betw een e ith er the fifth or root o f the tw o diads. N ote also th at the harm onic
skeletons of th e first and last so n o rity are related to one an o th er b y the
interval of a p erfect fifth. R elationships of a m inor second a n d perfect fifth
translate from the micro-level o f this o p en in g p h rase to th e m acro-level of this
m ovem ent a n d , indeed, of the en tire w ork. Example 36, o n p. 38, show s a
focal pitch b reak d o w n of the en tire first m ovem ent of Folios (w ith sectional
delineation), as determ ined b y b ass notes of long d u ratio n , p ed a l notes, and
high an d low climaxes of phrases:

38
Sec. 3 Sec. 4
P5 unis, ps P5 m2
V i} p m2 ' f t j ' \r x jT
m2 P5 P5
Example 36 ml
Exam ple 37 show s the sam e for the seco n d m ovem ent (barlines here
corresp o n d to actual sectional defining barlines found in the movement):
B Coda
m2
5 A " P5 _________ P5 m2_ P5 P5 P5
& P S
P5~
p5 If KaP* ps V^ j - K f £
m2 P5 m2 3 m2 r
m2
Example 37
Similarly, Ex. 38 shows focal pitches in the third m ovem ent. Because of the
ubiquitous n atu re of the pedal A, focal notes are related to it even w hen it is
n ot in im m ed iate proxim ity (barlines h ere correspond to statem ents of the
rondo th em e an d interm ittent episodes):
A B A' C D Coda
unis. . P5 A ~ -jm2 —j1 m2- ^m 2 j - — ■■ - |^ \
P5
/ ^ ~ | ~|-----
P5
102 P f I p5 ^ p5 m2
,JyP5
Exam ple 38
M in o r second and perfect fifth relationships also exist as intra

m o v em en t phenom ena as well. For exam ple, the bass notes of the opening
phrase in the allusive section of the first m ovem ent (Ex. 6, on p. 20) are Bf> an d
B|. W h en this sw ath of m usic retu rn s, in the coda of the second m ovem ent,
the bass n o te is an A (Ex. 7, on p. 20), a m inor second aw ay from the Bt> an d a
perfect fifth from the Eq (assum ing, o f course, inversional equivalence).
with p e r m is s io n of th e cop yright ow ner. F u rth e r re p ro d u c tio n prohibited w ithout p e rm issio n .

39
There are three instances in Folios w here the v ery percussively striking
so u n d of a single finger p la y in g a glissando across an d back all six strings of
the guitar (using the b ottom -side of the fingernail o n the dow nstroke and the
top-side on the upstroke) is h eard . Two of these three tim es occur in the first
section of the first m o v em en t (Ex. 39); the last occurs rep eated ly in the rondo
Example 39
them e of the third m o vem ent (Ex. 21, on p. 27). The technique used here is
n o t taken from stan d ard rig h t-h an d practice for the g u itar, b u t rather from
right-hand practice for the Japanese koto. In koto playing, a v ery typical gesture
is a d o w nw ard glissando across all thirteen strings w ith the index finger (called
a urareri) follow ed by an u p w a rd glissando across all strings w ith the same
finger (called a hikiren),4 as w ell as its converse (a hikiren follow ed by a uraren).
In addition to creating a connection betw een m ovem ents one an d three by
invoking koto practice, T akem itsu also joins these m usical gestures through
their intervallic relationships. The bass note of the first glissando is an F, that
of the second an E (a m inor second lower). In the rondo them e from the third
m ovem ent, the bass note is a n A (a perfect fifth from the E). Thus, w e can see
th at throughout Folios, there exists a h idden intervallic plan. This sense of
system atic progression th ro u g h w h at appears to be on the surface seemingly
unrelated an d ever-changing m usic is indicative of the concept of sawari.
4 Adriaansz, pg. 51

40
T he last tw o of th ese koto gestures (w ith E a n d A b ass notes) are also

im p o rta n t because they b o th u se the referential so nority o f Folios. This
sonority is the pitch-class collection ( 0 ,1 ,3 ,4 ,6 ,9).5 (The exam ple from Ex. 21,
a five-note collection,6 co n tain s all b u t the (4) of this set.7) This pitch-class set
ap p ears m a n y times in Folios, often at structurally significant m om ents. For a
visual analogue, one m ig h t consider the following: As w e w an d e r th ro u g h the
Japanese g ard en that is Folios, replete w ith its exquisitely p laced flowers, trees,
rocks, san d , earth, w aterfalls, p o n d s, bridges, an d tiles, w e are aw are of an
ever-present, u n ch an g in g m o u n ta in in the distance, v iew ab le from all angles
of the g ard en . The m o u n ta in ad d s a perspective co m m en tary on all that exists
in the g ard en . This m o u n ta in is the referential sonority ( 0 ,1 ,3 ,4 , 6, 9).
In the first m o v e m en t o f Folios, the first page (going u p to the first
p h rase of the "gam elan" section) contains eight different p h rases of music.
The first, third, fifth, se v en th , a n d eighth of these p h rases e n d in sustained
chords, w h ich are sh o w n in Ex. 40. (Phrase-ending chords d o n ot occur ag ain
Example 40
u ntil the last tw o p h rase s o f th e m ovem ent - see below .) A ll of these phrase-
en d in g chords are re la te d to the referential sonority - th e first of these is th e
5 Where F=0, E =l, D=3, C$=4, B=6, and G$=9.
6 Where C=0, B =l, A=3, F#=6, and D#=9.
7 These sets are presented in this chapter so that their intervallic relationship as subsets to
the referential sonority can be easily seen. Occasionally, this m eans that they are
purposefully not in best normal order.

41
set ( 0 ,1 ,4 ,6 ), the second (0 ,4 ,6 ), the third (1 ,4 ,9 ), the fourth is again (0 ,4 ,6 ),

an d the last is (0 ,1 ,3).8
T he referential so n o rity also serves a fu rth e r purpose in the first
m ovem ent, an d this is to g iv e th e m ovem ent a m a in focal pitch. A t four key
m om ents in this m ovem ent, th e referential so n o rity is stated as a cho rd w ith
the o p en low E strin g as its b ass note. The first o f these is at the second of the
tw o distinctive koto gestures sh o w n in Ex. 39 o n p . 39. The second is a t the
clim ax o f the piece (show n a t Ex. 14 on p. 23). H ere, all pitches of the
referential sonority are p re se n t except for (6), o r B.9 The rem aining tw o tim es
are the p h rase-en d in g reso lu tio n chords w h ich e n d the last two phrases of the
m ovem ent, show n in Ex. 41. T he penultim ate chords in each of these p h rases
E xam ple 41
are also included here to sh o w their m inor se co n d /p e rfec t fifth intervallic

relationship to the final ch o rd s of the phrases.
T he (0 ,1 ,3 ,4 ,6 ,9 ) se t also exists n o t o n ly vertically, b u t also
horizontally. The referential sonority slow ly a n d beautifully unfolds over
one-q u arter of the first m o v em en t, in the th ird section. As w as sta ted before,
the th ird section of the first m o v em en t - the "g am elan " section - is m a d e u p
of four hem itonic p en tach o rd s, presented in a repeated-note texture.
H ow ever, some of these re p e a te d notes are harm onics, w hich m akes them
tim brally stand o u t from th e o th er ordinario notes. These notes are (in order)
8 First set: E=0, Ef>=l, C=4, Bl>=6; second set: B^=0, F#=4, E=6; third set: F=0, A=4, D=9; fourth
set: C=0, At=4, F$=6; fifth set: F=0, F$=l, Al>=3-
9 F=0, E =l, D=3, C#=4, G#=9.

42
A (on the la st line of th e first page), E-B-D (on the second line of the second
page), an d F-Gtt-Ctt (on the third line o f the second page. The last six o f these
repeated harm onic n o tes m ake u p the set (0,1, 3 ,4 , 6, 9).10 The first note, the
A, can be th o u g h t o f in term s of its perfect fifth intervallic relationship to this
sonority, as it is se p arate d from the o th er six harm onics not only by tim e, b u t
also by the last ph rase-en d in g chord o n the first page. (As w as stated above,
phrase-ending ch o rd s d o n o t appear ag ain until the v ery end of the
m ovement.) The fact th a t this slow ly u n fo ld in g statem ent of the referential
sonority begins o n a n E harm onic fu rth er solidifies this note's prim acy as the
m ain focal p itch of th e m ovem ent.
In the second m ovem ent, the referential sonority plays an integral role
w ith regard to p itch choice. Of course, ( 0 ,1 ,3 ,4 ,6 ,9 ) is itself a subset of the
octatonic set. H o w ev er, if w e once ag ain look at the first two lines of m usic,
b u t this tim e only incorporate the (0 ,1 , 3, 4, 6, 9) set into our observation (and
n o t consider its octato n id sm ), w e arrive a t the following (Ex. 42):
(0, 1 ,4 ) (0 ,1 ,4 ) (0, 1 ,3 ,9 )
(0, 1.4 )
(0 .1 .3 ) (0. 1 ,6 ,9 )
(0, 1. 6) (0, 3, 6)
(0, 1,4) (0, 1 ,4 ) k ( 0 ,4 ,6 )
iiiliili
(0, 1, 4)
(0, 1 ,4 ,6 )
Example 42
Thus, one can see th a t alm ost every g ro u p in g of notes is also a subset of the
referential sonority as w ell as a particular octatonic scale. In this w ay , w e can
10 Once again, F=0, E =l, D=3, Ctt=4, B=6, Git=9.
with p e rm is s io n of t h e co py rig h t o w n er. F u rth e r re p ro d u ctio n prohibited w ithout perm issio n .

43
view the harm onic relationships in this m ovem ent in tw o dim ensions —their
relationship to different octatonic scales, an d their relationship to the
referential sonority.
The one area w here a subset collection o f the (0 ,1 ,3 ,4 , 6,9) set does
n o t occur w ithin a g ro u p in g of notes is the E-F-Ak in the top voice of the first
line, beginning w ith the second g rouping of no tes.11 Takemitsu calls attention
to this anom aly b y indicating that the opening E of the E-F-Al> collection is to
be doubled on the first an d second string an d struck w ith the nail of a single
finger (this is w h a t is m eant by the curved line strad d lin g the flag of the E).
Once again, this is n o t a standard guitar technique, b u t rather a koto technique
(specifically k now n as kakite).12 Invoking the so u n d of the koto also serves
another purpose here, an d that is to em phasize the specific pitch-class subset
used here (0 ,1 ,4 ). As is clear from the above exam ple, (0,1,4) is a trichord
that occurs very frequently in the first tw o lines of the piece, an d indeed
throughout the w hole movem ent. In addition, (0 ,1 ,4 ) is featured
prom inently at k ey structural m om ents in this m ovem ent - the opening of the
A section, the o p en in g of the B section, the transition back to A, an d the
opening of the coda rely solely on (0 ,1 ,4 ) for their pitch m aterial (see Ex. 42,
and in C hapter Three, Ex. 16,11, and 7, respectively). Thus, w hereas the first
m ovem ent m ay b e tho u g h t to have "E" as its m ain focal pitch, the second
m ovem ent has (0 ,1 ,4 ) as its m ain focal pitch-class set. In fact, there is only
one key stru ctu ral m om ent in the second m o v em en t that does n o t use solely
(0,1,4) in its construction. This is the last sustained chord in the transition
11 Incidentally, this same phenomenon happens w hen considering the music solely from the
standpoint of octatonic scales (see Ex. 19 on p. 26).
12 Adriaansz, pg. 51

44
from section A to section B (see Ex. 43). H ere, this five-note chord e x p an d s on
(0 ,1 ,4 ) to becom e ( 0 ,1 ,3 ,4 , 9).13
PP
E xam ple 43
R eturning to Ex. 42 on p. 42, w e fin d th at, in fact, the only tw o n otes n o t

related to the referential sonority (0 ,1 ,3 , 4, 6, 9) are the C an d F fo u n d in the
second line. By ex clu d in g these notes from th e referential sonority set,
Takem itsu h eig h ten s attention tow ard sh iftin g p ed al points. U ntil this
m om ent, the C h as b een a constant note, ac tin g as a m ain focal pitch for the
m ovem ent. W hen the low F enters, how ever, the focal pitch is changed to this
n ew pedal point. By keeping these notes o u tsid e of the referential so n o rity
set, T akem itsu fu rth e r em phasizes n o t o nly this change of focal pitch, b u t also
the perfect fifth intervallic relationship b etw e en the two. After the low F has
b een accented in th is m anner, Takem itsu reconnects it to the reference
sonority w ith the la s t chord of the line.
In the th ird m ovem ent, Takem itsu em p lo y s the referential so n o rity to
fu rth er articulate th e form . By its v ery stru ctu re , a rondo form has b u ilt into
its construction recu rrin g sections of m usic (the statem ents of the ro n d o
them e) that serve to center the form a n d give a sense of "hom e" ag a in st the
often disparate m u sic found in the episodes. T akem itsu further em phasizes
the psychological feel of the rondo them e b ein g "hom e" by utilizing only
subsets from the ( 0 ,1 ,3 ,4 ,6 ,9 ) pitch-class se t to generate sim ultaneities in
these recurring tw o m easures (Ex. 44, o n p . 45):
13 C=0, B=l, A=3, a !>=4, Et=9.

45
s.p. with one fin ger (1 3 4 g 9) {o , 3 , 4 , 6)
^ P ^ S E S E S 1 ord_ ( ( / L, 3 , 4, 9)
(0, L. 3, 9)
(0, I. 3, 6, 9)
Example 4414
In sta n d ard ro n d o form, the episodes typically m ove aw ay fro m the
rondo them e b o th harm onically an d m otivically. T akem itsu fu rth er heightens
this effect b y m oving a w a y from the referential sonority in the episodes. W ith
the exception of the ep iso d e that uses the Bach quote, n o t a single structurally
significant chord in a n y of the episodes is d eriv ed from the referential
sonority. A n d in the ep iso d e w ith the q u o te from the S t Matthew Passion,. (0,
1, 3, 4 ,6 ,9 ) is only u sed in the second p h ra se w h ere Takem itsu reharm onizes
Bach's m elody. In this w ay , T akem itsu restates Bach from the perspective of
the referential sonority of Folios, an d in so doing, creates a link betw een quite
disparate sounding m usic. Example 45, a reproduction of Ex. 27, b u t this time
show ing relationships to the referential sonority, dem onstrates this effect.
(The second circled g ro u p in g of notes assum es the sustained CU, E, a n d Bk)
(0. 3, 4, 6) (0, 3, 6)
(0. 4 , 6 , 9)
(0. 4, 6, 9) ^
(0 , 3, 4, 9> (0, 4, 9) (0. 3. 6, 9)
Example 4515
14 First set: C=0, B=l, A=3; second set: A=0, F=4, E^=6; third set same as first; fourth set:
B!>=0, A = l, G=3, C#=9; fifth set:B=l, A=3, G#=4, D#=9; sixth set: A = l, C=4, D=6, F=9;
seventh set: C=0, B=l, A=3, F$= 6, D$=9; eighth set: F=l, D$=3, D=4, C=6, A=9; ninth set:
C=0, A=3, Git=4, F#=6; tenth set: C=0, B =l, A=3, Gtl=4, d U=9.

46
The m usic in Folios, w hile never so u n d in g flashy or grandiose, is

nonetheless extrem ely difficult to p lay o n the guitar. In addition, there are
m any allusions to m usical genres n o t no rm ally associated w ith the g u itar -
Japanese koto, biwa, a n d gakiiso playing, as w ell as to the Indonesian gam elan
an d kecak ensem bles - as w ell as allusions to m usic that fairly often is
associated w ith the instrum ent, that of J.S. Bach. By substantially a d d in g to the
standard techniques a n d styles associated w ith the instrum ent an d w ritin g
difficult m usic th at significantly expands the player's technique, Takem itsu
evokes the h om ophonic aspect of iki. By b rin g in g together a n extensive
am ount of d isparate m usical m aterials a n d connecting them th ro u g h a definite
intervallic an d pitch class plan, T akem itsu dem onstrates the aesthetics of
Japanese gardens a n d sawari. A nd by constructing pregnant silences full of
potential activity, T akem itsu draw s on the principle of ma.
15 First set: Bt=0, F$=4, E=6, C$=9; second set: E=0, G$=4, Bl>=6, C$=9; third set: Bt=0, G=3,
F#=4, C#=9; fourth set: F=0, A=4, D=9; fifth set: G»=0, B=3, C=4, D=6; sixth set: D#=0, F#=3,
A=6, C-9; seventh set: B=0, D=3, F=6.

CHAPTER FIVE
ALL IN TWILIGHT AND EQUINOX
A ll in T w ilight (1987)
Thirteen years separate Folios an d T akem itsu's next foray into the solo
guitar literature, All in Twilight. In the interim w as 12 Songs for Guitar (1977),
Takem itsu's contribution tow ards bringing the m ulti-layered m eaning of iki
into the w orld of the g u itar via technically d em an d in g renderings of p o p u la r
songs.1 A lthough an original w ork, A ll in Twilight has m uch in com m on w ith
the 12 Songs in its use of sim pler, m ore consistent textures (com pared to Folios)
and predom inantly extended tertian, jazz-based ninth- and eleventh-chord
harmonies.
Com m issioned b y a n d dedicated to the English guitarist an d lu te n ist
Julian Bream, All in Twilight is T akem itsu's m usical reaction, expressed in four
different readings, to p ain ter Paul Klee's pastel-touch picture of the sam e title.2
Im m ediately, w h at strikes one upo n hearing this piece is Takem itsu's
attention to timbre. Ju st as a pastel-touch picture is replete w ith subtle
shadings of nuance a n d color, so is T akem itsu's im pression of such an
artw ork. For exam ple, in the first m easure (Ex. 46, on p. 48), a ringing, bell
like E is played three different ways: as a harm onic on the fifth string, as a
harm onic on the sixth string, and as an open first string. Because of different
1See Chapter Two, pp. 15-16
■Takemitsu, All in Twilight performance notes.
47

48
71i f
Example 46
thickness of strings as w ell as differences b etw e en harm onics a n d open

strings, each su b seq u en t E gives off a slig h tly different nuance, a slightly
different color. S uch a focus on initial tim bres is n o t only a response to a
pastel-touch Klee w o rk , b u t is also indicative of T akem itsu's com posing ethos:
"W hat is m o st im p o rta n t is first to establish a so u n d - a so u n d th a t leaves a
stro n g im pression."3
This detail to tim bral shading continues th ro u g h o u t A ll in Twilight, n o t
only th ro u g h u se of n atu ral an d artificial h arm o n ics an d specific string
indications, b u t also b y frequent changes th ro u g h a range of rig h t-h an d
placem ent indications such as ponticello, poco ponticello, ordinaro, poco tasto, and
tasto.
Each m o v em en t in All in Twilight is in som e v arian t of tern ary structure.
The first m o v em en t is in A B A C oda form . Like the first m o v em ent of Folios,
it is also m otivically based. The m ain m otive of the m ovem ent, taken from m.
2, is show n in Ex. 47. O f particular interest here is T akem itsu's use of a
Example 47
hem itonic p en tach o rd (C-Dk-El>-F#-Ai>). The A sections em p lo y a p attern of
transpositions of this m otive (or a v arian t thereof) b o u n d ed b y tw o chords
3 Smilow, et. al
R e p r o d u c e d with p e r m is s io n of th e copy right o w ner. F u rth e r re p ro d u c tio n prohibited w ithout p e rm issio n .

49
m ade u p of th ree or four voices. O ccasionally, one of these p aram eters w ill be
doubled such th a t tw o chords m ay be follow ed b y tw o variants of th e m otive,
or a m otivic sta tem en t w ill be follow ed b y fo u r chords. An exam ple o f this
pattern is sh o w n in Ex. 48 (mm. 10-14):
van on motive
chords chords
trans. o f motive
Example 48
O ne o th e r feature of the Section A p a tte rn that is ap p aren t in Ex. 48 is

the frequency o f su stain ed chords, creating a sense of tem poral space. In this
way, the concept of ma is once again at w o rk , serving as a b o u n d a ry of
potential connection betw een the different p a rts of section A 's chordal a n d
motivicly b a se d m usic.
In the B section o f this m ovem ent (m m . 19-27), w e realize th a t ma is
also being u se d in a structural defining capacity. As in Section A, th e m usic
here consists o f v arian ts o n the m otive sh o w n in Ex. 47 on p. 48 in tersp ersed
w ith chordal passages. The difference, h o w ev er, is th at there are no sustain ed
chords, notes, o r arpeggios in this section. T hus, the absence of space (ma) acts
as a structural dem arcation.
A literal rep ea t of m usic from the A section follows the B section (mm.
28-41) a n d th e n a transition to the C oda occurs (mm. 42-44). This transition is
m ade u p of v aria n ts o n the m ovem ent's m otive w ith accom panying chords.
The preceding C o d a (mm. 45-53) features m otive-based arpeggios, a n d w ith
the exception o f the final arpeggio, constant sixteenth notes (again affirm ing

50
the structural delineation duties g iv en to ma). The m ovem ent en d s w ith a

reference back to the opening A section (m m . 54-58).
The second m ovem ent is also in A B A C oda form, w ith th e A section
from mm . 1-15 an d m arked w ith a n arp eg g iated rhythm ic p attern s of 2+3-
beats (see Ex. 49, m m . 6-7 of the m ovem ent). The B section, m m . 16-35,
Example 49
m aintains this basic structure w hile a d d in g a grouping of five sixteenth notes

(Ex. 50, m. 17). A literal repeat of A th en follows from mm . 36 to 50, an d the
f
Example 50
Coda, identified b y its rolled chords in a 3+2-beat rhythm ic p a tte rn ends the
piece (mm. 51-64).
The th ird m ovem ent is in A B B A C oda form, w ith the A section from
m m . 1 to 11 an d featuring octatonic ru n s in a 2+2+1-beat stru ctu re (Ex. 51,
m m . 1-2 of the th ird m ovem ent). A tran sitio n to the first B section, m arked
PP —
Example 51
w ith hom ophonic four-voice chords, follow s from mm . 12-15. The first B
section then follows from mm . 16 to 26 a n d features a pedal A over shifting

51
rhythm ic grou p in g s (Ex. 52, m m . 16-19). A repeat of the tran sition betw een
the A section a n d B section then occurs from mm . 27-30, follow ed b y a repeat
f k f
Example 52
of the first seven m easures of the B section. A new transitional section then
follows from 38 to 41, and then the A section an d original tran sitio n from mm.
12 to 15 is stated , m m . 42-54. A sh o rt C oda, featuring arp eg g iated octatonic
sets, then e n d s the m ovem ent (mm. 55-59).
The fo u rth m ovem ent is in sim ple A B A ternary form . The A section of
the fourth m o v em en t (mm. 1-25) features groups of five eig h th notes in
anhem itonic pentatonic repeated p attern s, preceded b y an eighth-note space.
This eighth-note space is originally a rest, b u t later is p resen ted as a sustained
note (see Ex. 53, m m . 1-4 of the fo u rth m ovem ent). The B section (mm. 26-51) is
/ egato
J_ ■“ ■fc- -i----- 1.j \>IZ- — k
j*1-----fe—
.__bJTn
J * -
mv •f
7—
rF = >
p 4 = m
PP poco poco
poco sfz
dolce sfz
Example 53
octatonically based, an d has shifting rhythm ic patterns. The beginning of this

section is fu rth er distinguished tim brally by the use of rig h t-h an d m uting,
palm -pizzicato technique (Ex. 54, m m . 26-27). This passage is the only
accel. - - - - - -
pp
Pizz.
Exam ple 54

52
exam ple w h ere this sound, a tech n iq u e for w hich dedicatee Ju lian Bream is
renow ned, is fo u n d am ongst all of T akem itsu's guitar w riting.
T hough n o t functionally tonal, each m ovem ent of A ll in Twilight has a
specific pitch center. In the first m ovem ent, this pitch is E, as sta te d b y
assertion at k ey structural m om ents. The opening m easure o f the m ovem ent
(Ex. 46 on p. 48) uses solely this note. Furtherm ore, the roots o f the chords
found in the structurally im p o rta n t m om ents of climax (m. 21), transition to
Coda (m. 42), a n d en d of the piece (m m . 57-58) are all E as w ell (Ex. 55).
42 J 4 , 57 it* /7 \
t ^ :t = : = n :f f j^ - T 1j - — i i
-(ffl - K - --------- !--------- H - . . I ^ = r : 3 E — i
p
— 'F
F:
p dolce p p dolciss.
f
Example 55
If w e look at Ex. 46 a n d 47 o n p. 48, the first an d second m easures of the
first m ovem ent, w e can see a n exam ple of T akem itsu's in co rp o ration of sawari
into A ll in Tw ilight The pitch relationship betw een the o p en in g m easure (an
E) an d first note of the second m easu re (a C) is a m ajor third. This relationship
is p erp etu ated th ro u g h o u t this m ovem ent, acting as a h id d e n m o d e of order
and direction. For exam ple, in the cho rd al segm ents of the A - section pattern,
the root notes of the initial a n d final chords are related to one an o th er by a
major third. To illustrate, let u s look a t the chordal segm ents of Ex. 48 (p. 49).
The first chord here is a four-note q u artal chord b u ilt on E, th e second a G#
m inor chord. A m ajor th ird separates the roots of these chords. In the third
m easure of this exam ple, b y taking T akem itsu's view s on the p rim acy of the

53
perfect fifth into consideration,4 w e can ascertain that th e ro o t of the initial

chord of th is seg m en t is G#. The final chord is E m inor - once again show ing
the intervallic ro o t relationship of a m ajor third. In this tran sition to the Coda,
the h arm onic p ro g ressio n is E m inor n in th in m . 42, C m in o r eleventh in m. 43,
an d back to the E m in o r n in th in m. 44 (all dem onstrate relationships of a
m ajor third). O n a less local level, the final chord of the C o d a, given further
em phasis b y a glissando, crescendo to forte, a n d sustained n otes, is an
arpeggio o n a G# m in o r n in th chord (Ex. 56). This is related b y the interval of
the m ajor th ird to the focal pitch of the m ovem ent, E. The relationship
betw een clim ax of C o d a a n d pitch center an d betw een initial a n d final chord
in segm ents of Section A is played o u t on a global level w ith the relationship
betw een the p itch center o f the first m ovem ent (E) an d last m o vem ent (At).
(As in the first m ovem ent. A t is the p itch center by assertion in the fourth
m ovem ent, w ith its opening, transitional, climactic, a n d e n d in g m easures
prom inently featu rin g this pitch.)
Saiuari also functions as an intra-m ovem ent connecting device in All in

Twilight v ia rh y th m ic relationships. As can be surm ised b y th e citation of
m easure n u m b ers to delineate form , contrary to Folios, A ll in Twilight
m aintains consistent b arrin g an d use of m eter. In fact, of the three later solo
4 see pp. 36-37

54
guitar w orks, o n ly the m iddle m o vem ent of In the Woods (1995), "Rosedale,"
does n o t use a tim e signature.5
The first m ovem ent of A ll in Twilight m ainly stays in 2.5/8 w ith free
and frequent shifts to the m eters 3 /8 , an d 4 /8 . The rem aining three
m ovem ents all keep a consistent m eter w ith occasional interjections of other
meters. The second m ovem ent stays prim arily in 5 /8 w ith rare, one-m easure
forays into 6 /8 a n d 8 /8 ; the th ird m ovem ent stays in 5/16 w ith single b o u t of
6/16 in its A sections, an d frequent changes to 3 /1 6 ,6 /1 6 ,8 /1 6 ,9 /1 6 ,1 1 /1 6 ,
and 12/16 in its B section. Finally, the last m ovem ent keeps a constant 6 /8
throughout the A sections, a n d m oves aw ay from this in the B section only
w ith a single b a r of 8 /8 an d a single line of 5 /8 .
As one can see, the m ain tim e signatures of the first three m ovem ents,
respectively in 2 .5 /8 , 5 /8 , an d 5 /1 6 , all im ply a five-beat group of notes. In
the first m ovem ent, w henever the tim e signature is 2.5/8, a grouping of 3+2
sixteenth notes occurs. This m etric g ro u p in g begins w ith the first m easure of
the piece (see Ex. 46, p. 48) an d thus sets u p a five-beat grouping precedent for
the w hole w ork. This grouping continues in b o th A an d B sections of the
second m ovem ent (see Ex. 49 an d 50, on p. 50), a n d the A section of the third
m ovem ent (Ex. 51, p. 50). D espite the 6 /8 n atu re of the last m ovem ent, the
grouping-of-five m otif still continues, as each m easure of the A section begins
w ith an eighth-note space (Ex. 53, p. 51). Thus, w hereas sawari m anifests itself
in Folios in the intervallic relationships of a m inor second an d perfect fifth and
the referential sonority of ( 0 ,1 ,3 ,4 ,6 ,9 ), in A ll in Twilight it exists in term s of
major third relationships a n d rhythm ic g roupings of five beats.
5Although, with its liberal use of silence, constantly shifting time signatures, and metric
modulations, Equinox (1993) imparts the same sense of metrically "free" music achieved in
"Rosedale" and Folios). Coincidentally, all three unmetered pieces - Folios, Equinox, and
"Rosedale" - are all dedicated to the Japanese guitarist Kiyoshi Shomura.
with p e r m is s io n of th e copy rig ht o w ner. F u rth e r re p ro d u ctio n prohibited w ithout p e rm issio n .

55
The grou p in g s o f five beats in All in Twilight also serve to incorporate a

further dim ension of th e concept of ma. Because of the previous three
m ovem ents, "five" seem s to be the n atu ral rh y th m ic default b y the tim e the
fourth m ovem ent arriv es. Because of this effect, the rests that o p en the first
two m easures take o n n ew m eaning —w e do n o t expect them to be there, w e
do n o t expect an y sp a ce betw een groupings o f five beats. Therefore, w hen
they occur, w e are filled w ith the desire to eith er h ear them elim inated o r filled
up, the latter of w h ic h is d one by the third m easu re. In this w ay, T akem itsu
uses the concept of sawari to heighten the in te n sity of potential activity w ithin
rests (thereby en h a n cin g the feeling of ma) in th e fourth m ovem ent of A ll in
Twilight.
Equinox (1993)
Though n early tw enty years separate Folios an d Equinox, the
com positional p ro ced u res an d aesthetics w h ic h underlie these tw o w orks are
rem arkably sim ilar. B oth em ploy a Japanese g ard en 's w orth of varied and
volum inous m usical m aterials; both use techniques from traditional Japanese
string instrum ents to en ric h and technically e x p a n d the b o undaries of guitar
playing, thereby in v o k in g the dual-level m e an in g of iki; both rely heavily on
silence as a dynam ic stru ctu ral com ponent, im b u in g the w orks w ith the
concept of ma; a n d finally, both use non-functional chords e n tru ste d w ith a
structural agenda a n d referential sonorities d e p lo y ed as unifying factors, thus
creating a sense o f sazvari.
Like the first m o v em en t of Folios, Equinox does not em ploy any
standardized form in its use of the structure A B A C D B ' E F E ' B " F' A B'"
E". As opposed to Folios, sections are in tersp ersed w ith transitive m otives.

56
Section A (m m . 1-3) uses a texture m a d e u p of a sustained c h o rd follow ed

w ith altern atin g strin g arpeggios, slo w ly d y in g aw ay (Ex. 57, m . 1). This
s.p.
Exam ple 0 / "v

texture is d e riv e d directly from the Japanese epic narrative m usical genre
know n as heike bizua, traditionally p racticed b y blind itin eran t m usicians.6 Biwa
gestures are fu rth e r em ulated in th e n ex t statem en t of A, m m . 11-15, w ith the
use of strin g b e n d s an d a sustained rasgiieado chord.
F ollow ing th e A section are tw o m otives th at act as tran sitory fragm ents
of m usic in Equinox, often a p p earin g before changes in texture a n d musical
m aterial. T ran sito ry motive "x" is sh o w n in Ex. 58 (m. 4). O f note in this
Example 58
motive is th e u se o f pitch class set ( 0 ,1 ,3 ,4 , 6,9),7 p erh ap s a T akem itsu's w ink

to dedicatee S hom ura, recalling their p rev io u s collaboration in Folios.
T ran sito ry m otive "y" then follow s in the next m easure, sh o w n in Ex.
59. Like th e D m in o r chord in Folios, these non-functional m ajor an d
p rp
Example 59
6 Malm, pp. 144-145
7 Bt=0, A = l, G=3, F#=4, E=6, C#=9

57
d o m in an t-sev en th chords perform a specific structural d u ty , actin g as

precu rso rs to n ew sections.8 It is as if T akem itsu rem oves the d om inant-
sev en th ch o rd fro m its harm onic a n d voice-leading functions, in stead referring
o nly to the sonority of this chord fro m a tonal music stan d p o in t to create a
sense of transition. By giving the dom inant-seventh chord a secret, structural
agenda, the concept of sazvari is at w ork. In addition, the top line of this
segm ent of m usic, along w ith the follow ing note in the next m easure, is the
m ain u n ify in g m elodic m otive in Equinox (Dt-C-Et-Bt).
Section B, featuring groupings of three sixteenth notes in descending

arpeggios, th e n follows in m m . 6-10 (Ex. 60, m. 7). A retu rn to the m usic of the
^ k»-.
m f
Example 60
A section th e n follows in mm. 11-15, a n d after this is heard m o tive "x" in m.

16.
Section C then follows (mm. 17-21). This section is m a rk e d by a top line
stating the co n to u r of Equinox's m elodic m otive in harm onics, a n d a texture
sim ilar to th a t of the heike-biwa m usic of section A (Ex. 61).
Example 61
8 The three chords respectively enharmonically spell out dom. 7, C major, and B dom. 7.

58
A fter a statem ent of m otive "y " (m m . 24-25), section D is h ea rd (mm.

24-28), featuring repeated harm onic a n d ordinario chords (Ex. 62, m . 24).
Example 62
M usic related to m otive "y" an d h arm onics related to the m elodic m otive are
then h eard . Both m otive variants th e n m ove into a section of m usic related to
B (mm. 32-34). Im m ediately follow ing this section is Section E, w h ere the
m elodic m otive (originally fund in the top voice of Ex. 59 on p . 56) is
expan d ed from four to six notes, w ith each grouping of six notes accom panied
w ith a ch o rd (mm. 35-41).
This m usic leads to the clim ax o f the piece in section F (m m . 42-51).
This clim ax is n o t a tension-filled one, b u t rather a gentle, diatonic climax,
w here the tem po is slowed (going fro m J = 72 to J= 60), and m inor second and
tritone "dissonances" are sm oothed o u t v ia w ide spacing and soft dynam ics
(Ex. 63, m . 42-44).
P f sPr- s ?
K mJ
PP
Example 63
In m m . 52-56, m usic related to section E is heard. Follow ing this is

m usic b ased on transitory m otive "y," interspersed w ith B section m usic, then
follows from mm . 57-65.
Section F m usic (now in a lo w er octave) comes back in m m . 66-67. In
quick succession, m usic related to tran sito ry m otive "y" (mm. 68-69), to

59
section A (mm. 70-71), a n d to section B (m m . 72-79) then follows. A fter one

m ore literal re p e a t of rmotive "y" (m. 80), m u sic related to section E en d s the
w ork (mm. 81-85). M e asu res 83-85 are re p ro d u c e d in Ex. 64.
poco riten...
mf
Example 64
Once again, silemce is a key stru ctu ra l factor in Equinox. S ustained

chords are featu red proominently a t th e en d s of sections, an d each transitory
motive is b o u n d e d by nests. Thus, in the sp irit of ma, we are m a d e to
contem plate the p o te n tia l connection a t w o rk b etw een d isparate a n d
frequently changing rmusic in these silences.
Just as in Folios,. the hidden connecting device, or sawari, w o rk in g as a
p ath through the v a r y in g and frequently ch an g in g garden of Equinox is a
referential sonority. If: w e examine th e clim ax of this piece (Ex. 62 on p. 58) w e
find that the pitches thaerein convert to a ( 0 ,1 ,3 ,4 , 7, 8) pitch-class set.9 By
looking at the m usic i n the different sections of the piece, we find th a t all b u t
Section D use this refei-rential sonority o r subsets of it for their p itch content,
an d thereby (0 ,1 ,3 ,4 , 7,8) becomes a connecting thread th ro u g h o u t the w ork.
Section A is m ad e up oof a (1 ,3 ,4 , 7, 8) se t10 (Ex. 57, p. 56); section B a n d C (Ex.
60 and 61, on p. 57), (0 0 ,1 ,3 ,4 ,7 ,8 ); a n d section E (0 ,1 ,4 , 7) in m . 83, a n d (0,3,
4,7) in mm. 84-85 (Ex.. 64, above).11
9 Where BÔ, A = l, G=3, F $ =4, Et=7, and D=8.
10 Once again, sets are shoTw n to best demonstrate their relationship to the referential sonority.
Sometimes, this means th e^ are not written in best normal order.
11Section A: E^=l, F=3, F$=4, A=7, b1»=8; Section B: G=0, A^=l, B^=3, B=4, D=7, E^=8; Section
C: F#=0, G=l, A=3, b M , C $=7, D=8; Section E (m. 83): B^=0, A =l, Ffi=4, Eb=7. (mm. 84-85):
F#=0, A=3, Bi>=4, C#=7.

CHAPTER SIX
CONCLUSION
T ak em itsu 's guitar w riting encom passes a period of over th irty years,
from cham ber g u itar w riting in the early w o rk Ring (1961) to solo guitar
w ritin g in h is p en u ltim ate piece, the w o rk In the Woods (1995). A n am ateur
g uitarist him self, Takem tisu p ersonally tested each of his pieces o n the
in stru m en t him self for playability an d idiom atic w riting.1 H e often consulted
an d form ed frien d ship s w ith som e of th e b est guitarists in the w o rld , such as
M anuel Barrueco (w ho edited fingerings for Equinox), K iyoshi S hom ura (to
w h o m Folios, Equinox, and the m iddle m o v em en t of In the Woods, "R osedale,"
w ere dedicated), John W illiams (to w h o m the guitar concertos To the Edge of
Dream a n d Spectral Canticle, an d the first m ovem ent of In the Woods, "W ainscot
P ond," w ere dedicated), an d Julian B ream (who edited fingerings for A ll in
Twilight a n d to w h o m that piece as w ell as the final m ovem ent of In the Woods,
"M uir W oods," w ere dedicated). These friendships an d his ow n ap titu d e on
the in stru m e n t w e n t a long w ay to w ard s creating effective guitar
com positions. T akem itsu's affection for the instrum ent ra n deep —Takem itsu
once to ld his friend Julian Bream th at th e guitar w as the in stru m en t th at he
loved the m ost.2
W ith the g u itar occupying such a central position in T akem itsu's heart,
it is little w o n d e r th a t the u se of the trad itio n al Japanese concepts found in
1 Halasz, p. 5
2 Ibid., p. 5
60

61
Takem itsu's g u ita r w orks w o u ld carry across into his entire oeuvre. Elem ents
of ma, sawari, iki, a n d Japanese g arden aesthetics can be found in a n y m edium
th at T akem itsu h a s com posed for.
In T akem itsu's w orks, playing technique is extended b ey o n d its
stan d ard norm s for the instrum ent for w hich the piece is w ritten. T hrough
such extension, th e concept of w h at that in stru m en t's tradition is expands.
This thinking reflects a com bining of the d u al m eaning of the Japanese
hom ophone iki —"virtuosity" and "to live." T hrough his use of bizua, koto,
kecak, an d g am elan gestures in Folios, jazzy extended tertian harm onies and
frequent, quick juxtapositions of color an d articulations in 12 Songs fo r Guitar
and All in Tzvilight, a n d heike biwa techniques in Equinox, Takem itsu helps to
enlarge the concept of w h a t typical guitar trad itio n encompasses.
T akem itsu's application of iki can also be seen in his w o rk for other
non-guitar m edia. For example, the solo piano w ork For Away (1973) has a
section d erived fro m Indonesian gam elan m usic.3 In this section, softly-
played m elodic n o tes of pentachords incorporating sem itones are distributed
betw een the h a n d s in a process sim ilar to that of the one m allet p e r h a n d
technique associated w ith the Indonesian m etallophone in stru m en t called
gender.4 The title o f Masque (1959-1960) for tw o flutes is derived fro m the
masks that the actors in the traditional Japanese theatre genre called Noh
w ear.5 In Noh p lay s, accom panying percussionists shout the syllables "yio"
and "hoh." These exclam ations, called kakegoe, serve to m ark tim e betw een the
3 Ohtake, p. 84
4 Sorrell, p. 28
5Ohtake, p. 59
62
relatively rhythm ically free d ru m p attern s of Noh music.6 In Masque, the tw o

flautists sh o u t the sam e "yio" an d "h o h " syllables as in Noh d ram a m usic, b u t
this tim e to m ark tim e betw een the tw o m etrically free interw eaving flute
lines. T h ro u g h incorporating technical aspects of musical genres from other
cultures, Takem itsu expands the traditions of the W estern in strum ents he
w rites for. This m ethod of tradition expansion reflects the concept of iki.
In his solo guitar w orks, T akem itsu uses silence as a key structural
elem ent, allow ing the potential for so u n d located therein to serve as a
connecting force betw een disparate sections of music. This use of silence
evokes the Japanese concept of ma, the w o rd for space and tim e, as w ell as
potential activity w ithin that space a n d time. In m any of Takem itsu cham ber
an d orchestral w orks, he further elaborates on this aesthetic, ap ply in g the
spatial com ponent of ma in addition to the tem poral one found in the solo
guitar w orks. For example, in Distance (1972) for oboe and the Japanese
m outh-organ k n o w n as the sho, Takem itsu instructs the two perform ers to
stand as far ap art from each other on the stage. The actual spatial distance
thus accentuates the ma betw een the tradition of the East in the sho a n d the
m usic of the W est in the oboe, as w ell as the faster, more varied m usic the
oboe plays a n d the sustained, drone-like m usic the sho plays.7 In the piece
Archipelago S. (1993) for 21 players, a brass quintet is placed at the back w all of
the stage, a m ixed ensemble consisting of oboe, violin, viola, violoncello,
double bass, harp a n d percussion is seated stage left, a m ixed ensem ble
consisting of flute, bassoon, violin, viola, violoncello, celesta, an d percussion is
seated stage right, a n d two solo clarinets are placed behind the audience on
6MaIm, p. 126
7 Chenette, pp. 9-12
with p e r m is s io n of th e copy rig ht o w ner. F u rth e r re p ro d u ctio n prohibited w ithout p erm is sio n .
63
either side. T h ese five groups sym bolize the cities of Seattle, Stockholm , an d
the Islands o f th e Seto Inland Sea o f Jap an .8 The physical distance an d
variations o f m u sical m aterials b etw een the groups thus rep resen t the spatial
an d cultural m a th a t exists betw een th ese places. Indeed, the audience
frequently exists in the m idst of ma d u rin g the perform ance of this piece,
contem plating the frequent heterophonic doublings th at occur b etw een the
solo clarinets a n d m em bers of the on-stage groups. Incidentally, Archipelago S.
is dedicated to the guitarist Julian B ream o n the occasion of his sixtieth
birthday.
A s h a s b een described, the large a m o u n t of variation b etw een m usical
m aterials a n d textures in Takem itsu's g u ita r w orks is influenced b y his
appreciation o f the m yriad elem ents w h ich all w ork together in Japanese
gardens. T he aesthetics behind Japanese g ardens have a large im pact o n his
other w orks a s w ell. For exam ple, in th e p ian o concerto Arc (1963) different
groups of in stru m e n ts represent the earth , rocks, flowers, grass a n d trees of a
Japanese g ard en . The piano soloist, rep resen tin g the stroller, cues the entrance
of these in stru m e n ts ju st as the stroller, b y looking one w ay or the other,
determ ines w h a t angles of the g ard en h e or she w ould view .9 The double
piano concerto Quotation of Dream (1991) incorporates concepts fo u n d in the
type of Jap an ese g ard en know n as shakkei. In a shakkei garden, the
environm ent o u tsid e of the borders o f th e garden, such as a m o u n tain or the
sea, is u se d to enhance the contem plation of the elem ents w ith in the garden.10
8 Knussen, pp. 8-9
10Seike, et al., p. 66

64
In Quotation o f Dream, quotes from D eb u ssy 's La Mer represent the

su rro u n d in g hills or lakes, w hile T akem itsu's m usic sym bolizes th e garden.11
The D ebussy quotes in Quotation o f Dream also signify the Japanese
concept o f sazvari, a hid d en connection betw een seem ingly d isp arate m aterials.
In Folios, the intervals of a perfect fifth a n d a m inor second, as w ell as the set
( 0 ,1 ,3 ,4 ,6 ,9 ) w ere show n as sawari devices. Such connection m ethods w ere
also sh o w n in A ll in Twilight's u se of the m ajor third interval a n d rhythm ic
groupings of five, an d Equinox's u se of the set (0 ,1 ,3 ,4 ,7 ,8 ). Sawari
connections becom es ap p aren t in m a n y of T akem itsu's w orks, including the
orchestral piece A Flock Descends into the Pentagonal Garden (1977), w ith its use
of groupings of five and the m an ip u latio n of the intervals fo u n d in the
pentatonic scale to render different h arm onic fields,12an d the violin concerto
Far Calls. Coming, far! (1980), w ith its recu rrin g use of the set (0 ,1 ,4 , 5, 6, 8).13
A lth o u g h his earliest m usical train in g w as exclusively in the stu d y of
W estern m usic, since the early 1960's T akem itsu im m ersed h im self in the
deliberate a n d concentrated s tu d y o f the traditional m usic of this hom eland.
In this an aly sis of his g u itar w o rk s, the Japanese aesthetics o f iki, ma, and
sawari, as w ell as the conceptual d esig n b eh in d Japanese g a rd e n have been
discussed a n d investigated to sh o w the integral p art they play in T akem itsu's
com positional process. W hat is im p o rta n t to realize is that Takem itsu does not
use th e co n cep ts of Japanese g a rd e n s, iki, m a , a n d saw ari, in an y so rt of
superficial w ay . They are p rim a ry in g red ie n ts in his m usical recipes, not
m erely spices a d d e d in w h e n ad ju stin g to taste. In to d ay 's ever-shrinking
11 Knussen, p. 6
ta k e m itsu , Confronting Silence, pp. 102-106
Îbid., pp. 111-112

65
w orld, w h ere inform ation about a n d access to other cultures is fast becom ing
easier a n d easier to arrive at, T ak em itsu 's deep knowledge, application, and
b alan ced sy n th esis of W estern a n d E astern music d oes n o t m ake him a
Japanese com poser, n o r a Japanese m a n w ritin g in the W estern style, but
rath er sim p ly a m odern-day com poser w h o has created a p an-global musical
language.
APPENDIX A
TAKEMITSU'S GUITAR WORKS
Solo Guitar Works

Folios. Paris: E ditions Salabert, 1974.
12 Songs for Guitar. (Takemitsu's arrangem ents for solo guitar of A rlen's Over
the Rainbow; Converse's What a Friend; D egeyter's The International;
Fain's Secret Love; G ershw in's Summertime; Kosm a's Amours Perdues;
L ennon & M cCartney's Here, There and Everywhere, Hey Jude, Michele,
an d Yesterday; N akada's A Song o f Early Spring; a n d the Irish folk song
Londonderry Air.) Tokyo: Schott Japan, 1977.
All in Twilight. Tokyo: Schott Japan, 1987.
Equinox. Tokyo: Schott Japan, 1993.
In the Woods. Tokyo: Schott Japan, 1995.
Chamber Works Incorporating Guitar

Ring for flute, terz guitar, an d lute. Paris: Editions Salabert, 1961.
Sacrifice for alto flute, guitar, an d vibraphone. Paris: Editions Salabert; Tokyo:
O n g ak u no Tomo Sha, 1962.
Valeria for violin, violoncello, guitar, electric organ, and tw o piccolos. Tokyo:
Schott Japan, 1965.
Stanza I for guitar, piano/celesta, h arp , vibraphone, and fem ale voice. Tokyo:
Schott Japan, 1969.
Toward the Sea for alto flute an d guitar. Tokyo: Schott Japan, 1981.
Bad Boy for tw o guitars. Tokyo: Schott Japan, 1993.
66
p e rm is s io n of t h e cop y rig h t o w ner. F u rth e r re p ro d u ctio n prohibited w ithout perm issio n .

67
Orchestral W orks w ith a Guitar Part
Arc for p ian o a n d orchestra. Paris: E ditions Salabert, 1976.
Dream/Window for orchestra. Tokyo: S chott Japan, 1985.
Gemeaux for oboe, trom bone, tw o orchestras an d two conductors. Tokyo:

Schott Jap an , 1986.
Concerti w ith G uitar Soloists
To the Edge o f Dream for guitar and orchestra. Tokyo: Schott Japan, 1983.
Vers, l'arc-en-ciel, Palma for oboe d 'am o re, guitar, an d orchestra. Tokyo: Schott
Japan, 1984.
Spectral Canticle fo r violin, guitar, a n d orchestra. Tokyo: Schott Japan, 1995.

APPENDIX B
RECORDINGS OF TAKEMITSU'S SOLO GUITAR WORKS
A zoulay, P hillips. Tom Takemitsu —Gitarenwerke. [contains Folios, Equinox and

In the Woods.] M andala 9805815, 2000.
Bream, Julian. Nocturnal, [contains A ll in Tiuilight.] EMI Classics 54901,1994.
Chassain, O livier. Almost a Song —The Contemporary Guitar, [contains All in

Tiuilight.] M etronom e 1021,1997.
Died., A n d rea. Recital, [contains A ll in Twilight] MAP G -0026,1996.
Dukic, Z o ran . Tarrega, Jose, Bach, Takemitsu: Guitar Works, [contains All in
Twilight.] O pera Tres 1023,1997.
Fernandez, E d u ard o . All in Twilight, [contains All in Twilight.] Decca 433 076-
2,1989.
Fukuda, Shin-ichi. In Memoriam —Takemitsu: Guitar Works, [contains Folios, 12

Songs, A ll in Twilight, Equinox.] D enon 18025,1997.
Gallen, R icardo. Guitar Recital, [contains Folios and Equinox.] Naxos 8554832,
2001.
Halasz, Franz. A ll in Tiuilight —T om Takemitsu: Complete Music for Solo Guitar.

[contains Folios, 12 Songs, A ll in Twilight, Equinox, a n d In the Woods.] BIS
C D -1075,2000.
Nicolella, M ichael. Push, [contains Equinox.] Gale 00-002, 2000.
O esterreich, H elm ut. Ensemble N U N C —Neue M usik fiir 1 and 2 Gitarren.

[contains Folios.] Bayer CA D 800890,1982.
Savijoki, Jukka. Tom Takemitsu: Works for Flute and Guitar, [contains Folios an d
A ll in Twilight] O ndine 839,1995.
68

69
Seroussi, R uben. Guitar Masterpieces o f the 20th Century, [contains A ll in

Tiuilight.] N uovo Era 7255,1994.
Suzuki, D aisuke. Guitar Works by Torn Takemitsu. [contains Folios, 12 Songs,

A ll in Tiuilight, Equinox, a n d In the Woods.] Fontec FO CD -9114,1997.
T anenbaum , D avid. Acoustic Counterpoint, [contains All in Twilight.] N ew

A lbion 32,1991.
W eidem ann, A ugustin. All in Twilight, [contains All in Twilight.] A rte N ova
8596770,1997.
W illiams, John. To the Edge of Dream, [contains Folios a n d 12 Songs.] Sony

Classical 46720,1992.
Y am ashita, K azuhito. Modem Collection, [contains Folios.] A lfa ALR-28038,

1981.

WORKS CITED
A dachi, Barbara. Backstage at Bunraku: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Japan's

Traditional Puppet Theater. N ew York: W eatherhill, 1985.
A driaansz, W illem. The Kumiuta and Danmono Traditions o f Japanese Koto Music.
Berkeley: U niversity of California Press, 1973.
C henette, Jonathan. "The C oncept of Ma an d the M usic of Takem itsu." Paper

Presented at the N ational C onference of the A m erican Society of
U niversity Com posers, U niversity of A rizona, M arch 1985. Copy
p ro v id ed b y author.
D eutsch, Eliot. Studies in Comparative Aesthetics. H onolulu: U niversity Press of

H aw aii, 1975.
Fukuda, Shin-ichi, guitar. Brochure notes for In Memoriam —Takemitsu: Guitar

Works. N otes b y Shin-ichi F ukuda, Robin T hom pson, trans. Denon
CO-18025,1997.
H alasz, Franz, guitar. Brochure notes for All in Tzvilight —Takemitsu: Complete
Music for Solo Guitar. N otes b y P er F. Broman. BIS-CD-1075, 2000.
H indem ith, Paul. The Craft of Musical Composition. N ew York: Associated

M usic Publishers, Incorporated; London: Schott a n d C om pany, 1942.
K nussen, O liver. Brochure notes for Takemitsu: Quotation o f Dream. Notes by

O liver K nussen and T oru Takem itsu. D eutsche G ram m ophon 453 495-
2,1998.
M alm, W illiam P. Japanese Music and Musical Instruments. R utland, Vt.: C.E.
T uttle C om pany, 1959.
70
p e rm is s io n of t h e cop y rig h t o w ner. F u rth e r re p ro d u ctio n prohibited w ithout perm issio n .

71
O h tak e, N oriko. Creative Sources for the Music ofToru Takemitsu. A ldershot,
H ants, E ngland: Scolar Press; Brookfield, Vt.: A shgate Publishing
C om pany, 1993.
S chott Japan C om pany. Toru Takemitsu: Index o f His Works. Tokyo: Schott
Japan C om pany, 1991.
Seike, Kiyoshi a n d M asan o b u Kudo. A Japanese Touch fo r Your Garden. Tokyo:

K odansha In tern atio n al, 1980.
Slaw son, D avid. Secret Teachings in the A rt of Japanese Gardens: Design

Principles, Aesthetic Values. Tokyo: K ondasha International, 1987.
Sm ilow , M argaret, Yves Jeaneau, and Peter Grilli, p ro d u cers. Music for the
Movies: Toru Takemitsu. Charlotte Z w erin, d irecto r, c. 60 m inutes.
A lternate C u rren t, 1995. Videocassette.
Sorrell, Neil. A Guide to the Gamelan. Portland, Or.: A m adeus Press, 1990.
T akem itsu, Toru. 12 Songs for Guitar for solo g u itar. Tokyo: Schott Japan,
1977.
__________ . A ll in Twilight for solo guitar. Tokyo: S chott Japan, 1987.
__________ . Arc for p ian o a n d orchestra. Paris: E ditions Salabert, 1976.
__________ . Archipelago S. for 21 players. Tokyo: S chott Japan, 1994.
__________ . Bad Boy for tw o guitars. Tokyo: S chott Japan, 1993.
__________ . Confronting Silence. Yoshiko K akudo a n d G lenn Glasow,

translators. Berkeley: Fallen Leaf Press, 1995.
__________ . "C o n tem p o rary M usic in Japan," Jo h n R ahm , editor. Perspectives

o f New M usic XXVTI/2 (Summer, 1989): p p . 198-214.
__________ . Corona for p iano. Paris: Editions Salabert, 1972.
__________ . Distance for oboe an d sho. Paris: E ditions Salabert, 1972.
__________ . Distance de Fee for violin an d piano. Paris: Schott, 1951.

72
. Dream/Window fo r orchestra. Tokyo: Schott Japan, 1985.
. Eclipse for biwa a n d shakuhachi. Paris: Editions Salabert, 1966.
. Equinox for solo guitar. Tokyo: Schott Japan, 1993.
. Far Calls. Coming, Far! for violin a n d orchestra. Tokyo: Schott,

Japan, 1981.
. A Flock Descends into the Pentagonal Garden for orchestra. Paris:

Editions Salabert, 1977.
. Folios for solo guitar. Paris: Editions Salabert, 1974.
. For Away fo r solo piano. Paris: E ditions Salabert, 1973.
. Gemeaux for oboe, trom bone, tw o orchestras a n d two conductors.

Tokyo: Schott Jap an , 1986.
. In the Woods for solo guitar. Tokyo: Schott Japan, 1995.
. Masque for tw o flutes. Paris: Editions Salabert, 1960.
. November Steps for biwa, shakuhachi, a n d orchestra. London: C.F.

Peters, 1967.
. Quotation o f Dream for tw o pianos a n d orchestra. Tokyo: Schott

Japan, 1991.
. Ring for flute, terz guitar, a n d lute. Paris: Editions Salabert, 1961.
. Sacrifice for alto flute, guitar, a n d vibraphone. Paris: Editions

Salabert; Tokyo: O n g a k u no Tomo Sha, 1962.
. Spectral Canticle for violin, guitar, a n d orchestra. Tokyo: Schott

Japan, 1995.
. Stanza I for g u itar, p ian o /celesta, h arp , v ibraphone, and female

voice. Tokyo: S chott Jap an , 1969.
. To the Edge o f Dream for guitar a n d orchestra. Tokyo: Schott

Japan, 1983.

73
__________ . Toward the Sea for alto flute a n d guitar. Tokyo: Schott Japan,
1981.
__________ . Valeria for violin, violoncello, g u itar, electric organ, an d tw o

piccolos. Tokyo: Schott Japan, 1965.
__________ . Vers, Varc-en-cielr Palma for oboe d 'am o re, guitar, a n d orchestra.
Tokyo: Schott Japan, 1984.
v an den T oom , Pieter. The Music of Igor Stravinsky. N ew H aven, Ct.: Yale
U niversity Press, 1983.

TRADITIONAL JAPANESE AESTHETICS IN THE SOLO
GUITAR WORKS OF TORU TAKEMITSU
PART II
A D issertation
P resen ted to the Faculty of the G rad u ate School
o f Cornell U niversity
in Partial F ulfillm ent of the R equirem ents for the Degree of
Doctor of M usical A rts
by
Vineet A shok Shende
M ay 2001

© 2001 V ineet S h en d e

TABLE OF CONTENTS
COMPOSITION ONE: Snarl for sinfonietta ensemble 1
P rogram N ote 2
In stru m en tation 3
Perform ance N otes 4
Score 5
COMPOSITION TWO: Struurwelpeterlieder for soprano an d piano 46
P rogram N ote 47
Texts an d Translations 48
Score 51
COMPOSITION THREE: Seven Mirrors for string quartet 78
P rogram N ote 79
Perform ance N otes 80
Score 82
COMPOSITION FOUR: To Musique for w om en's choir 99
P rogram N ote 100
Text 101
Score 102
iii
R e p r o d u c e d with p e r m is s io n of th e co pyrigh t ow ner. F u rth e r re p ro d u c tio n prohibited w ithout p e rm issio n .

COM PO SITIO N ONE
Snarl
for Sinfonietta Ensemble
(2000)
2
Program N o te
I w as recently driving on 1-80 (ap p aren tly too slo w ly for one of m y
fellow h ig h w a y users) an d w as p assed b y a motorcyclist. A s his vehicle
overtook m in e, h e tu rn ed his head an d , in a n exam ple of prim ate-like
dom inance p o stu rin g , bared his teeth a t m e. This incident sta rted m e thinking
of how , d esp ite o u r supposedly highly civilized an d technologically advanced
society, w h e th e r o n the highw ay or the sidew alk, the judicial o r athletic court,
or in the b o a rd ro o m or the bedroom , th e genetic im p rin tin g of anim al
instincts a n d p assions colors our ev ery d ay interactions. T he m usical result of
these m u sin g s is Snarl.
Snarl is se t as a m ini-sym phony (or, if you will, a sinfonietta) w ith small,
attacca in tro d u cto ry , adagio, scherzo, a n d concluding m ovem ents.
T h ro u g h o u t th e four m ovem ents, h o w ev er, unifying principles are at w ork.
For exam ple, in its opening phrase, the oboe plays the n o tes A-E-C#-D#-G in a
high tessitura. These notes correspond o n a large-scale level to the central
pitches of th e four m ini-m ovem ents a n d climax. The m elodic a n d harm onic
language o f the piece is derived from the pitch-class collection from this sam e
opening p h ra se a n d corresponding p artials an d tone-row s w h ich result from
the m an ip u latio n of its notes. A nim al instincts an d passions are represented
by chaotic, hyper-em otional gestures (often utilizing ex ten d ed techniques)
w hich co n stan tly bubble just u n d er (and som etim es boil over) this highly
constructed, o rd e re d fram ew ork.

3
Instrum entation
Flute (doubles o n Piccolo)

Oboe
Bb C larinet (doubles on Bass C larinet)
Bassoon
H orn in F
Bb T ru m p et
T rom bone
Percussion I:
C rotales (set + additional G a n d Gil), Four Tom s, Sizzle Cym bal, Snare
D ru m , S uspended Cym bal, T am -tam , 25" T im pani, W ind Chimes, Cello
or C o n trab ass Bow.
Percussion II:
Bass D ru m , M arimba, T am bourine, Triangle, V ibraphone, Cello or
C o n trab ass Bow.
Piano
Violin I
Violin K
Viola
Violoncello
C on trab ass
Duration: A pproxim ately N ine M inutes.
Score in C.

4
Performance N otes
General:
<1- indicates 3 /4 tone flat; <1,^ - indicates 1 /4 tone flat.
\ - indicates 1 /4 tone sh arp ; jj| - indicates 3 /4 tone sh arp .
W oodwinds:
D iam ond-shaped note-heads ( J ) indicate any m ultiphonic w hich
accentuates note indicated.
T riangle-shaped note-heads ( * ) indicate high pitch, indefinite squeaks,
or squeals.
Brass:
A - indicates straight m ute, ^ - indicates H arm on m u te (stem 1 /2 out).
h-----------o - for H o rn a n d H arm o n m ute T rum pet, g rad u ally change
from a closed to o pen tone.
Percussion:
£—o n M arim ba, h it center of b ar w ith one m allet w h ile lightly touching
edge w ith other m allet ("Marimshot")-
Piano:
+ - indicates note m u ted w ith h an d inside piano.
Square note-heads ( J ) indicate notes struck inside piano.
Strings:
i - indicates snap pizzicato, - indicates fingernail pizzicato,
+ - indicates right-hand pizzicato.
O utline triangle-shaped note-heads ( f ) indicate high, indefinite natural
h arm onic node on strin g indicated.
H eadless notes ( - ^ ) indicate behind-the-bridge playing. Strings to
be b o w ed are indicated by w h ere note-stem ends.

for Sinfonietta ensemble V in e e t S h e n d e
Distant. (2000)
J -4 8
PP
s 2I0 .
innoct ntly
Oboe
PPP mp
Bass Qarinet
Bassoon
Horn
Bb Trumpet
w/str. mute: | gtiss.

Trombone
4 Toms: 1
Percussion I
Vibraphone:
Bass Drum: slow motor.
Percussion 2
mp PP
Piano
Distant.
J =48
sul pont: }attach mute:
1 a
Violin I
PP
sul pont.:
| am ch mute:
Violin II
PP
sul pont:
| atta :h mute: |
Viola
pp
pizz.
arco: s. p. - -
Violoncello
PP
Contrabass
pp
R e p r o d u c e d with p e r m is s io n of th e copy right o w ner. F u rth e r re p ro d u ctio n prohibited w itho ut p e rm is s io n

6
Picc.
Ob.
solo.
espress.
a.
mp
Bsa.
PP
ppp insert d o th in bell
Tpc.
C ro tales:
(bwd)
Grot.
(bwd)
PP
Vib.
PP
Pno. PP
sul tasto:
Via. I
gliss. PP
sul tasto: orcL:
VIn. II
mf pp
remove mute ord-:
Via.
PP
mf
sx attach mute:
V c.
PP
C b.

7
Picc.
Ob.
a. m
Bsn.
PP mf
remove cloth
remove mute
mp
Crot.
Cbwd)
Vib.
Pno. mf mp
fa st
accelerating
remove mute tr^~
mf PP
remove mute
Vln. II
PP
Via.
accelerating
III:
Vc.
mf mp mf PP
;3-i
Cb.

8
Picc.
Ob.
a.
Bsn.
mf
Hn.
mf
insert str. mu w/str. m ute
Tpt.
mf mf
insert str. nute.
Tbn.
mp
Crot.
(bwd)
pp
Vib.
mf
Pno.
sul tasto:
\fln. I
mp
sul tasto:
VI n. II
kQiJ-
mf
Via.
sul tasto: tasto:

Vc.
mf mp mp mf
(8“ )
Cb.

9
Picc.
JT
Ob.
a.
Hh.
Tpt.
to Tim pani.
(w/inverted sizzle cym. on head)
CroL
(bwd)
Vib.
Pno. JT
Vln. I
ord.:
Vln. II
Via.
ord.:
Vc.
Cb.

10
Slightly Faster.
S J = 60
FI.
PPP PPP
Ob.
PP
non-vib.
ci.
PPP
lon-vib.
Bsn.
PP
T im p an i:] strike inverted c^m. while pedaling timp.
Timp.l
(Cymj
sfjyp mp mp
Pno.
‘S&.-------------
Slightly Faster.
S J =60
_______________ sultasto:
Vln. I
PPP PPP
PP match Ob. pit
r3 ■3-1 .
mp
PPP ppp
pizz.
Cgiiss after each note,
articulate regular sized notes)
r 3 ? ________ —
Via.
mp
pizz.
Cgiiss after each note,
articulate regular sized notes)
i—3—
1
Vc.
mp
Cb.
pp

11
| 4 | W ith Tender Intensity.

moving forw ard -* (J =&Aolding b a d e- ~
solo. espress._________
pp p
Ob.
mp
solo.
espress.
a.
scrape cym.. release rimp. ped.

STs Scrape Cym.
Cym.
(Timp
pp
fast m otor
(bwd)
Vib.
mp PP
33&r
- - (J = so)holding back
espress.
- match pitch o f Cb. harmooic
Vln. I
PP
Vln. II
PPP
ord.:
Via.
arco:
Vc.
PPP
r -3
Cb.
PPP

12
\ Tempo. moving forw ard > - -* . . . ------------------ . . ------------------ (j = *»)
R.
mp
a.
mp
Bsn.
PPP
to Sus. C ym bal Sus. Cymbal:

Cyrru
Pno.
<-Sbi r
moving forw ard ~ -
VI ru !
Vln. II
Via.
PPP
Vc.
mf PPP
Cb.

13
EA. Tempo.
<J =60)
acceL
Bsn.
Hn.
TpL
Tbn.
set sizzle cym. on stand
Cym
mf
Mar.
Pno. mf
A Tempo. a c ce L
26 <J = » )
Vln. I
PP
Vln. II
mp
sul ponL:
mp
>ul ponL;
Vc.
mp
Cb.
mp -f
R e p r o d u c e d with p e r m is s io n of th e copy right o w ner. F u rth e r re p ro d u ctio n prohibited w ithout p e rm issio n .

14
A Tempo.
(J =eo>
<-l =ixo) rit. acceh-- ----------------- (J = «o) rit-.
Ob.
a.
nn
Tpt-
Sus. Cymbal: | s , ^ Cym,
Cym.
mp
| to Vibraphone.
Mar.
sfz ppp
Pno.
‘SStL-
A Tempo.
(j =eo>
accel: — rit.*
Vln. I
PP
pizz. pizz.
Vln. II
mp
Via.
mp
Vc.
Cb.
mp

15
A Tempo.
(J =60)
accel. A Tempo.
(J =fiO>
Ob.
ci.
Hn.
remove mute
remove mute
bow Cym.: set separate mourned G & G sharp CrotaJcs on timp.
Cym.
to Boss Dram.
Vib.
mp
Pno. PP
A Tempo.
(j - go)
accel.
Vln. I
sub. p
arco: 7, col legno tr no:

Vln. II
Via.
mf
Jf col legno in
Vc.
ppp
mf
Cb.
mf

16
A Tempo.
U-60)
holding back - -
35
as
Ob.
ci.
ffi
Bsn.
Hn.
Tbn.
CrotaJcs:
,,
take
metal
Tam-Tam: I J f M
(bowed)
Cro/
Tam
* w v $ iL
.loco
Pno. pp
strum
Siftcavy p i c k ^ * rap<.
holding back * - w/pick
35
Vln-1
Vln. II
ppp JF
____ orcL:_____
Via.
ord.:
Vc.
ord.:
Cb.

17
solo.
38
mp
Ob.
a.
PP
Bsn.
ffi
Tbn.
m
Bass D rum :
B.D.
Pno.
38 gliss.
VIn. I
PPP
Vln. LI
PPP
gliss.
Via.
PPP
gliss.
Vc.
PPP
Cb.
ffi

18
a.
PP
Bsn.
Hn.
Tbn.
sffz
Toms
to Vibraphone-
B.D.
Pno.
Vln. II
sul ponL:
Via.
Vc.
Cb.
Jf

19
44
Ob.
a.
pp
Bsn.
Jf
Hn.
,TT
Jf
TpL
Jf
Tbn.
Toms
Jf
Jf
Pno.
su! casto: ord.;

Vln.1
stil tasto: ord.:

Vln. II
mf
si I tasto:
sjpp Jf
Vc.
Cb.
Jf

20
47
Ob.
ff
a.
Bsn.
Tpt.
gliss.
Tbn.
Toms
su! ponL:
47 ord.:
Vln. I
Vln. II
sfrp
Via.
sfpp
Vc.
PP — -
Cb.

21
FI.
Ob.
m
a.
Bsn.
sola.
Hn.
Tpt-
gllss.
Tbn.
/W >
JJJ
to Snare.
Toms
V ibraphone: to Bass Drum.
Vtb.
4 7 '
Pno.
49
Vln. I
Vln. II
Via.
Vc.
as fa st as poss.,
slurred
Cb.

22
FI.
Jf
Ob.
a.
Jf
Bsn.
Hn.
Snare: to Toms.
Sn/Tom
ff ._________ .
Bass Drum: _
B.D.
Jf
Vln. I
Vln. II
Via.
Jf
Vc.
Cb.
Jf

23
Toms
to Triangle.
Pno.
Vln. I
Vln. II

to Bass Clarinet
Bsn.
Hn.
Tpc.
Tbn.
f to W in d Chimes.
Toms
Pno.
tern
Vln. I
Vln. II
Via.
Vc.
Cb.

25
sola.
FI.
Ob.
Bsn.
Hn.
TpL
Tbn.
Wind Chim es:
W.Ch.
| TriangleT] {to Mai im ba-

Tri.
8“
Pno.
Vln. I
pizz. pizz.
Vln. II
PP P P ^ tfz PP
Via.
Vc.
Cb.

26
sola.
to Piccolo.
sola.
Bass Clarinet:
B.Cl.
Jf
Bsn.
Hn.
Jf gliss. gliss.
Tbn.
Jf
Sus. C ym bal: | frhn„f)
S.Cym
Mar.
Jf
Vln. I
pizz.
Vln. II
Jf
Vc.
Jf
Cb.
ffSJ
Jf

27

28
65
B.C1.
Hn.
S.Cym
to B; D rum .
Mar.
Vln. I
Vln. U
Vc.
i s
Cb.

29
Picc.
Ob.
Bsn.
sfpp
solo.
Hn.
Tpt.
Tbn.
B; ss Drum:
B.D.I
Pno.
Vln. I
Vln. II
Via.
as fast as poss..
slu rre d ____
Vc.
harm, gliss. harm, gl ss.

Cb.
-jf tfp p

30
10
Picc.
solo.
Ob.
Jf
Jf to Bb Clarinet
Bsn.
Jf Jf
Jf
Tpt.
Tbn.
Jf
Tam-tam:
T-tam
PP PP
B.D.
Pno.
Vln. I
Jf
Vln. II
Jf
Vlx
Vc.
Jf
Cb.
Jf
R e p r o d u c e d with p e r m is s io n of t h e co py rig h t o w ner. F u rth e r re p ro d u ctio n prohibited w ithout p e rm issio n .

31
Picc.
Ob.
Bsn.
Hn.
Tbn.
T-tam
PP PP
B.D.
Pno.
Vln. II
Via.
o
Cb.
ToTT
32
Picc.
Bb CL:
to S nare
r.rysn.
J f PP
Pno.
Vln. I
Vln. II
harm, gliss.

33
Picc.
Snare: to Sus. Cym. (
Vln. I
Vln. U

34
non-vib.
Picc.
G.
solo,
Bsn.
Hn.
insert h a r non mute (sten 1/2 out)

TpL
insert sir. mute (metal)

Tbn.
q- strike on dome:
S.Cym
B.D.
PP\
Pno. mp
non-vib.
tliss. sul ponL:
mp
eliss.
Vln. II
mp pp
harm, gliss. ------
IV: f O l}>
Via.
mf mf PP
sfz 6
Vc.
pp
Cb.
mf
35
Picc.
PP
Ob.
PP
a.
PP PP
Bsn.
ord.
Hn.
pp Jf
pp Jf
stril c on edge: =j- | to Sizzle Cym. Sizzle Cymbal: Tam-tam: Scrape w/Tri. beater w/Tam beater
S.Cym
T-tam
mp mp PP
tq M arim ba, j
B.D.
sfz
8».
Pno. loco -
TT
PP (echo Bsn. squeak)
Vln. II
PP
(echo Bsn. squeak)
sui f onL:
Via.
(echo Bsn. squeak)

harm, gliss.
Vc.
pp
Cb.
PP

36
Pice.
s fz pp
Ob.
Cl.
fp p
Bsn.
Hn.
i pp
Jf
> p ----------- Jf
w/Tri. beater. w/Tam beater w/Tri. beaten w/Tam beater
T-tara
pp m f pp
to Bass Drum.
Mar.
Jf
8»
PP
Pno.
(echo Bsn. squeak)
Vlrul
Vln. II
W -
harm, gtiss.
Vc.
, $fp
Cb.
p Jf

37
• | remove nmte
quast-gttss.
quasi-gliss.
remove mate
to Toms. I
T-um
to Vibraphone. Vibraphone
VllL I
via n
ffin f
harm , gltss.
m j?
$ f fz

38
Pice.
Ob.
CL
mp
Bsn.
Hn.
m
Tpc
Tbn_
ff
to Sus. Cym.
with sticks: yam mallets:
Toms
S.Cym
mp jf
tw
Jf
Pno.
VltL I
Vin. II
Via.
Vc.
Cb.

39
Suddenly Slower.
i = 48_____________
to Flute.
Picc.
a.
:p p
Bsn.
PP
Tbn.
ffi ppp
to Crotates Set.
to Sus. CymbaL
Cym.
Croc
Pno.
Suddenly Slower.
J = 48 gliss. (echo)
attach mute:
Via. I
n n<
h a m . gliss. attach mu tc: ] (echo)
VIn. [I
.77.
3 ” * gliss. (echo)
attach m i te:
PP
Vc.
mp
(echo)
Cb.
m- pp

40
200
Vln. I
mp
Vln. [I
mp
Via.
Vc.
m f
Cb.
104
PP
Sns. Cym bal: to " G " C rotalc

(bowed) (bowed) (set on Timp.)
pp
PP
104
_ - ' mp
Vln. II
mp
Via.
PP m p.
Vc.
mp mp PP
Cb.
PP mp

41
) Crotales;)
(so ft m allets)
| s tru m in sid e P no. w /th in p ick : [
harm. gliss. harm, gliss.

10ffvy. _ -trt nut and bock
breathe imperceptibly
harm, gliss.
R e p r o d u c e d with p e r m is s io n of t h e co py rig h t o w ner. F u rth e r re p ro d u ctio n p rohibited w ithout p e rm is sio n

42
209
a.
Bsn. Me
pp.
| w /h a n n o a m ute (stem 1/2 out): \ breathe imperceptibly
Tpt.
I
CroL
Tpimp.lSc*!
■
(15*)-
Pno. (15*)-
( 8” )-
Vln. I
remove mute
Vln. 11
remove mute
Via
Vc.
Cb.

43
overblow
Jf
overblow
Jf
overblow
Jf
overblow
cutvre
cuivre
Tam-Tam:
T tm p.& l
V ibraphone
Pno.
remove muie
Vln. I
unrro
Vln. 11
Jf
overbow
forceful
Jf
overbow
forceful
oharm. gl

44
m olto accel.-
113
jr- m
Ob.
ci
Bsn.
Ha
Tpc
Tbn.
to Toms: 4 Toms: to Sus. Cymbal.

T-tarr
Toms
hard plastic moJJet: 3 —t ) to Bass Drum>
Vib.
no PeiL
8* .
Pno. 8*
m olto a c c e l.
113
V ia I
JJT harm. xtus.

VlaD
Xliss.
Via.
harm, gliss.
/V gliss.
Vc.
m
harm, gliss. / A
Cb.

45
i i f I Distant.
LilJ J = co
A
129
FI
Ob.
PP
CL
PP PP
Bsn.
PP
Ha
Sib . Cymbal:"^. | to Crotales Set. Cro tales: Stole Cym.:
PP PPP
ass Drum: to Tambourine: TamI
B.D.
Tamb.
Vln. 1
slow
harm, gliss.
stow
gtiss.
Via
slow
gliss. sx I tasto:
Vc.
pp
sul pone.:
Cb.
pp

COM POSITION TWO
Struwwelpeterlieder
for Soprano and Piano
( 1999 )
46
47
Program N ote
In su m m er of 1999, a M en d retu rn ed from a sem ester in G erm any.
K now ing m y p en c h an t for m elodram atic a n d absurdist h u m o r, she bro u g h t
me a book o f children's verses entitled Der Struzuwelpeter, b y the nineteenth-
century p ed iaM cian Dr. H einrich H offm ann. The poem s fo u n d in this book
are sim ilar to an y illustrated children's p rim er, w ith the notable exception that
the little boys a n d girls w ho m isbehave m eet w ith quite gruesom e ends (still
narrated in child-like couplet verse!) - the girl w ho plays w ith m atches is
burned to d eath ; the boy w ho sucks on his thum bs gets th em c u t off; a n d the
boy w ho d o esn 't e at his soup w astes aw ay a n d dies.
In settin g these poem s, I have tried to use a great deal of text painting.
For exam ple, su stain ed notes an d m elism as are use to d ep ict lo n g nails an d
u nkem pt h air in "D er Struw w elpeter" (Slovenly Peter). "D ie G eschichte vom
D aum enlutscher" (The Story of the Thum b-sucker) contains m an y five-note
patterns in th e piano, which, after the thum bs are cut off, are red u ced to four
notes. K aspar's w asting aw ay in "Die Geschichte vom Suppen-K aspar" (The
Story of F ussy K aspar) is represented w ith m usic in the style of a bluesy sM p-
tease (in w h ich p o u n d s are shed instead of clothes) th at starts in a low range,
heavily textured, a n d ends high an d sparse in W ebem -esque dodecaphony.
A nd finally, the storm s and w in d s of "Die Geschichte v o m fliegenden Robert"
(The Story of Flying Robert) are played o u t in fast, furious fingerw ork in the
piano an d quotes from A rlen, Beethoven, Britten an d the D oors.

48
Texts and Translations

I. Der Struw w elpeter I. S lo v en ly Peter
Sieh einm al, h ier steh t er, C om e one, come all - h e 's rig h t over
Pfui! d er Struw w elpeter! here!
A n d en H a n d e n b eiden Yuck! Slovenly Peter!
Liefi er sich n ich t schneiden O n h is han d s, both left a n d rig h t,
Seine N agel fast ein Jahr; (N ot for the tim id is this sight)
K am m en lieG er nicht sein H aar. A re fingernails not cut in a year!
Pfui! ru ft d a ein jeder: N o r does he ever com b his hair!
G arst'ger Struw w elpeter! A d u lts shake their heads —children ru n
in fear
A fter one look at Slovenly Peter!
II. D ie G eschichte vom II. The Story of the Thum b-sucker

Daumenlutscher "K onrad!" said his dear m o th e r
"K onrad!" sp rac h die Frau M ama "I’m g o ing out, and y o u 're stay in g here.
"Ich g eh’ aus u n d d u bleibst da. Be nice, behave, be sw eet a n d be good,
Sei hubsch o rdentlich u n d from m , U n til I com e back - is th a t u nderstood?
Bis nach H au s ich w ieder komm. A n d K onrad - KONRAD! H ea r w h a t I
U nd v o r allem , K onrad, hor! say —
Lutsche nicht an D aum en mehr; S uck o n y o u r thum bs no m o re - okay?
Denn d er S chneider m it der Scher' Else the tailor w ith his shears
K om m t so n st ganz geschw ind Like the w in d will come over here
daher A n d w ith o u t a d o ubt - h e'll slice off
U nd die D au m en schneidet er y o u r thum bs
Ab, als ob P ap ier es w ar'." A s if th ey w ere paper - so d o n 't m ake
h im come!"
Fort g eh t n u n die M utter u n d B ut soon as his m other d id go o u t

W upp! D en D au m en in d en Mund! W hoosh! H is thum bs w ere in his m outh.
Bauz! d a g eh t die Tiire auf, Boom! O p en b u rst the d oor

Und herein in schnellem Lauf A n d w ith the speed of a w ild boar
Springt d er Schneider in die Stub' S p ran g the tailor into the hall
Zu d em D aum en-Lutscher-Bub. T o w ard s the thum b-sucking boy, so
Weh! Jetzt g eh t es klipp u n d klapp frig h ten ed , so small.
Mit d er Scher' die D aum en ab, Oh! Ah! Clip d ip clip!
M it d er grofien scharfen Scher'! A n d off go the thum bs, snipety-snip
Hei! d a schreit d er K onrad sehr. W ith the scissors so sharp, so large, so
strong!
H o w K onrad cries! A n d for so long!
Als die M u tter k o m m t nach H aus, W h en his m other retu rn ed h om e

Sieht d er K o n rad trau rig aus. She saw little Konrad, scared an d alone
O hne D au m en steh t er dort, W ith only eight fingers, a n d looking so
Die sind alle b eid e fort. sad ,
T h in k in g ab o u t the th u m b s h e once had.

49
HI. D ie Geschichte vom Suppen- HI. The Story o f Fussy Kaspar

Kaspar K aspar w as healthy as a horse
D er K aspar, d e r w a r k em gesund A ro u n d , chubby lad - g ood eater of
Ein dicker Bub u n d kugelrund, course!
Er h atte Backen, ro t u n d frisch; H e h a d b rig h t cheeks, so rosy and fresh,
Die S uppe aJS e r hubsch bei Tisch. A te h is soup at the table —there w as no
D och E inm al fing er an zu mess!
schrein'n: U ntil one day he b egan to scream:
"Ich esse keine Suppe! Nein! "I w ill n o t eat m y soup! N o how!
Ich esse m eine S uppe nicht! I w ill n o t eat m y soup! N o way!
N ein, m eine S uppe ess' ich nicht!" N o how! No way! N o so up Jose!"
A m n ach sten T ag ja sieh nu r her! O n the next day - h ey , check it out!

Da w a r er schon viel m agerer. K aspar's m uch thinner —w ith o u t a
D a fing er w ied er a n z u schrei'n: doubt!
"Ich esse..." Still, once again he b egan to yell:
"I w ill n o t eat...”
A m d ritten Tag, o w eh u n d ach! O n the third day, oh m e, oh m y -

Wie ist der K aspar d iin n und K aspar’s become quite a w eak little guy!
schwach! But w h en his soup w as ladled out,
Doch als d ie S uppe kam herein, H e once again began to shout:
Gleich fin er w ieder an zu "I w ill n o t eat..."
schrein'n:
"Ich esse..."
A m v ierten Tage endlich gar O n the fourth day, K aspar w as finished.

D er K aspar w ie ein Fadchen w ar. To a m ere thread w as he dim inished!
Er w o g vielleicht ein halbes Lot H e w eighed perh ap s b u t half a pound,
U n d w ar a m funften Tage tot. A n d on the fifth d ay w as in the ground.
IV. D ie Geschichte vom IV. The Story o f Flying Robert

fliegen d en Robert W hen the rain com es p o u rin g dow n,
W enn d er S tu rm das Feld A n d n o t a dry patch is to be found,
durchsaust, All good little girls an d good little boys
Bleiben M adchen oder Buben Stay in their room s an d p lay w ith their
H ubsch d ah eim in ihren Stuben. toys.
Robert aber dachte! "Nein! But Robert, to him self, thinks, "No!
Das m uE draufien herrlich sein!" It’s g reat outside - I'v e g o t to go!"
U nd im Felde p atschet er So into the fields splashes the fella’
M it d em R egenshirm um her. W ith his trusty red um brella.
H ui, w ie pfeift d er S turm u n d W hoosh! The h arsh sto rm gasps an d

keucht, blow s,
DaB d er b a u m sich niederbeugt! So m u ch the trees' roots are exposed!
Seht! d en Schirm erfafit der W ind, The w in d , so strong, lifts Robert now ,
U nd d er R obert fliegt geschw ind It's g ot his hat, his um brella - and how!

50
D urch die lu ft so hoch, so w eit; T hrough the air, so far h e flies

N iem an d h o rt ihn, w en n er schreit. T hat no one hears h im w h en he cries.
A n die W olken stofit er schon, Into the clouds he th e n does rise,
U n d d er H u t fliegt auch davon. H is h at's blow n off - it w as ju st the right
size!
Schirm u n d R obert fliegen d o rt Rob an d um brella, still together,

D urch die w olken im m erfort. Fly higher and higher, th rough storm ier
U n d d er h u t fliegt w eit voran, w eather.
Stofit zu letzt am H im m el an. The hat, it flies too, a n d just as well,
W o d er W ind sie hingetragen, As far as heaven - it's scary as hell!
Jal Das weill kein M ensch z u sagen! W here the w in d w ill carry them next,
N o one can say, w e're all quite
(H einrich Hoffm ann). perplexed!
(Translation by G ary M oulsdale and

V ineet Shende)
S tru w w elp eterlied er
for Soprano and Piano
I. Der Struwwelpeter V ineet Shende

(1999)
Garishly.
J = 152
J-Âs if a carnival fieak-show crier i A spoken with deliberation c.3"

3
________ (out of tempo) /TN
1 =
S ie he ein - m al, h ier steh t er. Pfui! d er S tr u w -w e l-p e -te r !—

(rolled *7")
£ jfB # ,^-7
l i
v
s~\
IA A
?-«* —
-3fc3t |> 7 7
r^ :
7
A Tempo.
7 mp -----------
[i~1------J----JH*----- m
-- iij ^ - - -
=&¥t=---------- *--------------
---------- --------------
i> J- -J - - T- - -M
An den H 3n - den bei d en
J
flf
-t w &-£=
4 ♦
. frp - -
-----------------
51

52
LieB er sich n ich t sch n ei d en
r it...
11 J f (self-absorbed in tone production) ST\
EE
S ei ne Nii
(sensing something
is wrong) (coaxingly) (gives mw last try)
m i ’7 j- j - r - J ] -------------------- i
V ; I |D v $ j J - r - r T| > & Jn -j 3 t n - . ¥
A Tempo. rit..
(exaggerated breath) freely (oblivious, urges pianist on)
^ Oi
ICO q <r 1 ■
(3) gel fast ein John

( grudgingly ■------3 — >
« . (throws hands up in exasperation)
JL s ' V - — - — - - -
-------------5— -ZzaL
S f g - f — 41 —
- - -
r — i
JP- 5 — ------- -----------
------------------------------ -------------J -----
I f o i J ’ Z , r -----------= i ^ J \?J— ^
Entangled. accel.
J = *26
m en lieB. er. nicht-
6(ti>

53
Garishly.
J = 152
Jf
se in
p g g g
zw»
Jjj spoken with deliberation
I7 U (out of tempo) O
$ G arst’ ger Straw - w el pe ter!-

¥
( 8 »>-
H 11k* ki o.
I JJf loco
7
.A
f
biV
lr»-
(& *)- - v
‘23SJ.

II. D ie Geschichte vom Daum enlutscher
G e n tly . m p ------ --------------------
W
*
--------------------------- -------------------------
' ----------------------------- ■ ^ = ^ = 1 eeL

"K on - r a d !”
5 5 5
JP -II ^ * ^ 5 ^ . . . - - -----------------
-m -h ---------------------3 ^
--------------- ê^T----
| ~
t A
3 ' 3 T 3
J y r f - j
4 ^ s ls s *
5 5 5
mp P
— «r—
"K on - rad!" sp ra ch d ie Frau Ma -

5
T. - ^
|* 1 | » f | r ------P ------
A t
3 3
■ j - M i 3 3
4 J -
t£ & }
b le ib s t
54

55
mp
da. Sei h u b sch . or
ac
mp
H
d en t lic h und fr o m m . B is n a ch H au s. ic h
d er kom m .

56
mf with intention to frighten
Iem, Kon hor! Lut-sche nicht an Dau-men mehr; Denn der
mf
J = J. accel. poco a poco

mf mp mf
Schnei-der mit der Scher’ Kommt sonst ganz ge-schwind da her Und die
mp mf
\PP
ritard...
27 Jf mf
men schnei det er Ab,. als ob Pa - pi - er es war'."

57
A Tempo.
31 mp
Fort-
&
g e h t-
• d
W t tttU f
TK^* with exasperation
nun d ie Mu tter und W upp! Den Dau-men in den
10
a7 J =80 „ _____________2 =-------------------- * --------------[ , - » n r . i ------------------------------------

- f t -------^ -------- 0---------- 0 ------------------ 0 — I 'P 1------ - » - * ------------- 53------- m-------
-Z --------L — ^ ---------- L — J — - L . - k J J - — -4 * -—
P T T —
M und! B auz! . da geh t d ie T ii- r e a u f , U nd
5 5 5 5 5
- L b -m -
— ± n -p — :------------- t r r
sfm 7) ----------- — ---------------------------------- ------------------"

•ifllip ~~ r -----------------------------------
g t e r Q c - f t - r - i - ------------ F r V -------------{- f ---------------— k V --------------------------

------------ V + f ------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------
- \J I t H

58
Jf
ininschnel * IemLauf Spnngt der Schnei-der m die Stub
E
Zu dem Dau - men-Lut - scher-Bub.
5 5 5
Weh! Jetzi geht es klipp und klapp Mit der Scher1 die Dau - men
59
45,
Mit der gro Ben schar
molto rit. T em po I.
/w *
mf
tr c u ' i 1 “l s w
Hei! da schreitder Kon-rad sehr.
gliss.
L > (black keys)
gliss.
(w hite keys)
mp
52
-V -P -
Als die Mat ter kommt nach Haus,
(8*9
k
(8*9-
rZT

60
54 P
Sieht der Kon - rad trau ng aus.
( 8«)
. V @ g f e j £
S j r K l
( 8 *0 -
w m
57
*
P M
Oh ne D au - m en ste h t er
■F
^ N * h a -7 1 ----- a—V- ^ r^ T T 1^ - ¥ 7 ? = ^
( 8* * )- - - - - . (loco) s
J-p - ------- 2?---- W----- 1— O - - —

r
ritard...
dorr. D ie sind b ei de fort.

III. D ie G eschichte vom Suppen-Kaspar
W ith O bese S tu b b o m ess.
J.-100,.
gliss.
jr
£
gliss.
1
' 0~~
Der------- Kas - par,— der- war
& £ l -J
mf
h
u ?
8°*-
5
F # 3 = ]
L---- a— J
v - T T — ^
t^ T
■ ' J 'b ^ - y .
J v r
-1 =
-J - -
iJv g J -----
v_^
± ---
= =J
keiu - ge-surid— Ein di ckerBub— und ku - gel-run d,— Er
----- * ----- * i f t f : -= f r f r ls jL •4 \*4 *4

------------ *----- J— -----J R - *- ? 4 —
■ t f ■ 1/ 1 1■
k). [ - i 1--*-- — < ----

• 4 - « f’R
t“5---- ■+--- *—K-----t~s | --------- $----
-----------r-«-
^
■•H. 4
V
------ 1
3 J a—
<
-» 5 \rf- ■*
61

62
3/7//p — -------------- -
&f? -"r
fe-
1 K r
Z
- *—— f.Tip. = ■2=
"J
hm------ T»-- 0 ^ 0 -- 1*
.
► —
p ‘d —J J J 1
e>
hat-t e----- Back en. rot und__ frisch: Die---- Sup - pe aB er
’ 7 ^
4 - ± - Y --------------* ^ ■= -------© * « *1 *
- / z - h n ------ =
—n — ~ —
<r/V» . -------------------
n»----
------ v -------- 1
- 2 - j ---- - - ---------J—1J-; - J ----
• • £—«!jj-
---------- ------
■ i-- 1--P--? —J---J—f-
- f r - P ^ - P $ -P
■J- *
annoyingly, nasal
--------------- JJ
u ----------- -=— f
$ l -: - h - 1 : N • - = F ^ = L-— ■"s
-f d=*= l L-------J-:— .,. M J — J tU0-.
- h ■J - r-
---- ^ ------ 1---
hiibsch bei Tisch— Doch----- Ein-mal— fin a_ er ari zu— schrein’n:— "Ich
i" - >t-
[- ^ - f — f :
---- * —i > ^ i
g n - - — 7%r ------- 3 - J — ------- r ■— r~* ----------- ^ - r ----
mj
— p - | ----- p - * — ^ ^ — K— |
----------J-----------J------ 1------------ 5 ----- — ----------M ---- 4 -— ------ *— s ------i-------^
-0 - 1
V* ■»■ [>?.
es se kei ne Sup - pel— Nein!— Ich es se mei ne

63
27
>----- f >-------1* -0-=-------- ^------
--- 1*"1— |#
Z-:—l*^~T
---- ~ ~ — f — f f
N * T = f ---- 1^\ ------- F
i
.r t= ' r --------- ^ —
-J---------- -s b ------------- P r
H M
Siip - pe nic ht!---- fein. net - ne
n Sup - pe ess' ich nichtl"---
0
r J t i --- « 1 t= f*=N
---^ I - * * - ------
4 = :----1
tip a • f* T r
i
;a .
0
N— b— G
V
j >>- -• —
— * ..y*
;_;a V* ____
* •
T T f ------------ - - = -b
i
■ —
r - - - -
Am
Jr— ■- L- L' ' L ■> L“ — 1— f— K^ K \* r K h vl _l
r \ ^ ~
f e = £ # # ^ = j J 3
L «
23 W ith Som e W eakness.
I ¥
n a c h - ste n T ag ja
f jl
si - e h
r -ip r tu L f
nur h er!------ Da w ar er
m
sch o n — v ie l
t-
m
™p iTT-
-£= % ~ £ ~ £ 2S
m = e £ m
£
26 mf~
p T T f^
ma - g e - rer. Da f in g er w ie - d eran zu schrei'n: "Ich
I?#-—#•'
s
i i
mp
v > =2S{=
i J' i J. I
r i pJ i, J . *■

64
29
£ £=E£g i
es - se kei - ne S u p - p e !____ N e in ! ____ Ich es - se m ei - ne
a. $ W—*
:ipr \ f§/
W : tr
y|>r »r 'r *=*

m
Sup - p e— n ic h t! — N e in , m ei - ne S u p -p e e s s ’ ic h n ic h tl” -----
28 Feebly. mp
-i—
r ~ =
------ ------------------------------
4¥•
Am d rit - ten T a g , o
t r ( £ -tb-
-- -■ 7 r ■, 1 7 ._ ., . 7 ” ____ Z,
t ■ r =
r •
■j P l— [------------------------------ Kfi - T P ? ~ 1--------------------------------------------- • - 1-
7 V - ---------- f------------------------
cJ • S ' S —9 - \

65
41
♦ weh- undach! Wie— ist

j :• J.-
der Kas -
f
par diinn
i J L tJ —
undschwach!
¥
Doch
s>- -f -
»i J I J J' * ••*'
44
als— die— Sup kam her - ein.----- Gleich fin er wie der----
PP
breathy, weakly.
=
~==~ m p
47
an zu schrein’n: "Ich es se kei ne Sup - pe! Nein!---- Ich
66
es se m ei - ne Sup-pe. n ic h t!— N e in , m e i-n e S u p -p e e s s ’ ic h n ich t!" ------
.ft
pp
rit.----------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------
54 P
hr ~~~ - wr-'T-~ Am
8^ --------- ---
\h frrP~r=^l “ p
T =*= - « -----------------------------------------M - - ----- $
H --------------------------- - ------
: J £ . r_P- ^£0^;
A t Death's Door.
J.-6.9
57 ---------- -— -
r J P L -- 4 1= - t y-m-.--------k •*=------------ ------------> - u A » -
M g . | ^ J * d 4- ' .... dI.- Tf r ”
--------------- m H
v ie r - ten T a - en d - lic h §,ar D er K as - p ar w ie etn a
V-
“ f ------------ ^ ----------- » •" -■
f ------------
pp^ — =
1 # ’^ - (*— ----------------- m------ m^ ~~

- j P- t — .— -J— ■— j - * — -------- — >— -j------------------ * - * 5 -
J— . ' ""7 7” — 5— k— 1-------------- * — k — 1
--------------- * —

67
60 fT\
&
£ t>#' * = p t — ^ Jy
-/TN PP
F ad - ch en w ar. Er w o g ------- v ie l-le ic h t— e in hal - bes L o t __________ U n d
Q v a ------------------
r 2 “t /O
►
t o &
- ^ — _J----------
^ -------------------------
lp q r H —f c = h 7 mr r -
= = = — p p p
. «*->■
PP
r2_1
m .----- jK_=--------- * -----
b ^ -p r: <■: f o V . i
==n#- ► 1=^=5=
P ■■ 1> ~ P - tH >M
— ;— 1 J-=-----
(5a.)- 5a.-
63
§1 I
i
—» 73_
w ar am f iin f - ten Ta - ge tot.
P i
PP PPP
32
m i £ 1
*>
8<
66 £• "a-
JP L =------ W - n m - f ■p £ *T £
T#-------- ^ ^ ----------------------
g M =
r -------------- p - ------------- -----------------------
----■“ — — " ■1 ‘“ ■
^ ■ ,1 - = fa fc ^ ---= -^ = = = -.E j
( 5a>

IV. D ie G eschichte vom
fliegen d en Robert
Furiously.
J .= 160
m p ---------- - m f ---------------------
~ { . 1
J
1
r.---- —
------------ — tp _ ip -
Wenn der Re - £jen nie - der braust,
m m m m ■ •"" m
-m---- j-E|» — f — -f*---- " F
mp . mp
t t r
-9 ----------------- K -S - S :
---- • - — -J- — J-— #L — a*— a*-
J
1 4 ---------------- - — ® / — ------------- _
— "- wr~ ~
i j h ; -
?f
" ~ ^
f r = j
Wenn der
\? . , J1 n
, , ---------- J - 3 , _ m m M
_ #» " 'iff .
...1 ff"
I. _
—
..#^=1===^
- ________ m p
: |fcj»-_Je—J*.1 ^
($&-)---------------------- ^ ------------------------------------------ ■ %b.-

69
108-------
------- - / —-------——
HH Strurmr-
das -- Feld durchs anct,
--1*-1*—hm r-—m"■ ji*1:^F=-p p fa _1•-- f*|p
r■*■
-P ---
-<g.--.{-j— l=2=f=
*+J-
-rnf
---fytt-r-r r
8* -
22
»----------------------- >-----------------------
± | ! = =
= t j * * =
- m f
I T * X "T T "
4 * ------------------------
j ■ I
k = 4 f J = f i = r
— ¥ * = ¥ *
(9*)- -■
-----
9 -------------
—
4 M — r — T"
J: - ~
= ¥ =
B le i ben M ad - cl ien o - der Bu ben
f ~ ^ * = 1
t f t z i r t r
— :
W ' V — ^ M ir • — ■ p - r
“S i
jo
'tup --------------= = = = =
--- j r j -------------- J--

4 - ^ - - - - - _ — M = ^ = N -tr 1
H iib sc h da h e im in ih
\ ± \ i f t * •- ~ ^ P -----------------P — 9 r — : =tFJr— •w — \m —
:~ L z l t
P
j — =
* f i i a 1= f * N = ^
( 5 a . ) ---------------------------------------- 5 a .

70
Lento e
molto rit... tranquillo.
$fp j -8 0
ren Stu b en .
PP
sfz
mp
Ro
sfz
bert a - b e r d ach te! N ein! Das muB drau-B en herr-Iich sein! D a s muB drau-B en herr - lich
PPP
^ •7 accel. poco a poco
sein! Und im
PPP

71
Furiously.
J. = 160
M it d em g en - sh irm am
4
»■ 3
56 I ^ £
e9b
i I
3 r ---— £ m # I
v_y

72
------------------ wie pfeift der Sturm und keucht,. D aB der
$ 1
09
69 , *----------------k r ----------T = ^ f —*—

/w> ^
p.
i - ---------------------
—r--------------------------------
- - r ~ -1
ba am sich me der - beugt! Seht!- — ..
V0
f t =
—1^*-r-u*■iÊ
--------4
E\ - h
4 = ^ —
-
-fx h i
^
-k
-V ------
-
k ---
--* r
---Z^ r
-
-J t!=p—
±=k
■-V4*- ""-i■«. -
i 1---0.0
%/-
- • — 4 --------
(8vb)--------------------------------------------- .
' %2>.
zz
den Schirm er faBt der W ind,
129
73
U nd der Ro - bert f lie g t
»e
‘Szb.
m p ------ -
sc h w in d . D urch d ie lu ft so
86 ----- ~ mf
——j#-1-
ii f '
r — —
\ » m m B s d aJ f lv ----- « m m-----
— 1 ----------- P - -----
- 6 ------------ —
mp ■ fp £ # r '
---k r "0 f ■
mp
J— g flj- -£■■■>■
nd* = # lb L i
74
91 mf
P m and h o rt ihn w enn

i
schreiL
W E
p
: ifr." M U - ---- :— | * |* - ----- T p r - - p —
Icllr
-
i~ t|< r~ r r ^ ~ = tjfo K
------
99
-<9—
An d ie W ol - k en stoG t-
»V ■
A—
n — -mf
f vv-n
fp i - - =— :h
M - L - ^ ==
L H I q ---------—
Hr - #
M * i.f f ’M r r r
5eb.-

75
103 v tp -
3 'i
sc h o n ,. Und der H ut------------ f lie g t a u c h da
^ r «%b.j M r f r t / i j t
S u d d en ly S low er.
J = /£0
von.
1 W
m p }___ _
t- r ~ F .r r m m
S c h ir m u n d R o b ert f l ie - g e n d o r t D u rch d ie
stage whisper:
n n ji j
P|P I
W
1
[0 0—0----0 0-
m LflWQiJ S 1
sfz1
%sr ‘Szsr

76
224 ----- ~~ mf
J f
m
wol - ken im - mer fort. Und der
£ jfc ¥ ^ = m
mf
? :i * r^ p n i 1
S ib .'
118
hut fliegt. weit. vor an. StoBt zu letzt am Him - mei
Furiously.
mp
222 ^=
an. Wo. der

77
Largo.
/v v »
127 JJJ
ri? >- ~ r = — I:* _E-» - - - T-*- - - S.- - - - - i f - - - - - - - - - - - 1
—
Wind sie hin ge tra - gen. Ja!

- ,^ = 5 g -= ^ i f -
J /
J
J
■■ y V - -
, /
J
^ M- -—- -- -- -- --
-—'»*r—Hf-5:-
- Fp:—
tj* J . . . - m -
tSeh. - - - - - - - - - - - - ■ ‘Sab.
-#• -» — t J— J— J-1
------------- - Hf--------
Furiously.
J .=160
molto acceL.z A j'
^ -fr - _f _^ = 1
"V
Rpy—
/ f- f *
~p-‘
^r. ^ ^ -|
Das weiB kein Mensch zu sa gen!
... = « J3=& i f 'ff tf - a
1 . 1 - ■ ' 'I ■
1JJ i - 1- - - - -
>*I*
n - r^h ^ r f—1 — - f'l* » ^ ^ ' in
^ * ■ i-pi—
— k—— 7f ik ;Pi- ji—.«t=y—
;---
r ; ■ ~ ~ t j - - - ^
O'
( 8” )
lunga
138 i ( w it h p a lm s ! : . ^
O
allow sound to die away

COM PO SITIO N THREE
Seven Mirrors
for Strin g Q uartet
(2000)
78

79
Program N ote
At the h e a rt o f Seven Mirrors lies the concept of reflection. This idea is
m usically rep rese n ted in each of the sev en sections of the piece. For example,
in the first section, th e second violin a n d viola place sim ultaneous inversions
(bound by their in d iv id u al m odalities) of each oth er's lines; players are
instructed bow th eir strings in betw een th eir left h a n d an d the n u t of their
instrum ents, re su ltin g in the "m irror im age" of the pitches th a t w o u ld
norm ally so u n d in o rd in ario playing; finally, retrogrades a p p e a r throughout
the work.
Reflection also figures on a m ore abstract com positional level in Seven
Mirrors. It is m y belief th at the act of com position is a reflection u p o n and
reinterpretation of a com poser's b ack g ro u n d an d su rro u n d in g s. In this sense,
Seven Mirrors is a reflection of m y u p b rin g in g as a so n of In d ian im m igrants in
America. All o f the m o d es used in the piece are d eriv ed fro m N o rth Indian
raag, the m etric g ro u p in g s from N o rth In d ian taal, a n d cadential figures from
N orth Indian tihai rh y th m s. All of these elem ents exist w ith in the
environm ent of W estern instrum ents a n d the strin g q u a rte t genre.
I w as also in terested in exploring W estern an d In d ian cyclical concepts
in music. In N o rth In d ian music, raags h ave a tem poral association w ith a
particular tim e o f d ay . I analyzed a n u m b e r of these rciags a n d cam e up w ith
(to m y sensibilities) w h a t elem ents constitute an earlier m o rn in g raag, w hat
elements constitute a late-m orning raag, a n d so on. The first, third, fifth, and
seventh sections of th e piece thus m o d ally m ove th ro u g h th e cycle of a day.
Again, the en v iro n m en t w ithin all this is stated is the W estern circle of fifths —
the focal pitch o f th e first section is D , the second A, the th ird , E, an d so forth.

80
Finally, I w an te d to create a sense of m otion in Seven Mirrors via

tem poral a n d intervallic (as o pposed to harm onic) means. Each section has a
focal interval th a t delineates the subsections of that section. In th e first section
th at interval is a perfect fifth; in the second a dim inished fifth; th e th ird a
perfect fourth. Intervals continue to g ro w sm aller to the final section, w ith its
use of the m in o r second. (The C oda em ploys the unison.) The length of each
subsection also grow s progressively sm aller —in the first section, the first
subsection lasts fifteen beats, the second fourteen, the th ird thirteen. By
shortening intervals an d time, I h av e so u g h t to create a sense of continuous,
non-harm onic based motion.
R e p r o d u c e d with p e r m is s io n of th e copy right o w ner. F u rth e r re p ro d u c tio n prohibited w ithout p e rm issio n .

Performance N otes
Figures such as ~V: ft'________ 3 indicate trilled n atural harm onics. Regular
sized notes indicate open string to be bow ed, diam ond-shaped notes indicate
nodes to be touched. M ovem ent b etw een nodes should b e no faster than
w h at is possible for each harm onic to speak.
+ - indicates left-hand pizzicato.
s.p. —suL ponticello

s.t. - sul taso
"W rong"-side note-stems, such as the following figure:

indicate nut-side bowing. Bow sh o u ld be placed in between n u t an d left hand.
W ritten notes indicate left-hand fingering only, not resu ltan t pitches.
Xtiss- M !xl
Figures such as indicate sim ultaneous nut-side bowing
an d left-hand (bridge-side) pizzicati. A gain, w ritten notes indicate left-hand
fingering. Thus, the resultant so u n d w ill be, sim ultaneously, a bridge-side
pizzicato line in an ascending pitch glissando and a n ut-side b o w ed line in a
descending pitch glissando.

Seven Mirrors
f o r S trin g Q u artet Vineet Shende
(2000 )
Flowing.
f-t3 8 attach m ute
pizz.
V iolin 1
w /m u te : 5:4
sul tasto
Violin 2
mf
w /m u te :
su l tasto 5:4
Viola
—mf
pizz.
arco
Violoncello
p ppp sfz
J-
p r r a r ---------:------^ -------
Vln. I
=#=■> . : ^ = - £ ■------^
PP
V in .2 5 z f i t f t - - f c g r = F a~ ^
J J 3 d 1C
-- "_S------------------
Via. x J I3 ill" i p w - Hj j j y / jy ^
1ft j
v.• — - , ---- i fp “ = = l= = = _
Vc. 7 — i------ r i ■p~‘ ■
Li— Hi—
--------L# 3 r J
PPP sfz
VIn. I
Vln. 2
4-3 6:4
6:4
Via.
Vc.
PPP
82

83
Vln. I
mp
Vln. 2
4:3
43
Via.
m
Vc.
PPP
Vln. I
Vln. 2
Via.
Vc.
PPP qfz
Vln. 1
mp
s.t.
Vln. 2
mp mp
s.p. 43
Via.
mp — mf mp
harm, gliss^
fizz. arco
Vc.
mf mp

84
22
Vln. I
s.p.
s .t
Vln. 2
43
mp mp
s.p. s.t.
Via.
mp
Vc.
mp
25
Vln. 1
6:4
mf
s.p
Vln. 2
sfinp 5:4 mf
S.p.
Via.
fm p mf
Vc.
Vln. 1
Vln. 2
place bow near n
Via.
m
q fm f sfz> f sf z

8 5
(8“0- .________
A I rem ove m ute
Vln.
Vln.
only finger notes indicated!^
Via.
Vc.
'7
/vv»
jjj
pizz.
Vln.
innocently.
only finger notes indicated!
. tv — -------------------------
o rd .n A , --------------- remove m ute
Vln.
Via.
pizz.
Vc.
vigorously P
Vln. I
vigorously
>• _
Vln. 2
Via.
vigorously
Vc.

86
su lp o n t
VIn. 1
su l p o n t
VIn. 2
Via.
sul pont.
Vc.
P
su l pont. ord . harm, gliss.

VIn. I
JT
su l p o n t
VIn. 2
Via.
sul p o n t ord.
Vc.
JT
— I attach m u te
VIn. I
2 | attach m u te
VIn. 2
Via.
Vc.

87
pizz. H f ? $ r e-
VIn. I
VIn. 2
rem ove m u te
Via.
Vc.
VIn. 1
VIn. 2
arco
espress.
Via.
Vc.
VIn. 1
4:3
6:4
VIn. 2
i f e
Via.
mf mp
Vc.
mf mp

88
VIn.
6:4
VIn.
Via.
m f
Vc.
mf
VIn.
VIn.
Via.
Vc.
52
VIn. 1
43
mp mp mf
VIn. 2
mp mp m f
Via.
Vc.

89
55 pizz. arco pizz.

VIn. I
pp
sul p o n t ord. s-P-
Vln.2
PP arco arco
p iz z . s.t. s.t. .
Via.
PP PP
Vc.
PP
VIn. 1
5:4
mp
VIn. 2
5:4
mp
Via.
3:2
mf
pizz. arco
Vc.
mp
j 9 | p n te th e re d
VIn. i
m f PP gtiss.
rem ove m u te place bow near n u t.
VA
VIn. 2
mp m f
(bridge-side pizz, nut-side arco)
place bo w near nut-

Vla.
mp (bridge-side p izz, nut-side arco)
JT
gliss.
place bow near n u t
Vc.
(bridge-side p izz, nut-side arco)

p ~ mp

90
VIn- I
ppp
ord.
VIn. 2
Via.
mp
v c.
VIn. 1
place bow
• nut-side
VIn.
m p -------------------m f (bridge-side pizz, nut-side arco)

p — =
gliss.
place bow near nut.
Via.
i l
place b o w n ear nu I
Vc.

p
remove m ure
VIn. I
VIn. 2
Via.
place bow
nut-side
Vc.
-rnfp :

91
Vln. I
mp mp
arco cc>
V ln. 2
mp
mp
place bow near nut. IV: + ord. place bow near nut.
Via.
mp gliss- mp
place bov
IV: + ord. nut-sid e
V c.
s fz
gliss. + +
place bow
A nut-side
V ln. 1
Jf
)lace bow
place bow >ridge-side
nut-side
Vln. 2
(brie ge-slde pizz, nut-side arco)

gliss. + Jf
IV: -rt gliss.
Via.
(0) + ord.
Vc.
pp
10 S u d d en ly Slow er, D elicately.

j =52
(nut-side) poco
VIn. 1
pp mp
JPP PP
| attach n ute
ord. poco
arco1 ITS
VIn. 2
JPP pp mp pp
espf *ss. poco
(nut-side)
SOtO UCCj £7\
arco
Via.
jp p PP mp pp
iress.
arco so o voce
Vc.
PPP p p <m p

92
poco
/T\
VIn. 1
PP pp PPP pp
p izz. arco
VIn. 2
ppp PP
pp mp PP ~
poco
rS
Via.
ppp
pp mp PP PP
V c.
PP ppp
12 accel. poco a poco
rem ove mute - ord.
V ln. 1
PPP PP
rem ove mute
arco
VIn. 2
PPP pp. PP
remove m i arco arco
pizz.
Via.
p p p < pp poco_ PP
remove m ute
Vc.
poco
pp pp
104 (accel.) s.p.

VIn. l
mp sfz mp
P6 arco
V ln. 2
mp
arco
Via.
qfz mp 3:2
mp —
s.p.
Vc.
mp mp

93
(accel.)
108 u
Vln. t
s fz mf
Vln. 2
mf
Via.
i S i l
mf sfz
Vc.
m
mf sfz mf
D istant.
J =92
8“
o rd .
Ill
VIn. I
Jf
VIn. 2
Via.
Vc.
(8“0
115 c. 5”
Vln. 1 f^ jl HE
Vln. 2
sfz
c. 5"
Via.
Vc.

94
120
V ln. I
mf mf
6:4
Vln. 2
mf mf
+ arco
Via.
mf 6:4
p iz z . mf — '
arco
Vc.
gliss.
6:4
224
Vln. 1
JT
43
VIn. 2
mf s jf z mf
Jm f
I=% 43
Via.
sfin f
W mf m f-
Vc.
43
s fm f mf mf
15
129
Vln. 1
Vln. 2
43 place b o w n ear nut.

Via.
Vc.

95
V ln. 1
V ln. 2
-J T
6:4 6:4 6:4
Via. jSzEf e! S |
PP
Vc.
JT
■*
16
135 _ place bow near nut.
V ln. 1
6:4
V ln. 2
ki t
6:4
o rd .
Via.
sjffp
4:3 6:4 >» place bow near nut.
Vc.
gliss.
gUss.
139 IV:
Vln. 1
(bridge-side pizz, nut-sic e arco)
(bridge-side pizz, nut-side a co)
Vln. 2
mp mp mf
Via.
mf
gliss. gliss.
IV:
Vc.
(bridge-side pizz, nut-side arco) (bridge-side pizz, nut-side arco)

97
VIn. I
Vln. 2
i
Via.
Vln. 1 is
Vln. 2
Via.
19 D elib erate, But W ith Anxiety.

J -6 9
Qua.
8“ - -
165 repeat m p la ce b o w 1 6:4 ’ 6:4“
ran d o m rh v th r is n u t-sid e I: H,
Vln. 1
P
p m
mp g»w.
raffJo m 'rh y th r is *6:4
'M
Vln. 2
j£¥ m
mp altem a
bridge-: iid e
an d nuftfsid e.
p iT-T-randorr rhyt
Via.
i
¥ p icop™
a lte m a te
b rid g e-sid e
p iz u a n d nu t-sid e,
IL- r a n d o m rhy t uns
Vc.
%¥
p = -arco2
rp co)
s jfz qffz

98
alternate
bridge-side
pizzand nut-side,
170 TIT- ran d o m rhytl ims
VIn. 1
PP PP
altem a le
b ridg e side
id nu t-side,
..Jo r i rh y l ims arc
V ln. 2
PP
a rc
Via.
a rc o
PP
a re >A
Vc.
arco
PP

CO M PO SITIO N FOUR
TO MUSIQUE
for W omen's Choir
(2000)
99
R e p r o d u c e d with p e r m is s io n of th e cop y rig h t o w ner. F u rth e r re p ro d u ctio n prohibited w ithout perm issio n .
100
Program N ote
The sen su al, dream y w orld of R obert H errick's p o em To Musique is
depicted m usically through the use of p o ly rh y th m an d gentle m odal shifts.
The piece b egins w ith a soprano solo th at floats over a so p ran o I line in
rhythm ic g ro u p in g s of five, a soprano II line in groupings of six, an d an alto
line in g ro u p in g s o f seven. Though m inor climaxes h a p p e n independently
am ong the th ree p arts w ith varying frequencies an d intensities throughout
the w ork, m ajor sectional delineations occur at confluences of these five-, six-,
and seven-beat patterns. I did n o t envision an y sort of teleological p lan in
w riting To Musique. Rather, I sought to create a magical, seductive w orld that
tantalizingly form s an d then ephem erally dissipates.
To M usique w as com m issioned b y Lenore Coral a n d the Cornell
U niversity C h o ru s for the opening d edication cerem ony of the Sidney T. Cox
Library of M usic an d Dance at Cornell University.

Text
C harm m e asleep, an d m elt m e so

W ith thy D elicious N um bers;
That being rav ish t, hence I goe
A w ay in easie slum bers.
Ease m y sick h ead,

A nd m ake m y b ed ,
Thou P o w 'r th a t canst sever
From m e th is ill:
A nd quickly still:
Though th o u n o t kill
M y Fever.
Thou canst co n v ert the same

From a co n su m in g fire,
Into a gentle, licking flame,
A nd m ake it th u s expire.
Then m ake m e w eep

My paines asleep;
A nd give m e su ch reposes,
That I, p o o re I,
M ay think, thereby,
I live an d d ie
'M ongst Roses.
(Robert H errick)
R e p r o d u c e d with p e r m is s io n of th e copyright ow n er. F u rth e r re p ro d u c tio n prohibited w ithout p e rm issio n .

To M usique
Commisioned by and dedicated to Lenore Coral, Scott Tucker
and the Cornell University Chorus
Robert Herrick Vineet Shende
D ream ily. (2000)
J =60
PP
Soprano I
Charm m e. charm me. charm me. charm. charm me_____
PP
Soprano LI
Charm------ me. charm. me.
mp
Solo
C harm sleep. and-------
— charm m e. charm m e. charm ------- me, charm me. charm ------ me.-----
S. II
me. charm. me.. charm. m e. charm me..
Charm. me. charm . me. charm me. charm __
Solo .7
P T 'If-
m elt an d m elt- me so W ith thy------ De -
S. I
charm me, charm m e.. charm me,. charm me.. charm
S. II £ £
charm m e, charm - char^n- charm -
A.
—2—
m e. charm - c harm - charm
102

103
10 mp
S o lo I S §e= 6i
N um -bers: T hat be - ing
p<
S. I J. _ l^j
me. charm ------- me.. charm m e. charm me._ charm me. That
S . II
* m
c h a rm - me. charra- me charm - m e.
m
ch arm -
A.
9-mf---------- --- m 0 ■pm # # t?0 m 0-
me. charm - charm - charm -
S o lo
ra visht,------ that b e -in g ra visht. hence.

mp
visht. b e -in g ra - visht. that visht.
mp
s . II
w
visht, that b e -in g ra visht. that be mg ra
mp:
A.
That be - ing ra visht. ra visht. that
mfZ
S o lo 1
■i j.
goe
- -w a
A - way in
m
ea - sie slum
-&P-
bers.
S. I
£ that be - mg ra - visht. A - way tn ea - sic slum
S . II
v ish u - hence 1 goe A - w ay in ea - sie slum bers. Charm me,-
mfZ — pp
0 - |0------ 10--------
A. ■ i— f =0 p - 0
-----------W ---------- # i= M
' $ 1 1 H
be - ing ra - visht. I_ goe A - way in ea - sie slum bers Charm -
ReprOdUCed with p e r m is s io n of th e cop yrigh t ow n er. F u rth e r re p ro d u ctio n prohibited w ithout p e rm issio n .
104
19 mp
s. I
i
Ease my sick head. A nd-
mp
S . II
charm m e.- E ase- my sick head, ease my head A nd-
mp
A.
-I I-
E ase. my sick head. A nd.
■/of my bed
/H/
make my Thou Pow’r that canst
mf mf
s. II
make, make. my bed, m ake my bed Thou Pow 'r that canst
mf
A.
m ake, make my bed, m ake my bed Thou Pow’r that canst
25 > p
S. I
4- 1>* ■ * - _ < $
From me this ill: And-
> P
S . II
Clsam - ver. se - ver_ From - Ihis ill: From m e this ill: A nd-
>p
A. £
-»— *----- r\fb-
F rom - me this ill: And------

105
accel.
quick - Iy still: Though --- thou
r H ± ------: - 4^ . — n—r-r~ -9----^ "—--------n

-----p -----b
-----iS——-A
-
- -- p m„---J —J
- -a 4+
=
t r i
quick - Iy still: Though ---- thou
- \ t ~ ^ r—r ^ J
M O tt*
-------
-------- --------------- — 4-
' ' q'Z s ' "s ' • ' ..' ' • ................
A* t O
quick, quick - Iy still: quick - Iy still: Though------ thou------------------------------------
-e-----------------------------------------------------
j- j rp s V - - 1 sij£L»|£_*L - - 4#
quick, quick - ly still: quick - Iy still: Though---------
30 a tempo.
S o lo
Ah...
not kill My vcr
c f
S . II
not
A.
not kill.

106
P assionately.
J =S4 J
33, «
n __________
S o lo
marc.
S. I
P Thou canst— co n - vert---------- the same From— a c o n - saim - ing-----
f marc. — =
5 DE zac
s. II
Pr i 7 t l j
Thou sw eet - ly canst con - vert the same From a c o n - sum - ing
- > -------- b— F— r = — i— H - H — a | |— i p F j ^ ~rJT» » =,r“

F J -J \-d-d
A.
.J J W J- i - J .. at
Thou sw eet-ly canst co n - vert---------- the same From— a ----- co n - sum - in g -
mp
TT
fire. gen tie. ing
mp
S . II
fire, fire. gen tie,_____ lick mg
in p
A.
fire, a fire. In to a gen tie,— lick ing— a. gen
gen tie. flame. A nd ------
TT
S . II
gen tie. flame, And
A.
tie, lick m g------ a. gen tie, flame. A nd------

107
lit.
41 P
s. I
fc*»rrr>^S -M—
<r.
m ake— it— thus ex pire ex - pire- ex - p ire-
P
s.u
m ake it thus ex ex - pire-

m •0— #-
A.
Tem po I. accel.
pames-
Then make weep My paines a - sleep;.
S . II
m ■[>4 d d p* d-t
T h en ----- make me weep Then m ake m e w eep My paines a - sleep; paines a
Then. make me weep My paines a - sleep: paines a
a tempo.
47
A nd— give me such. re That poore- I May—
Jf
S . II
■* 9-
sleep; A nd give. such re T hat L,. poore----
Jf
such re ses.
sleep: And. That I,- poore—

108
50 I--------- live
s. I '\ £ J ± J ._ ~ T - - v : >4 K 4 j
think. May think.--------- there - by. I___________ live------ I -------- live—
there - by. I- live------------ an d -
S . II
C!T
1. M ay-------- think.. there by. there-by. I live____ I live and die—
M ay----------------- think.- live and die—
l. poore I. M ay________ think.------- there - by.____ I---------- live------ I------ live— , and
f'Z ^ ==- mp dolce
and die M ongst___ Ro Ro ses
die
m p dolce
S . II
■Mongst— Ro
m p dolce
die 'M ongst Ro ses. M o n g st Ro ses—
56 _ O
S. I
£ — £ - ’m £
Ro - ses M o n g st Ro - ses M o n g st- Ro - se s-
O » P O
S . II
1 m *
M o n g st Ro - ses M o n g st Ro ses M ongst Ro - se s-
O '. P O
A.
% _ . j - - j _ 1^ J , j: -J
M o n g st Ro - ses M o n g st Ro - ses M o ngst Ro - se s-

A Portfolio... Traditional Japanese Aesthetics in The Solo Guitar Works of Toru Takemitsu

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

A Portfolio... Traditional Japanese Aesthetics in The Solo Guitar Works of Toru Takemitsu

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

INFORMATION TO USERS

T he negative microfilm of this dissertation w a s prepared and in sp ected by the

T he following explanation of techniques is provided to help clarify notations which

1. M anuscripts m ay not alw ays be com plete. W hen it is not possible to

3. O versize m aterials (m aps, draw ings and charts are photographed by

Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company

STRUWWELPETERLIEDER, SEVEN M IRRORS, A N D

Presented to the Faculty of the G raduate School

in P artial Fulfillm ent of the R equirem ents for the D egree of

Doctor of M usical A rts

V ineet A shok Shende

R e p r o d u c e d with p e r m is s io n of th e cop yrigh t ow n er. F u rth e r re p ro d u ctio n prohibited w ithout p e rm issio n .

R e p r o d u c e d with p e r m is s io n of th e copy right o w ner. F u rth e r re p ro d u ctio n prohibited w itho ut p e rm issio n .

B om 14 June 1972, Vineet S hende sp e n t his form ative years in Pune,

m other, a vocalist trained in the N o rth In d ia n classical m usic tradition. A t

Cornell, S h en d e h as studied com position w ith Roberto Sierra a n d Steven

S h ende has received several a w a rd s for his com positions from

organizations a n d institutions such as th e ASCAP, Cornell U niversity, the Des

M oines S y m p h o n y Orchestra, an d G rinnell College. His m usic has been

perform ed th ro u g h o u t the U nited S tates, Europe, and Taiw an. In addition to

com posing, S h ende's musical interests in clu d e choral conducting an d

perform ing as a guitarist an d tenor. H e is a m em ber of ASCAP, Society for

C om posers, Inc., an d the A m erican C om posers Forum. H e cu rrently holds the

position of M ellon Postdoctoral Fellow in M usic at Grinnell College in

Grinnell, Iow a w h ere he teaches com position, orchestration an d m usic theory.

p e r m is s io n of th e co pyrigh t ow n er. F u rth e r re p ro d u ctio n prohibited w ithout p e rm issio n .

eyes reflect all of humanity's infinite possibilities.

R e p r o d u c e d with p e r m is s io n of th e copy right o w ner. F u rth e r re p ro d u ctio n prohibited w itho ut p e rm issio n .

I w o u ld like to th an k the m em bers of m y com m ittee - R oberto Sierra,

help w ith m y dissertation. Also, I w o u ld like to fu rth er th an k R oberto Sierra

Scott Tucker for h is conducting suggestions, basketball help, a n d friendship

I especially w a n t to thank m y fam ily - m y parents A shok a n d H em a,

m y sister U rm ila, an d m y brother-in-law C h risto p h er - for all of th eir love,

understan d in g , a n d su p p o rt th ro u g h o u t m y life. I also w a n t to th a n k S hannon

H edtke, w ho for nine years w as a constant source of strength, love, an d

Finally, I w o u ld like to express m y g ratitu d e to Chris A rrell, Birgit Berg,

w ith m y fam ily, have helped me th ro u g h w h a t h as been the m o st difficult

period in m y life, an d I w ill always cherish their friendship.

p e r m is s io n of th e copy rig ht o w ner. F u rth e r re p ro d u ctio n prohibited w ithout p e rm issio n .

Biographical Sketch iii

A cknow ledgem ents v

List of Figures vii

List of E xam ples ix

CHAPTER TW O: Ma, Sazuari, Iki, a n d Japanese G ardens 9

CHAPTER THREE: Folios - B ackground a n d Form al C onstruction 17

CHAPTER FOUR: Folios - Ma a n d Sawari 34

CHAPTER FIVE: A ll in Twilight a n d Equinox 47

CHAPTER SIX: Conclusion 60

APPENDIX A: T akem itsu's G uitar W orks 66

APPENDIX B: Recordings of T akem itsu's Solo Guitar W orks 68

R e p r o d u c e d with p e r m is s io n of th e co pyrigh t ow ner. F u rth e r re p ro d u ctio n prohibited w ithou t p e rm issio n .

Figure 1. The gidayu singer and fiitozao player of bunraku 4

Figure 2. V iew o f the Rock G arden pf Ryoanji in Kyoto 10

Figure 3. Bizva a n d bachi 11

Figure 4. V iew of a traditional Japanese g ard en 14

R e p r o d u c e d with p e r m is s io n of th e co pyrigh t ow ner. F u rth e r re p ro d u ctio n prohibited w ithou t p e rm issio n .

Example 1. Folios, I, opening 18

Example 2. Folios, I, end of the first line 19

Example 3. Folios, I, en d of the th ird line 19

Example 4. Folios, I, end of the fifth line 19

Example 5. Folios, I, second page, fo u rth line, top voice 20

Example 6. Folios, I, beginning of the fo u rth line 20

Example 7. Folios, n , second page, m id d le of the fifth line 20