November Steps - Composition

Composition

During the composition of November Steps, Takemitsu secluded himself to a mountain villa, taking with him the scores to Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun (1894) and Jeux (1912). At first intending unite the Japanese and the western musical instruments in the composition, he came to the decision early on that the differences between the two musical traditions were too vast to overcome. On the brink of abandoning the project, he instead decided to make the difference between the two traditions a theme of the work. Takemitsu later wrote, "It might well be that as a composition it would fail, but I completed the work in order to show as great a difference between the two traditions without blending them."

Following this line of thought, Takemitsu stated that he did not attempt to integrate the Japanese and western sounds, but to display them in juxtaposition to one another, thereby emphasizing their differences. Nevertheless, the work does present correspondences between the two sounds. The plucking of the biwa with the plectrum is echoed in the orchestra by percussive effects on the strings. The shakuhachi's breath effects are echoed by clusters and glissandi in the strings. In this way, Takemitsu creates a harmony between the two instrumental bodies while maintaining their unique sound characteristics.

Takemitsu reported that the natural sounds, such as birds and wind, at first disturbed his concentration. When he began listening to them more carefully, he came to view these sounds as not different from his own music. Later, when listening to November Steps while working in Africa, the cultural anthropologist Junzo Kawada commented that the sounds of nature did not interfere with the enjoyment of Takemitsu's composition.

Read more about this topic:  November Steps

Famous quotes containing the word composition:

    Give a scientist a problem and he will probably provide a solution; historians and sociologists, by contrast, can offer only opinions. Ask a dozen chemists the composition of an organic compound such as methane, and within a short time all twelve will have come up with the same solution of CH4. Ask, however, a dozen economists or sociologists to provide policies to reduce unemployment or the level of crime and twelve widely differing opinions are likely to be offered.
    Derek Gjertsen, British scientist, author. Science and Philosophy: Past and Present, ch. 3, Penguin (1989)

    Vices enter into the composition of virtues as poisons into the composition of certain medicines. Prudence and common sense mix them together, and make excellent use of them against the misfortunes that attend human life.
    François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680)

    When I think of God, when I think of him as existent, and when I believe him to be existent, my idea of him neither increases nor diminishes. But as it is certain there is a great difference betwixt the simple conception of the existence of an object, and the belief of it, and as this difference lies not in the parts or composition of the idea which we conceive; it follows, that it must lie in the manner in which we conceive it.
    David Hume (1711–1776)