w15138
| Title | Symphonies of Stone and Water, Op 45 |
| Contributors |
John McLeod (composer) |
| Composition date | 2000 |
| Duration (mins) | 0 |
| Category | chamber ensemble |
| Instrumentation | Pf 3 Sax 3 Tpt 3 Trb Perc |
| Commissioned by | Edinburgh Contemporary Arts Trust( ECAT) with support from the SAC |
| Key signature | |
| First line | |
| First performed | |
| Notes | To Ananda Sukarlan. |
| Programme Note | The inspiration and ideas for this work came from visiting Japanese gardens in the Far East and from reading an article in The Independent whilst starting to compose the work. Water and stone feature strongly in Japanese gardens. They provide both contrast and balance and whereas stone represents the enduring and unchanging (the 'yo'), water is its balance, and represents the constantly changing (the 'in'). The idea of 'in' and 'yo' is better known by its Chinese counterparts, 'yin' and 'yang' and is central to oriental art and thought. It postulates that everything is balanced, and completed, by its opposite - night by day, strength by frailty, masculine by feminine. This division is also present in music - harmony is balanced by counterpoint, concord by discord, loud by soft, fast by slow and so on. In the garden, unity is achieved by the balancing of opposites. Solid forms are balanced with empty spaces, vertical forms with horizontal movement, dark with light. Traditional Japanese water features are always naturalistic and irregular in shape. 'In' and 'yo' are achieved by use of still water in the form of reflective pools and moving water in the form of winding streams. The selection of each rock is crucial. Every stone is unique and its shape, texture, and colour reveal its essence, mood and inner spirit. To aid selection, rocks were categorised into five main shapes. Tall, monolithic 'body' stones would be used for dramatic effect, and usually placed at the back of a group. Low, vertical 'soul' stones were placed towards the front of the group. Flat-topped horizontal 'mind and body' stones were used to harmonise the rest. 'Arching' stones were placed to one side of the group near the front, and the 'reclining' stone, roughly the shape of a human figure lying on its side, was placed in the foreground. |
This work is associated with the following collection items:
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