Tōru Takemitsu - And Then I Knew 'Twas Wind (1992) Score video

Performers: Robert Aitken (flute), Steven Dann (viola), Erica Goodman (harp).

Composed in 1992, this composition belongs to what Peter Burt distinguishes as the final period in Takemitsus creative output. His compositions in the 1990s develop and exaggerate the late style the composer reached during the late 1970s and 1980s. Here Takemitsu gives full rein to what he called ’Romanticism’: modernist techniques get relaxed, the music has emphasis on melos and has an unapologetically positive outlook in the ’sea of tonality’ that he developed in the 1980s. This particular piece ends with a clear Db triad. His musical language stabilizes and normalizes to the extent that pieces begin to resemble one another more and more. To add to this, they often share thematic materials or make allusions to other composers. Rather than each piece being a separate musical discourse, one could see how Takemitsu takes a new stroll in his musical „garden“, composed of the same basic repertory of musical paradigms. Particularly this composition is interrelated with „How Slow the Wind“ (1991) and „Archipelago S.“ (1994) with regard to thematic materials. Beyond themes of wind, water also thematically connects these compositions and so allusions to compositions from the „waterscape“ cycle of the 1980s can be heard. In particular the theme of „Rain Coming“ (1982) can be heard at 03:29, allusion to „Rain Spell“ (1982) at 06:10. The Es-E-A motif is scattered throughout and Takemitsu also includes a brief quotation from Debussy’s sonata for flute, viola and harp which served as a model for this composition at 01:31.

Regarding the tonal construction of this piece, Burt notes that late Takemitsu uses a semi-serial technique to generate harmonic materials. In „And Then I Knew ’Twas Wind“ the composer favors the ’6-20’ pitch collection, generating two hexachords: F-G#-A-C-C#-E and D#-F#-G-Bb-B-D. The first hexachord seems to serve as the main building block of the composition, since Takemitsu enjoys showing us as many permutations of this pitch collection as possible, while it’s chromatic complement is never heard fully, but is rather used as a resource from which to add varied harmonic color to the pitches of the first hexachord. Takemitsu thus successfully avoids the harmonic ’sameness’ that might otherwise result from the consistent use of the ’6-20’ collection (and which is such a conspicuous feature of certain dodecaphonic works by other composers constructed on the basis of that form); moreover his chosen method allows him such freedom that he is able to quote the Leitmotiv of „How Slow the Wind“ in parallel major thirds, and still remain faithful to his basic constructional premises (09:16).

Reference: Burt, Peter 2001. The Music of Toru Takemitsu. Cambridge University Press. Pp: 217-224.

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