Four Japanese Landscapes

Each landscape is a representation of my experience and thoughts of different locations I visited in Japan during the spring of 2017.

I. The Souls of Adashino Nenbutsu-ji

This temple, founded in 811, sits in an area where people have historically abandoned the bodies of the dead, exposing them to the elements. Now some 8,000 statuettes, which were scattered around Adashino and collected in 1903, memorialize the souls of the dead. The movement contains strong representations of time and death, yet remains hopeful that the souls abadoned have found peace.

II. The Markets at Zenko-ji Temple

Less focused on the history of the temple, the movement highlights the vibrancy of the people and markets that lead up to the temple. Especially on festivals and weekends, people busily swamp the temple, many wearing traditional japanese items, shop for trinkets whilst having a good time with friends and family.

III. The Torri of Fushimi Inari

Althought technically the shinto god of rice, merchants and manufacturers of Japan traditionally view him as the patron of business. Since being built in 1499, the main shrine has amased nearly 10,000 torri (the orange gates) on its main path. While traveling the path, one becomes transfixed with a sense of weight and reverance, as the path contains several smaller shrines spanning the 2.5 miles trail. It is a custom to donate to the temple in order to see a wish to come true, or to thank for a wish that has become true.

IV. The Rakan at Otagi Nenbutsu-ji

There are nearly 1,200 Rakan Statues at Otagi Nenbutsu-ji. The statuettes, usually humorous in nature represent the disciples of Buddha. In writing this movement, I tried to channel the whimsical and mischievous nature conveyed in the statutes. Therefore, despite the movement starting with some gravity (representing the serious discipline it takes to create these rakan), the movement quickly dissolves to quarky and disjunct motives.

There are some mistakes in performance, as usual, so here is a score to follow. Hopefully you can gage my full intentions. Perhaps I'll get a better performance one day...

Edit: Here are some electronic versions if you want to hear without mistakes (but mechanical haha)

1. https://app.box.com/s/ct8kdx1brsfnn3dk6crpjp48pv2brtm5 

2. https://app.box.com/s/k9tve99nc2gysulzrgytbvc9d3nbdqjf

3. https://app.box.com/s/22autvd43byzk58udn2xns9i0ucs1ni4

4. https://app.box.com/s/f16l1sgee9aea0s0yhkz1xmkqh5tapdh

1. haunting intro. the repetitive nature reminds me of the cyclical elements of life. So well constructed this is. kind of a contemporary Herbie Hancock goes to Asia and meditates a ton

2. Ok this is exactly the kind of organized chaos that I love, the kind that says I don't give a fudge but also I know exactly what I'm doing. Amazing. 

3. You are very versatile, that much is clear. this reminds me of Jacob collier, and it's also at that level of proficiency (as I see it). To me this song does not say you are fearless, it says you are willing to explore it, and it gets transformed the more you go. The magical fluttering to me is like the sparks of transformation, flickers of enlightenment as the two seas of problem and solution coalesce.

4. Not my type of piece but nonetheless im entertained

1. I love the clarinet flutters followed by solemn piano chords and the plucking of the string.  It gives you a sense of uneasiness throughout.  
2. By far my favorite section.  This has hints of Gershwin influence, really well done!
3. I love the buildup of the theme.  The main motif here is done subtly throughout, which I like a lot because it encourages critical listening here.
4. This one seems to be one of the more technically demanding of the movements, especially with all those trills.  I had to listen to this one a few times in order to pick out the motif, but there is definitely one here.  Just not quite as obvious as in your other movements!

I would choose a performance any day that is imperfect, over a midi recording.  The performance in my view was very well done and I don't think anyone will pick up mistakes unless you are forcing yourself to listen for them.  You know what may be cool?  If you fully orchestrated this, and layer the actual performance with the orchestral rendition to give off the effect that this is a full orchestra.  Maybe if you are careful enough with the layering, you could fool the average listener!

In the first movement ... please remember the poor clarinetist has to breathe!

I really enjoyed the quirkiness of the second movement with its delightful spirit.

In the third movement the clarinet in the stratosphere!  Have you discussed this with a clarinetist?

The last movement creates a bit of chaos ...

You do have an interesting style .... how would you clarify your work?