Ceremonial: Time Song
Koji Nakano
About this work:
Ceremonial: Time Song was commissioned by conductor Toshiaki Murakami and the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra with support of the Japanese Embassy, the Toyota Corporation and with additional support from the Composer Assistance Program of the American Music Center. The work was premiered in a special concert celebrating The Friendship of Japan and EU Nations at Vilnius Congress Hall in Lithuania in March, 2005. The piece explores my current interests in using various metaphors and time concepts. In this work I seek to create a dream-like sacred ritual for the emerging tie between Eastern and Western musical tradition. The principal idea of the piece echoes between right and left sounding orchestral groups and among three percussionists. The theatrical aspect of the piece is inspired by traditional ritualistic dances called Bugaku, in which several performers dance on the stage accompanied by the Gagaku orchestra composed of winds and strings and percussion instruments for special ceremonial occasions. In the introduction “Echoes from Time,” three percussions walk from the audience to the stage while playing hand cymbals. This represents time travel from the past, through the present, to the future. The first section has a searching quality in which unchanged musical objects travel through time and a variety of instrumental echoes elaborate the musical ideas. In the middle section “Ritual: Metal, Wood and Stone,” three percussionists represent the ritual by traversing the stage (mostly Percussion I and II) while playing a variety of percussion instruments such as hand cymbals, bass drum, claves and Tibetan player stones sleigh-bells. In this section, the two orchestral groups create a layered sound texture based on a continuous spun-out melody inspired by Gagaku music. “The last section “Time echoes….,” refers back to the musical ideas in the first section, and gradually transforms into a recapitulation of the piece. Right before the coda, an instrumental tutti recalls the Gagaku melody of the middle section. The coda is a celebrative ending, where Percussionists I and II play each side of a bass drum located in the center of stage, playing different rhythmic patterns, and alluding to an integration of Eastern and Western cultures. At the very end, three percussionists play hand cymbals to bring us back to the silence, completing the spiritual ceremony.
Year composed: 2006
Duration: 00:07:46
Ensemble type: Orchestra:Standard Orchestra
Instrumentation: 2 Flute, 2 Oboe, 2 Clarinet, 2 Bass Clarinet, 4 Horn in F, 2 Trumpet, 2 Trombone, 3 Percussion (General), 24 Violin, 8 Viola, 8 Cello, 3 Double bass
Instrumentation notes: 2 flutes doubling 2 piccolos, 2 oboes, 2 clarinet in Bb, 2 bassoon, 3 Horns, 2 trumpet, 2 trombones, three percussionists (three sets of finger cymbals, 2 claves, 3 sleighbells, 2 Tibetan prayer stones, 3 tam-tams, glockenspiel, crotales (two octaves), vibraphone, chimes, sizzle cymbal and 2 bass drums), 12 violins I, 12 violins II, 8 violas, 8 Violoncellos, 6 Contrabasses