Toru Takemitsu
Waterscape
RCA Red Seal (Japan) 1982
RCL-8342 (LP) OBI, insert
sleeve : EX+ (very slight fading);
media : EX/EX (some areas with slight surface noise)
Featured in the guidebook "OBSCURE SOUND REVISED EDITION." This masterpiece album, released in 1982, contains four pieces from the "water" themed series that the late Toru Takemitsu, a great composer that Japan boasts to the world, worked on from the 1970s to the 1980s. Midori Takada, a percussionist known for her solo album "Through the Looking Glass" and a member of the Mkwaju Ensemble, participated in this work. It is a companion piece to "Tashi Plays Takemitsu," recorded in New York a few years prior to this album. Side A includes works for string quartet, flute/harp/marimba, and percussion, while side B includes works for three percussionists and a suite for alto flute and guitar. Of particular note are the two pieces on side B: B1, a clear sound world where marimba/vibraphone/Tibetan bells played by Jun Sugawara, Yasunori Yamaguchi, and Midori Takada echo wetly like raindrops falling from trees, and B2, where the gentle melody of Ko Izumi's wood flute and the lyrical melody of Norio Sato's gut guitar create a gentle ambiance. Both are wonderful and can be enjoyed in ambient mode.
B1: Rain Tree
B2: Toward the Sea