MUSICAL WORKS

SUZUKI Kotoka / 鈴木琴香

2014

Shimmer, Tree | In Memoriam Jonathan Harvey

Birth Y: 1971 Birth C: JAPAN Gender: Female

Dest: Concert

Media Specification: Mixed music

Commission: Commissioned by Ayaka Isono

Performer(s): Ayaka Isono

First perf.: Constellation, Chicago, IL (May 7, 2014)

Duration: 15:00

Perf. Country: UNITED STATES

Instruments: Piano and electronics

Media: https://soundcloud.com/kotokasuzuki/shimmertree-in-memoriam-jonathan-harvey-mov-2-chrysienanou-piano

Prog. notes: I. Like a gentle wind
II. I count the fleeing hours

This two-movement work is written in memory of the British composer, Jonathan Harvey. He was a deeply spiritual man and beautifully sensitive to the details that surrounded him. I vividly recall a particular moment as we sat together by a window one sunny afternoon in California discussing music. In the middle of his sentence, he paused and looked outside the window, mesmerized by a tree as its leaves gently swayed in the wind. He then softly said, “Do you see how beautifully that tree is moving?”. This piece depicts the image of this moving tree. The second movement is loosely based on his work, “Bhakti”. A more direct quotation of this work, particularly from the seventh movement where the same tenor bell from his other work “Mortuos Plango” appears, is presented in the tape section of “Shimmer, Tree”.

Editor: M.B.