Obscure Vibrations
What would happen if people from the fourth millennium unearthed and restored our musical instruments of today and composed an entirely new genre of music with them? It would probably sound pretty strange. This sort of sound experiment is exactly what Japanese avant-garde composer Toshi Ichiyanagi has done with his Ensemble Origin.
Ichiyanagi had ancient Silk Road instruments from China and Japan reconstructed and expertly replicated to use in his new compositions, which can be heard at Carnegie Hall this week. The mission of Ensemble Origin, the team of musicians playing these instruments, is to express the emotional ties among the people of these Asian countries and regions, and to explore their enduring yearning for peace, and to share this art and message with the world, according to promotional materials. And it certainly takes a musician committed to the theoretical and intellectual.
The Shinnyo-En Chorus of Japan joins the Ensemble Origin to perform shomyo, a type of religious chanting of Buddhist teachings that has existed in Japan for the past 1,200 years since being imported from the Chinese Tang Dynasty in the ninth century.
Ichiyanagi says he hopes his audience hears the transparent and straight quality of the music and its ability to reveal various elements of contemporary life.
My intention is to look back at the origins of traditional music and to write music from todays view point to overcome its bounds, said Ichiyanagi. In 1961, The New York Times described Ichiyanagis collaboration with Yoko Ono (his wife at the time), as far out further out than Americans. To my trained ear, its still pretty far out and not easily accessible. At times, the minimalist vibrations caused my own thoughts to echo in my head, but I persevered for more than 80 minutes trying to understand Ichiyanagis musical concepts.
His book, An Ancient Resonance in Contemporary Music, explains in detail the conceptual and philosophical tenets of his project. But it might still take a degree in musicology to sit through a performanceor a serious need to impress your music geek friends. For those willing to put in the time to understand the obscure sounds, there will be a symposium presented at Casa Italiana (117th St. & Amsterdam Ave.) on March 13 by Columbia Universitys Institute for Medieval Japanese Studies and The Donald Keene Center of Japanese Culture called Ancient Soundscapes: New Echoes, A Symposium and Musicale. See, I told you this wasnt for the faint of heart.
March 14-15, Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall, 57th St. & 7th Ave., 212-247-7800; Fri. 7:30; Sat. 2 & 7:30, $15-$45.