Instrumentation
4(III+IV=picc).2.oboe d’amore.3.3 – 4331 – perc (5):mar/high.cym/med-high bamboo cluster/microtonal mark tree/5 Taiwan temple bowls (varying sizes) with marble/2 cym/mcas/high brass chimes/vib/large BD/spring coil/low cym/low tam-t/high glass chimes/high crot/med bamboo cluster/high tam-t – 2 harps – pno – electric organ – CD operator – strings (14.12.10.8.6)
Availability
Score for sale (HPOD1004)
Score and parts for hire
Programme Notes
Breathing, in one form or another, is behind all music. However distant, breathing always has a relationship to music. Yoga students use it to master the body, Buddhists to master the mind, and therapies of all sorts realise that one must step back from one's habitual ignoring of the act of breathing in order to become more deeply aware. When a large body of people breathe in synchrony the effect is ritualistic, whether it be sacred or a political demonstration. Neurologists are finding powerful neuronal synchrony in many human rites and social events.
80 Breaths for Tokyo is partly the result of the practice of Zen breathing, and partly the result of listening to slow music and enjoying its power over the mind and body. The orchestra somehow mirrors the infinitely variable, infinitely subtle and coloured ambiguity of breath.
Jonathan Harvey