A Combination of Japanese Traditional Aesthetics and Western Music: Toru Takemitsu's Rain Tree Sketch and Rain Tree Sketch II

Abstract

The music of Toru Takemitsu (1930 – 1996) is often described as an integration of Japanese traditions and Western music. He learned the works of various composers from the West, such as Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern, John Cage, and most significantly Claude Debussy and Oliver Messiaen, who influenced his use of colorful timbre, sense of time, and the use of modes. Additionally, he studied the unique aspects of sound, silence, and forces of nature from Japanese traditional music. Rain Tree Sketch (1982) and Rain Tree Sketch II (1992) belong to Takemitsu’s nature works, specifically to his “waterscape” series. The Rain Tree Sketches integrate techniques of Western music such as regular and irregular rhythmic gesture, motives and pitch collections, and a simple ternary form with the silence effects of Japanese music. The purpose of this study is to examine how Takemitsu combined Japanese traditional aesthetics and Western music in his piano music. This study contains Takemitsu’s biographical information, solo piano music, and the influences of Japan and the West, especially Messiaen in Rain Tree Sketch and Rain Tree Sketch II.