Although the chief attraction of this disc will undoubtedly be the two rarely heard scores by Takemitsu, the main fare is provided by two substantial works by lesser-known Japanese composers. Atsutada Otaka (Tadaaki Otaka’s elder brother) studied with Durufle in Paris for several years, and there is certainly a predominantly French aura emanating from his substantial Fantasy for Organ and Orchestra. The influence of both Durufle and Messiaen are never far below the surface, but there is a distinctive voice at work here as well. As the title suggests, the work is brimming with colour and imagination, both in the orchestral textures and in the adventurous use of organ voicings, and there are some impressive climactic passages that will give even the best of hi-fi systems a workout. The solo organ part is delivered with great panache by Bryan Ashley.
The music for the television drama Nami no Bon reminds us that Takemitsu possessed several strings to his creative bow. It also reminds us that he applied the same meticulous craftsmanship to whatever project he was involved in, and the result here is a series of beautifully scored, subtly understated episodes full of haunting lyricism. The music Takemitsu composed for Akira Kurosawa’s (1985) film Ran is altogether darker and more sombre in tone. Whilst certainly different in style from his concert music, these four movements make an effective and engaging suite in their own right.
Takemitsu would surely have admired Toshio Hosokawa’s Memory of the Sea, ‘Hiroshima Symphony’, particularly for its subtle, beautifully deployed orchestral writing and acutely felt realisation of nature and the elements. The work is a homage to nature and to its ability to recover and reassert itself even after the worst that humankind can inflict on it. It is a work that reveals more to the listener with each hearing, and I shall be keen to hear more from this composer in future.
The performances by the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra are committed throughout, and the recorded sound has been vividly captured by Mike Hatch and his team