2017

For string orchestra

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In early 2017, I travelled to Japan with a composer friend, and it was the mountain right outside Kyoto, Arashiyama (Storm Mountain), that left a lasting impression on me. This prompted me to paint my memory and imagination of the scenery with music, translating its vastly different backdrops into one climax after another.

Apart from subtly evoking the sound and aesthetic of the Japanese samisen at one part, the distinct sound of the piece comes from the Japanese pentatonic scale it is based on. Five transpositions of the scale that contain the centric tone A (which stands for Arashiyama) are chosen and assigned to the five syllables, a, ra, shi, ya, and ma. After the timeless, sustained prelude, the piece is divided into four sections: ashi (foot), rashii (seeming), yama (mountain), and shima (island), with each section being based on the two scales in its name. Sometimes the music switches between the two scales, while other times it pits them against each other, in a bi-pentatonic setting that reflects the mountain-water duality in the scenery.

The foot section depicts trudging along the outskirts of the mountain, while slowly building up in rhythmic intensity to the quirky seeming – the Japanese ‘dry landscape’. The mountain section uses clashing wooden sounds to evoke imagery of the steely, imposing bamboo forest in the heart of the scenic area. The irregular rhythms are actually derived from the intervals in the scale itself. As we arrive by the water, where the waves surround a couple of isolated boats, or island, we come full circle to the entrance bridge. In a Zen-inspired manner, we revisit hints reminiscent of the prelude, but this time bringing home new impressions of the mountain.

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Perusal Score