Nature Boy

This is a fine representative disk of the music of Toru Takemitsu to compliment the other one I have. Titled I Hear The Water Dreaming, that is one of the featured works together with both parts of Toward The Sea and other pieces entitled Air, And Then I Knew 'Twas Wind and an arrangement of a piece by Satie, Le Fils des Etoiles. The performers are the BBC Symphony Orchetra conducted by Andrew Davies with extensive solos parts for Patrick Gallois on flute. Smaller solo contributions come from Goran Sollscher on guitar, Fabrice Pierre on harp and Pierre Henri Xuereb on viola. As the titles of the pieces would indicate, much of the inspiration for the music lies in nature and the weather. Takemitsu demonstrates the Japanese talent for miniaturism and understatement but the writing for flute also follows a direct line from the Debussy of Prelude L'Apres-Midi. The entire impression is one of calm and serenity. Soloist Gallois was inspired by Takemitsu to take up the wooden flute which somehow takes the sound closer to nature as well as evoking the Japanese bamboo flute or shakuhachi. The disk reflects Takemitsu's reverence for the workings and order of nature and for the concept of sound as a living thing.