(`'•.¸ w--e--ll.-.-.-.c--o--m--e ¸.•'´)

It is true that Takemitsu is an unusually gifted artist. His works, however, are far from being a free expression of his talent. While, an artist of a very modern type, Takemitsu does not progress exclusively from his own creative energy, but rather constantly enriches himself by absorbing much from the tradition in which he was brought up. In this respect he is considerably different from the type of artists known as avant-garde. He consciously tries to absorb the creative energy inherent in Japanese music, and yet is not at all governed by national or racial sentiments. He is always ready to tackle artistic problems common to the contemporary world. My statement may sound paradoxical. Those who listen to his music, however, will understand that it is not and will be persuaded that it is an extremely orthodox attitude of a creative artist in present-day Japan.

At the same time, I do not deny the fact that, despite all this, he is an extremely unique artist. It may be more proper to say that the very fact that he is going his way all by himself is symbolic of the uniqueness of the contemporary Japanese musical world.

Takemitsu's subsequent orchestral pieces demonstrate his keen perception of the progress of contemporary world music and the inseparable relation of Takemitsu's even more intensified consciousness as an artist resulting in his progress as an artist to his effort to re-discover Japan. To substantiate this, one may point to his Music of the Tree, Coral Island, and Textures in which one almost inevitably perceives the reflection of the "tonal mode" as advocated by the Polish composer K. Penderecki and G. Ligeti. More attention should, however, be paid to the fact that the dynamic technique of climax is strictly non-Western. Western artists make a thorough and deliberate calculation before they construct the climax. Bach and Beethoven are the most classical examples of this. Such contemporary composers as Webern, Stockhausen and Boulez are no exceptions. In Japanese music, however, it is not seldom that one brings out the climax, which is supposed to be the most cardinal element in the work concerned, very abruptly and without any preparation, or suddenly cuts the climax. This is perceived in such theater arts as the Noh and the Kabuki.

In Japanese painting, the center of the picture is set in a unique way. Very often, as in the case of scroll paintings, the centers are deliberately distributed horizontally. Or, as in the case of geniuses of ukiyoye such as Hokusai and others, bold attempts were made in a number of works (in which one can but guess their pleasure) to destroy the balance and harmony. This traditional sense of beauty of the Japanese has been revived in a very vivid way in Takemitsu's work. I do not think this is something which was done unconsciously. This is the reason why a piece, which at first may sound monotonous and lack in compactness of structure, leaves one with a generally fresh memory after one has listened to it. This structure is different from the traditional esthetics of the West, so that it may appear to be odd and incomprehensible to the ear which has become used to and has been nurtured by the former. The ear, however, once having taken notice, will clearly identify it as not being a superficial mystification.

Takemitsu's recent works have been marked by the use of traditional Japanese instruments as in the case of Eclypse for the Shakuhachi and Koto, or the music in the film, (Ghost Stories), which includes extremely original concepts. Here again, the motive of composition seems to seek through these instruments special effects which otherwise could not be obtained. And it is true that he has until now been so successful that one could not expect more. It seems as if it were aimed at producing an interminable dynamic drama from the succession of the momentary sounds from the hand and the mouth of the musician. This is the quality very akin to that which realizes infinite freedom at the very moment of heightened tension as in the case of Japanese calligraphy and the tea ceremony

This picture happened at an unknown moment. It was a sunny day and all of a sudden it began to rain! Lucky me I of course had my camera. There also was a rainbow on the other side of the sky which I will be sharing in another post.

Don’t forget to share your thoughts in the comments section.

Mother Nature has opened the rain clouds on Orange County (and all of Southern California).
As I think of my upcoming rain ride to work, I am reminded how many Southern California drivers forget to drive when it rains.
Please slow down. That corner one used to take at 90MPH should now be taken at 60MPH. Plan for the extra time to get where you are going, etc…
Even on my bike, I need to follow these guidelines. It takes longer to stop, there is not as much grip on the roads, etc.

Gushes of wind skewed the weather-cock,

Grey clouds break into a harmless chuckle …”Oh poor thing…”

Pitter Patter the rains fall,

A welcome song to have a ball,

The earth shies away like a demure damsel,

Drops of rain nest on me,

Calms soothes and caresses me,

With sensuous innocence all over

Two strange pair of eyes meet,

With a rain song rhythm to match the beat,

Of distances that seem like endless mile,

Transpire into a seamless smile,

Down the pavement I walk down further,

To an insane corner nestling a tea stall,

People sitting on moist wooden benches,

Around tables carelessly arranged,

Chafing moistened cold palms around hot steaming tea,

The warmth protective and secure,

A lingering aroma of frying pakoras,

A blaring radio station playing a wistful seventies celluloid number,

A riot of street urchins on the slate black four-lane,

With survival instincts – sinewy steel – Nay fear!

A few yards away a murky old hut exists,

Where a crooked lady impoverished… with her old man persists,

Roofs of the tattered shelter invite the rains

A distorted array of vessels scattered on the floor,

An assemblage for the manna from heaven,

Pitter patter the rains fall

Sweet bitter memories for one and all!!!!

update: clearly it is going to rain every summer until the end of time now so I’ve posted a and we should all just get used to being underwater…

so…apparently the UK will only get one day of actual summer this year, not counting those early teasers in april and may. july 15, thankfully a sunday. summer 2007 is officially a washout and anyone too busy, broke or nervous to fly to sunnier destinations has a choice. either moan and get wet, or remember the sweaty, suffocating heat of last year and breath a sigh of relief.

but bad weather, reignited fears of terrorism and the spiralling cost of living in the UK is stressful. everyone i meet seems stressed, in some way or another. every night i listen to the chillout playlist on my creative zen and find it soothing, so i thought i’d post up some of my favourites as a departure from my usual retro offerings, to mark my arrival here on wordpress. blogger was just an absolute arse to use, in terms of formatting.

maybe the media hysteria surrounding our predicted lack of summer will prove unfounded and by this time next week i’ll be posting sunny anthems for beach-bound brits?I really don't understand why there are so many songs about keeping the rain away and "letting the sun shine"...There's only one song that I can think of that promotes rain-that one that goes "let the rain fall down and then some random words no one knows." I don't remember the title, but I appreciate whoever wrote it! Personally, I think rain is the best type of precipitation. It's WAAAAAY better than snow, hail, sleet, and well that's about all the forms of precipitation i'm aware of. Everything is completely refreshed and revived, which is why I'm so excited it's supposed to rain tomorrow and the day after at my grandpa's house (where I'm going for Easter weekend + Friday). Hope it rains where all of you are too!