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November Steps
November Steps” was composed by Japanese composer Tōru Takemitsu in 1967. It is considered one of Toru Takemitsu’s most representative works and one of the most important works in his musical style and approach.
Gagaku is the traditional court music of Japan, and Gagaku instruments include the biwa, shakuhachi, koto, etc. Toru Takemitsu is credited as the first musician to integrate these instruments with the Western orchestra and to create a new musical language. Toru Takemitsu has become famous as the first musician to integrate these instruments with Western orchestras and to create a new musical language.
Takemitsu responded to “November Steps” by saying, “The composer’s metier should not be how naturally he blends traditional Japanese instruments with the orchestra. Rather, the composer should highlight the different sound territories presented by the biwa and shakuhachi by contrasting them with the orchestra” (November Steps).
This music is not something that immediately hits you upon first hearing, and it does not enter your mind as an extension of conventional classical music. There is an aspect of the music that tries to make you think through the music about the question of what music is. This is similar to the Zen metaphors in “Artificial Ineptitude Talks about Zen and Buddhabuddhism” such as the Ten Ox Chart and Zen questions and answers.
Western music consists of seven notes (do-re-mi-fa-so-la-si) called the C major scale.
In contrast, many traditional Japanese scales are called “Yona-less scales,” which are chord progressions in the category of “pentatonic scales” with the fourth and seventh notes removed from the major chord. These pentatonic chords often appear in the blues-influenced scale called the blues scale, which was described in “History of the Blues and Automatic Generation with Clojure“.
Gagaku is also different from the units and sequence of sounds used in classical music. In Western music, music is divided into three elements: melody, rhythm, and harmony, and is considered to be made by combining variations of these elements. Takemitsu’s music has some of these elements, but in many places it does not.
In Takemitsu’s music, some of these elements are present, but in many other places they are not. In some places, the melody is audible, but in others, one note is so far away from another, or jumps so far that it does not feel like a melody, or various instruments come in, and the sound is so chaotic that it is hard to know what to make of it.
Most of the music that we hear through the media is pleasant to the ear, rhythmic, and melodic. However, this piece asks the question of whether we have become accustomed to this music because we hear it so much, or whether we are simply continuing to think of it as music in the form that we have become accustomed to.
In order to listen to Takemitsu’s music, for example, let us imagine the following scene. When I think of music that is not ordinary background music, as music in the background of such nature itself and its movements, I think of “Novemitsu’s Music,” which is a piece of music that is not ordinary background music, and I think of the music that is not ordinary background music. When I thought of something other than the usual background music as music in the background of the nature itself and its movements, the music from “November Steps” led me to it.
In the end, what I am attempting with Japanese instruments and orchestras is a desire to homogenize the different, but it is a dream that cannot be fulfilled. I try to amplify and deepen my desire by using an orchestra and Japanese music at the same time.
As stated in “November Steps,” Toru Takemitsu’s unique approach to combining different musical elements and styles results in a structure in which Western and traditional Japanese music interact, dialogue, and fuse, a structure inspired by the natural landscape, the changing seasons, and Japanese culture, which It is a testament to Takemitsu’s creativity inspired by natural landscapes, seasonal changes, and Japanese culture.
November Steps” has received international acclaim as a work that embodies Toru Takemitsu’s talent as a composer and his innovation in combining different musical traditions. It is also considered an important contribution to Japanese music and an important repertoire for contemporary music lovers and performers.
Toru Takemitsu
Tōru Takemitsu (October 8, 1930 – February 20, 1996), composer of “November Steps,” was an internationally renowned Japanese composer of contemporary music who was an important figure in the world of music in the second half of the 20th century, a musician whose music had a unique style and international reputation.
Takemitsu was born in Komagome, Hongo Ward, Tokyo in 1930. After the end of the Pacific War, he became familiar with the works of Franck, Debussy, and other modern French composers through radio broadcasts by the Occupation Forces, while working at an American military camp in Yokohama and being exposed to jazz music. Eventually, he made up his mind to become a musician and studied composition under Yasushi Kiyose, but he was mostly self-taught. After graduating from Kyoka Junior High School, he applied to the composition department of the Tokyo School of Music (Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music from May of that year) in 1949. He chose Chopin’s “Prelude,” the easiest piece to perform, and went to the examination hall with his sister’s clogs, but in the waiting room he hit it off with a boy genius from Abashiri named Kumada (who later committed suicide). He missed the second day of the exam and spent the rest of the day watching “Double Life” at the Matsuzaka Cinema in Ueno, Tokyo.
In 1950, Takemitsu made his debut as a composer with the piano piece “Two Lents” at the 7th presentation of the “New Composition Society” organized by his teacher Yasushi Kiyose and others, but was harshly criticized in the newspapers by the music critic of the time, Ginji Yamane, who said, “It is before music. A heartbroken Takemitsu is said to have cried in the darkness of a movie theater. The style of this early period was strongly influenced by Messiaen and Berg.
Later, he became a founding member of the “Experimental Studio,” an artistic group formed by artists from various fields, and began creative activities in a wide range of genres, including film, stage, radio, and television. In 1962, Takemitsu composed music for the NHK educational TV program “Japanese Patterns,” using the sounds of the chikuzen biwa and koto modulated in a musique concrète technique, and it was his first work using traditional Japanese instruments.
From this time on, Toru Takemitsu’s music was characterized by a unique style that combined elements of contemporary Western and traditional Japanese music. He paid particular attention to the colors, sounds, and textures of sound, and his works became delicate and lyrical, but also included abstract elements.
In 1967, Takemitsu released “November Steps,” which led to his works being widely featured abroad, particularly in the United States and Canada. He continued to be active internationally, including as a visiting professor at Yale University in 1975 and as a guest composer at the “New Music Concerts” held in Toronto in 1976 and 1977.
After his death, his works were performed by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, which was known for its conservatism, and his death was regretted by many performers. According to Schott, Takemitsu’s works were performed more than 1,000 times in one year after his death. John Williams, famous for his film music, also highly appreciated Takemitsu and incorporated the shakuhachi in “Jurassic Park.
musique concrete
One of his musical genres is “musique concrète.
Musique concrète” is a genre of electronic music pioneered by French composers Pierre Henry Marteau and Pierre Schaeffer. It is a methodology for creating music through the recording and editing of sound. Music Concrete is characterized by the following features
- Sound Recording: Music Concrete typically involves the recording of real sounds, such as sounds of daily life, environmental sounds, and the sounds of musical instruments, and these recorded sound fragments are used as musical material.
- Sound Editing: Recorded sounds are reconstructed and combined using editing techniques, and this process can create musical structures, rhythms, and textures.
- Non-instrumental music: Music Concrete is widely recognized as a form of music that does not rely on traditional instrumentation and, unlike score-based music production, will focus on non-instrumental sounds.
- Experimental Approach: Music Concrete artists pursue sonic experimentation and innovation, exploring new possibilities in music, which is often associated with the experimental music genre.
Typical works of Concrete Music include Pierre Scheffert and Pierre Henry’s “Symphonie pour un homme seul” and Karlheinz Stockhausen’s “Gesang der Jünglinge,” and this genre is, It is said to have influenced a variety of musical subgenres, including electronica, ambient music, and experimental music.
In recent years, the Beatles’ 1968 album The Beatles included a Musique Concrète piece, Revolution 9, and in Japan, “XYZ for Music Concrète” by Toshiro Mayuzumi, released on Bunka Hoso, was the first Japanese In Japan, “XYZ for Music Concrète” by Toshiro Mayuzumi, released on Bunka Hoso, is the first music concrète work in Japan.
Music Concrete is created by focusing attention on the elements of sound, concentrating on the subtle nuances and textures of sound. This act of entering into the surrounding world, sensing and reconstructing the sounds there, is similar to the relationship between meditation and awareness as described in “Meditation, Enlightenment (Awareness), and Problem Solving.
Zen practice focuses on the “now” and encourages the capture of the moment and living in the “now,” while music concrete explores the musical moment, focusing attention on fragments of recorded sounds and subtle changes in sound, and is used to convey the beauty and emotion of the moment to the listener. Both of these are close in terms of capturing the moment.
In this way, music concrete can be said to have a connection with Zen philosophy and religion. Zen and Music Concrete share similar elements in their introspective approach and detailed observation of reality in the creation and listening of music, and some musicians and composers have been inspired by Zen philosophy and practice, which has influenced their music.
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