Toru Takemitsu
Waterscape
RCA Red Seal (Japan) 1982
RCL-8342 (LP) w/obi, insert.
sleeve : EX-(some slightly stains.)
media : EX+/EX-(some slightly surface noises.)
This was featured in the guidebook OBSCURE SOUND REVISED EDITION. This masterpiece album, released in 1982, contains four pieces from a series on the theme of "water" that the late Toru Takemitsu, one of Japan's greatest world-class composers, was working on from the 1970s to the 1980s. Percussionist Midori Takada, a member of the Mukwaju Ensemble and known for her solo album "The Other Side of the Mirror," participates in this album. It is a counterpart to "Tashi Plays Takemitsu" recorded in New York a few years before this album. Side A is a piece for string quartet, flute/harp/marimba and percussion, and side B is a piece for three percussionists, alto flute and guitar. Suite is included. Of particular note are the two pieces on side B. B1 is the world of clear sound by marimbas, vibraphones, and tibetan bells played by Jun Sugawara, Yasunori Yamaguchi, and Midori Takada echo wetly like drops of water dripping from trees; B2, a piece with the soft melody of wood flute played by Hiroshi Koizumi and gut bells played by Norio Sato. Both are wonderful to listen to in ambient mode.
B1: Rain Tree
B2: Toward the Sea