Winner, Gaudeamus Prize 2011

I consider Départ dans… as an inquiry into how one can look at textiles; as a global, woven fabric, filled with changes of patterns, or as a collection of microscopic threads, complementing one another to create new colors. Thus the word textile evokes one of my key concerns in composing – the control of structure in various levels, from the note-to-note level to the overall form of the piece.The piece undergoes two main regions of opposing character on the surface level. I feel the word “region” is appropriate, as it does not necessarily force listeners to put themselves on a certain path of listening. As one can see textiles either globally or microscopically, listeners can also decide what element(s) of the piece to focus on, thereby discovering their own paths within the regions. Or the regions themselves become the paths.

Départ dans… was commissioned by the Takefu International Music Festival in Japan in 2010, and premiered in September of that year at the festival. I would like to thank Toshio Hosokawa, who had originally suggested and encouraged me to write a piece for the festival.