Remembering Japan
Hans Tutschku
Programme notes
To Flô Menezes, Takeyoshi Mori, Jonty Harrison, Annette Vande Gorne, and Karl Lubomirski
The 5-part cycle Remembering Japan reflects my impressions of a three-month stay in Japan in 2014. I traveled to very different areas of the country, improvised with musicians, and took countless recordings of daily life, ceremonies, nature, and culture. Each of the five parts, which can also be presented individually, treats the sound material in a specific way:
- Part 1
: immersion switches quickly between sound scenes and superimposes temporally and spatially separate events in a high-contrast theatre of sounds. - Part 2
: expansion works with large spaces and distances. But the peaceful ambiance gets disturbed intermittently. - Part 3
: abstraction transforms sounds in more extreme forms, creating rhythmic layers and textures that rapidly follow one another. The very energetic part functions as a formal climax for the cycle. - Part 4
: suspension is the calm place of the work: as if dreaming through a veil, we navigate between musical impressions of Japanese culture. - Part 5
: recollection condenses specific sound memories of my journey and phrases of the previous parts into a short, concluding section. The ambiguity of some moments creates new qualities and relationships which are supposed to point beyond the end of the work.
The composition clearly communicates with Japanese culture while reflecting at the same time my own compositional preoccupations
The five parts are dedicated to the following friends who have accompanied and supported my work for years
[iv-22]
Remembering Japan — Part 1
Remembering Japan — Part 2
- Composer(s): Hans Tutschku
Works in this cycle
Remembering Japan — Part 1: immersion
To Flô Menezes
Premiere
- June 25, 2016, T-Son 2016
: T-Son 92: Adagio agitato, Teatro Maria de Lourdes Sekeff — Instituto de Artes da Unesp, São Paulo (Brazil)
Awards
- Year of composition: 2016
- Cycle: Remembering Japan
- Duration: 9:47
- Instrumentation: 16-channel fixed medium
- Publisher(s): Ymx média
- ISRC: CAD502210014
Remembering Japan — Part 2: expansion
To Takeyoshi Mori
Premiere
- October 23, 2022, L’Espace du son 2022
: Concert portrait: Hans Tutschku, Théâtre Marni, Brussels (Belgium)
- Year of composition: 2022
- Cycle: Remembering Japan
- Duration: 13:29
- Instrumentation: 16-channel fixed medium
- Publisher(s): Ymx média
- ISRC: CAD502210015
Remembering Japan — Part 3: abstraction
To Jonty Harrison
Premiere
- July 1, 2022, BEAST FEaST 2022
: Concert 8, Elgar Concert Hall — Bramall Music Building — University of Birmingham, Birmingham (England, UK)
- Year of composition: 2022
- Cycle: Remembering Japan
- Duration: 10:34
- Instrumentation: 16-channel fixed medium
- Publisher(s): Ymx média
- ISRC: CAD502210016
Remembering Japan — Part 4: suspension
To Annette Vande Gorne
Premiere
- October 23, 2022, L’Espace du son 2022
: Concert portrait: Hans Tutschku, Théâtre Marni, Brussels (Belgium)
- Year of composition: 2022
- Cycle: Remembering Japan
- Duration: 19:38
- Instrumentation: 16-channel fixed medium
- Publisher(s): Ymx média
- ISRC: CAD502210017
Remembering Japan — Part 5: recollection
To Karl Lubomirski
Premiere
- October 23, 2022, L’Espace du son 2022
: Concert portrait: Hans Tutschku, Théâtre Marni, Brussels (Belgium)
- Year of composition: 2022
- Cycle: Remembering Japan
- Duration: 6:28
- Instrumentation: 16-channel fixed medium
- Publisher(s): Ymx média
- ISRC: CAD502210018
