TEN

by Juha T. Koskinen

for soprano and 5 musicians

Description

TEN (転) for soprano and five musicians.

Commissioned by Ensemble H[akka] from Hiroshima.

My composition TEN is based on a mantra related to Esoteric Buddhism. We live in a world where the basic conditions of our life are in danger. The ecological catastrophe is not any more a dystopia but in parts visible in our everyday reality. As a composer I have to ask myself seriously: after all, what kind of music do we need in such a critical situation?

TEN is a contemporary prayer, a dialogue between different cultures, between various philosophies of life.

In a similar way as in a Noh drama the taiko drum announces the presence of a deity or a demon, also in TEN it appears as a sign of a decisive turning point. The declamatory passage (mezza voce) for the soprano, which follows the rhythmic pattern of the drum without uttering the words, came originally from a quotation of Shakespeare's Macbeth (Act I Scene III):

If you can look into the seeds of time

And say which grain will grow and which will not,

Speak then to me, who neither beg nor fear

Your favours nor your hate.

Juha T. Koskinen, Berlin, October 13th 2019

Instrumentation

sopr, fl, bcl, trp, perc, pno

Category

Chamber Works

Lyricist

Buddhalocana mantra

Premiere

Ensemble [H]akka, October 27, 2019, Hiroshima, Japan

Commisioned by / dedications

Written for Ensemble H[akka]

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Archive number

MF33538

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