All sound materials used in Karita oto were recorded on a field trip to Tokyo (Japan) in November 2008. These sounds all have an instrumental origin, many of which are considered to be traditional and typical of Japanese heritage and culture. Amongst these there are sound recordings of ancient and rare instrument specimens contained within the Kunitachi College of Music Museum archive.

Karita oto brings together concepts of cultural borrowing and compositional strategies developed from Denis Smalley’s spectromorphology. Five characteristic paths, belonging to Smalley’s theoretical writing, inform the use of space in this piece. In particular the words — approach, departure, crossing, rotation, and wondering — were useful in informing the trajectories, placement and organization of materials, while the episodic form was inspired by the extremes Japan has to offer from the dense activity of the city, to the tranquility of the Zen meditation gardens that co-exist, side by side.

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Karita oto was realized in 2009 at the Electroacoustic Music Studios of The University of Manchester (UK) and premiered on October 31, 2009 during the MANTIS Festival at The University of Manchester (UK). Thanks to Takayuki Rai, Shintaro Imai, Kunitachi College of Music, and the Shindo family. Karita oto was pre-selected in the 3rd Destellos Electroacoustic Composition Competition (Mar del Plata, Argentina, 2010).

Premiere

• October 31, 2009, MANTIS Fall Festival 2009: MANTIS Composers, Cosmo Rodewald Concert Hall — Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama — The University of Manchester, Manchester (England, UK)