Journey Through a Japanese Landscape
(1993-94) — Concerto for Marimba and Wind Orchestra
Based on a series of Haiku
Duration: ca 23'
Marimba; 2+pic.2+ca.2+bcl.2+cbn/4331/timp.2perc/hp.pf
Commissioned by the BASBWE Education Trust and a Consortium of Music Colleges.

World Premiere:  14 July 1994, Cheltenham International Festival, England
Evelyn Glennie, Marimba
Royal Northern College Wind Ensemble
Timothy Reynish, conductor

US Premiere:  28 February 1996, New England Conservatory

Publisher:  Novello & Co Ltd

Critical Acclaim:

Two world premieres of works by Thea Musgrave . . . proved to be not only significant additions to Cheltenham's impressive list of first performances but also important and much needed concerto-style works for hitherto neglected instruments by a composer who has always shown a practical fascination for the personality and potential of every source of sound....In the case of Journey through a Japanese Landscape the solo marimba is deliciously mixed, rather than blended, with a wind orchestra...Atmosphere reigns throughout aided by significant solos for flute, as the Watcher, and a beautifully projected cor anglais as an autumnal Buddha.
— Musical Opinion (UK)

...there is an eastern, meditative quality in much of the music, often expressed in floating free-time textures, which should make it an especially useful addition to two predominantly hard-edged repertoires, those of solo percussionists and of symphonic wind ensembles.
— Anthony Burton, The Musical Times

Composer's Note:

The four movements of Journey through a Japanese Landscape are based on a series of Haiku which represent an emotional journey through the four seasons. The solo marimba introduces each one with a "peal" on wind chimes — bamboo for spring, wood for summer, metal for autumn and glass for winter.
The three haiku chosen for each of the seasons provide a setting and an "event." Thus the gently undulating spring sea is the background for the free, improvisatory character of the skylark (solo marimba).

The summer grasses have buried the glorious dreams of ancient warriors (a march for brass instruments) and after a violent storm a distant memory of this march is heard on the solo marimba.

An autumnal fog envelops a colossal Buddha (solo for English horn, with slow moving brass and hovering 6-note chords for marimba). The solo flute represents the lonely watcher who sounds "one gong after another." The cricket (wood blocks, temple blocks and slap strokes on the marimba, over an intoned A-flat) is asked to "act as grave-keeper."

Glass wind chimes introduce the frozen winter landscape. Winds reintroduce the march theme, the "lonely" flute returns, then sleet and snow (various drums all played with nylon brushes) build to a big storm. Out of the silence that follows, echoes of the first movement suggest the return of spring and so rebirth.

Recording:

Journey Through a Japanese Landscape - Concerto for Marimba and Wind Orchestra
Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Lan Shui, conductor
Evelyn Glennie, percussion
BIS CD1222

Top of Page   |   Home   |   Compositions   |   Chester Novello   |   G. Schirmer

Webmaster