Riverrun is a very famous composition. Whilst I feel attracted to it, I also find it very hard to make sense of. What I hear is an almost endless sequence of disconnected fragments. Each fragment in itself is interesting and attractive but appears to have no relationship either with what precedes it or follows it. I do not demand formulaic music. I enjoy Debussy and Messiaen (Turangalila is one of my favourite compositions), and I know that both composers were formative influences on Takemitsu. So how do I start to make sense of this music? I find it hard to become emotionally-involved with it - the intensely fragmentary nature of the composition means that I can build no sense of expectation for any part of it. Equally, its fragmentary nature means that it is hard to perceive any kind of development / progression. On the face of it, therefore, the actual length of the piece appears entirely arbitrary. The minimalist works of Philip Glass may (?) be equally static, but they can be wonderfully hypnotic - because of their repetition (or near repetition) of motifs and phrases. Maybe Takemitsu's compositions are purely about colours, and as though an abstract pointilliste, he is dabbing colours onto a canvas (I have an enthusiasm for some of the paintings of Jackson Pollock) - and the colours and their positions are far from random, and the palette is very carefully controlled. Is what I have written anywhere near close to developing an understanding of Takemitsu?
"So how do I start to make sense of this music?" get rid of expectations, let it take you where it goes, and if you need familiarity listen to it enough times that you're better able to identify parts
Debussy and Messiaen's work still have strong sense of direction. I once interviewed Takemitsu and had a sense that he wanted to destroy that order in music. He didn't even like the concert hall setting for classic music where audiences are organized to sit quietly shutting down environmental noise and such, because that feels too artificial for him, for his imaginary, ideal performance. (But he also admitted he didn't have much choice) He also said that mountainside is ideal for composition, but then he often feels defeated by the sound of nature, like bird singing,,,,,"that's already perfect music, so What am I doing here?" I think he wanted to recreate nature itself trying not to sound organized in any way. So if you feel like it's hard to make sense, you are probably on the right track in a way.....The composer himself didn't want to make sense in any conventional way. It just happens like a sudden rain shower or something. And there is no sense in rain shower, it's just there for being there. And it disappears all of sudden for no reason just like the way this music ends. He doesn't want to speak in music, but uses the same western language for speaking, orchestration and such, in order to create the effect he wants, and that might cause another confusion. I mean, traditional music like this ua-cam.com/video/Sv2je9arNz4/v-deo.html is much easier to see its purpose, because it's built upon the traditional use of the traditional instrument, having a strong sense of direction, clear beginning and end, I mean, this is quite describable compared to his music. I think you need totally different mindset to appreciate Takematsu... His music is a kind of unique fusion... I'm Japanese, but this music is still hard to grab for me too. Debussy and Messiaen are much easier to understand.
I don't know much about Takemitsu but rather than Debussy and Messiaen I hear lots of the late Skrjabin in there. Reminds me so much of his 5 preludes op.74 that I wonder if Takemitsu wanted to pay some tribute to Skrjabin here. Fun fact about the arbitrary ending is that Skrjabin preludes are much shorter. About the second one, he said in a letter to his friend something like "listen how it sounds like eternity" but in reality it only lasts one minute. Oppium does it.
This is the musical equivalent of laying on the grass on a warm summer afternoon watching the clouds roll by. It is ethereal and of the moment. When it is over you remember the feeling but not the music.
![5 Pieces by Hans Zimmer \\ Iconic Soundtracks \\ Relaxing Piano [20min]](/img/n.gif)
Awesome!
Riverrun is a very famous composition. Whilst I feel attracted to it, I also find it very hard to make sense of. What I hear is an almost endless sequence of disconnected fragments. Each fragment in itself is interesting and attractive but appears to have no relationship either with what precedes it or follows it. I do not demand formulaic music. I enjoy Debussy and Messiaen (Turangalila is one of my favourite compositions), and I know that both composers were formative influences on Takemitsu. So how do I start to make sense of this music? I find it hard to become emotionally-involved with it - the intensely fragmentary nature of the composition means that I can build no sense of expectation for any part of it. Equally, its fragmentary nature means that it is hard to perceive any kind of development / progression. On the face of it, therefore, the actual length of the piece appears entirely arbitrary. The minimalist works of Philip Glass may (?) be equally static, but they can be wonderfully hypnotic - because of their repetition (or near repetition) of motifs and phrases. Maybe Takemitsu's compositions are purely about colours, and as though an abstract pointilliste, he is dabbing colours onto a canvas (I have an enthusiasm for some of the paintings of Jackson Pollock) - and the colours and their positions are far from random, and the palette is very carefully controlled. Is what I have written anywhere near close to developing an understanding of Takemitsu?
"So how do I start to make sense of this music?" get rid of expectations, let it take you where it goes, and if you need familiarity listen to it enough times that you're better able to identify parts
Debussy and Messiaen's work still have strong sense of direction. I once interviewed Takemitsu and had a sense that he wanted to destroy that order in music. He didn't even like the concert hall setting for classic music where audiences are organized to sit quietly shutting down environmental noise and such, because that feels too artificial for him, for his imaginary, ideal performance. (But he also admitted he didn't have much choice)
He also said that mountainside is ideal for composition, but then he often feels defeated by the sound of nature, like bird singing,,,,,"that's already perfect music, so What am I doing here?"
I think he wanted to recreate nature itself trying not to sound organized in any way. So if you feel like it's hard to make sense, you are probably on the right track in a way.....The composer himself didn't want to make sense in any conventional way. It just happens like a sudden rain shower or something. And there is no sense in rain shower, it's just there for being there. And it disappears all of sudden for no reason just like the way this music ends. He doesn't want to speak in music, but uses the same western language for speaking, orchestration and such, in order to create the effect he wants, and that might cause another confusion.
I mean, traditional music like this
ua-cam.com/video/Sv2je9arNz4/v-deo.html
is much easier to see its purpose, because it's built upon the traditional use of the traditional instrument, having a strong sense of direction, clear beginning and end, I mean, this is quite describable compared to his music.
I think you need totally different mindset to appreciate Takematsu...
His music is a kind of unique fusion...
I'm Japanese, but this music is still hard to grab for me too. Debussy and Messiaen are much easier to understand.
@@ttwiligh7 What a wonderfully helpful response to my question. Thank you. I am grateful that you took the trouble to explain.
I don't know much about Takemitsu but rather than Debussy and Messiaen I hear lots of the late Skrjabin in there. Reminds me so much of his 5 preludes op.74 that I wonder if Takemitsu wanted to pay some tribute to Skrjabin here. Fun fact about the arbitrary ending is that Skrjabin preludes are much shorter. About the second one, he said in a letter to his friend something like "listen how it sounds like eternity" but in reality it only lasts one minute. Oppium does it.
This is the musical equivalent of laying on the grass on a warm summer afternoon watching the clouds roll by. It is ethereal and of the moment. When it is over you remember the feeling but not the music.