Comission
Commissioned by Mamiko Someda

Performance duration
14’

Premiere
January 31, 2019, Tokyo, Tokyo Opera City Oumi Gakudo
Mamiko Someda, Harpsichord

Year of composition
2018

Instrumentation
Harpsichord

Commentary
The basic concept of this piece is the same as the previous piece in the series, “Gradualism Ia & Ib”, in the form of “variation”. Therefore, the basic concept is the same as the previous work, but due to the structural differences between the piano and the harpsichord, it isn’t exactly the same as the previous work, and there are some tricks that I tried after examining the structure of the harpsichord. For example, unlike the piano, the harpsichord is basically incapable of adding intensity, so instead, I decided to focus on the reverberation of the harpsichord. What I’m doing specifically is trying to change the reverberation by releasing some of the fingers that are playing the notes after pressing the keys. Furthermore, since I am using only notes of 4 feet (i.e. concentrating only on the upper register), the volume is lower and the changes are more subtle. It is difficult to perceive this change in a recording, so it is best to listen to it live and as close as possible.
Another point I would like to mention is that this piece has a different concept from the previous one. In the previous work, there was a clear process of substituting the playing of chords from loud to soft, and thus the beginning and end of the music were clearly defined. However, in this piece using the harpsichord, I eliminated such a clear and close process, and aimed to create music with no clear beginning and end, as if I had cut out a part from an endless quietly series of chords.