Farbenlehre

The title ”Farbenlehre” is taken from Goethe's book and means color science. Color means timbre, in Japanese, timbre is said to be ”Ne-Iro”, where ”Ne” means sound and ”Iro” means color. For me, music is about the transition of various timbres in diverse relationships with each other, forming a temporal structure. Therefore, not only an individual timbre itself but also the spatial relationship between timbres is important. This may differ from the modern Western musical method of statement. My compositions do not focus on abstract structures such as thematic statements or developments. When I compose, I immerse myself in placing the various timbres in their best positions. This action is concrete, individual, and therefore interesting for me.

By the way, there is probably no phenomenon more subjective than the feeling of color. When I perceive a certain color, I can never say that another person next to me perceives it in the same way. I cannot share my particular sense of color with another person. The reverse is also true. And it is completely impossible for me to communicate the perspective with which I perceive the world. But I have learned an original and wonderful sense of timbre and perspective from the great music of the past. For example, J.S.Bach's perspective is unparalleled, Mozart's timbres are truly miraculous, The mixed timbre of Schumann's skillful modulation took me to another unknown world instantly, and Ravel's timbre and sound arrangements remind me of a perfectly drawn astronomical chart. These composers may have been unintended, but they certainly moved me.

 I try to express my sense of timbre and perspective in my composition. The timbres I desired were not always reproduced in the actual performance. But this was never a disillusionment. It would be ideal if a real performance could realize a landscape with a colored perspective, even if it is not expected, like another reality that can compete with this reality. A score is a Platonic Idea, which may not be completely realized. 

This piece was premiered in "Sofia Symphonic Summitt 2022", conducted by Chikako Iversen, performed by Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra on July 2022 at Bulgaria Hall, Sofia.