What used to be one is now two, three. Something that exists only here, and something that no longer exists here. A duo of violin and flute, improvisation and multi recording based on "Ave Maria"... In the spring of 2021, two people who have been here and now will open their music.

◆Tomas Luis de Victoria / AVE MARIA - About our film

This album is dedicated to the most famous Spanish polyphonist of the Renaissance, Tomás Luis de Victoria (Avila, 1548 - Madrid, 1611). It is based on the Ave Maria composed by the most famous Spanish polyphonist of the Renaissance, Tomás Luis de Victoria (Avila, 1548 - Madrid, 1611).

The four-part Ave Maria is one of Victoria's most frequently performed works, but there are many theories as to its origins: some say it is the work of the 19th-century German composer Carl Proske, others that it may be Victoria's own work. It seems that musicologists still have no answer.

Regardless of the origin of the work, it is clear that the two musicians chose "Ave Maria" because of the theme of the auditorium: 'Hiraku(open)'. As you can see in the interview (1), this album is made in a way that Imai and Kato's 'Hiraku(opening)' is decoded into music throughout.

-Hiraku(open) from the music of the ancient times to the music of the present time

-'Hiraku(open)' as three textures: monophony, polyphony and homophony.

-'Hiraku(0pen)' as three textures - monophony, polyphony and homophony

-'Hiraku(opening up)' in times of pandemic

Track I. Ave Maria - Improvisation" is a "monophony": the unison of the Ave Maria of the Goregorian chant at the beginning of the Ave Maria, the improvisation of one person at a time (flute to violin), and then the return to the unison of the Ave Maria. Monophony is a form of monophonic music in which a single voice is sung in unison by several people, while polyphony and homophony are synonyms for monophony.

Track II. Telemann: Canon Sonata No. 4 in D minor" and "Track III. Improvisation Canon" are polyphonic, that is, music made up of several independent voices. Polyphony is a style in which several independent voices move in different rhythmic and vocal directions. Polyphony is a form of music in which independent voices move in different rhythmic and vocal directions, and in which all voices are treated as equals. See below for a detailed description of Telemann's canon-like sonata.

Track IV. Improvisation for Ave Maria" consists of tape music and multiple recordings of improvisations by the two players. Firstly, the two voices of "Ave Maria" are extracted and recorded as a loop with a distorted sense of time, space and tonality. This was then layered on top of a tape of harmonies with various effects and improvisations by the two musicians to create "homophony". Homophony is a style in which multiple voices harmonise around a single melody.


◆Georg Philipp Telemann / Canonic Sonata no. 4 in D Minor TWV 40: 121: I. Vivace ma moderato


Georg Philipp Telemann (14 March 1681, Magdeburg - 25 June 1767, Hamburg) was a popular and celebrated composer in 18th-century Europe who was willing to forge new paths, from the counterpoint-heavy works of the late Baroque period to new experiments in the classical style with an eye to homophony. He was also one of the most prolific composers in history. He was also one of the most prolific composers in history, with some 3,700 works, ranging from church music to music for citizens.

Telemann's style was inspired by the Italian, French and mixed styles prevalent in Europe at the time, as well as by the Slavic, Sturm und Drang and Gallant styles he learned in Poland. He also composed a collection of music for banquets called Tafel Musik (Music for the Table), and wrote simple works for the enjoyment of connoisseurs and published them for easy access, which was unusual for a composer of his time.

Although his exceptional talent was recognised from an early age, his mother wanted him to pursue a career rather than become a musician, and Telemann followed her wishes by studying law at the University of Leipzig. Telemann continued to study music on his own and corresponded frequently with Handel, who had moved to England. What did the correspondence between the great young composers reveal?

At the age of 20, Telemann founded the Collegium Musicum, an association of music lovers, and gave the first performance of his own opera, which was a great success and paved the way for his career as a musician. 1704 saw him appointed Kapellmeister at the court of Zorau in Poland; 1708 saw him appointed Kapellmeister at Eisenach; and 1712 saw him appointed Kapellmeister at Frankfurt am Main. In 1721 he moved to Hamburg, where he would spend the rest of his life, and became music director of the city and cantor of the prestigious Johannum Academy.

The present work was composed during a trip to Paris (1737-1738) at the urging of French musicians who had been inspired by his 1730 quartet Quadri (1730 Hamburg). Telemann obtained a royal licence to print and sell the work in Paris, valid for 20 years, and published the Six Canonical Sonatas in which it appears and the famous Paris Quartet 1738 (Nouveaux quatuors en six suites) by Boivin, Le Clerc, Paris.

At the time, the "Concert Spirituel" series of concerts at the Tuileries Palace (1725-1791) was very popular in Paris, with Michel Bravet on flute and Jean-Marie Leclerc on violin. The "Paris Quartet" was written to be performed with them at the Concert Spirituel. It may have been Telemann's intention to make his music accessible to Parisian musicians and lovers.

All the movements are written in two-voice canon, with two flutes, two violins or two viola da gambas. It is a beautiful collection in three movements (fast, slow and rapid). During his eight-month stay in Paris, he was able to experience the French style, which until then he had only known in musical notation, and to preserve it in sound. This is the music that the 57-year-old Telemann, who had been sailing on his own, dreamed of making in Paris. In this work, we can feel the love for music that can be called compassion.

(Commentary: Takako Imai)

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)