Combining analytic perspectives in Toru Takemitsu's Rain Tree Sketch II

Abstract

Utilizing multiple methodologies for analyzing music contributes to an informed performance. I have termed this approach collaborative music theory and believe it can be used for analysis in a wide variety of music. To illustrate the effectiveness of collaborative music theory, I have chosen a work composed by Toru Takemitsu, one of his later pieces for solo piano titled Rain Tree Sketch II, which was informed by multiple theories of composition. Takemitsu claimed that two books about music theory influenced his life and were among the best books of the twentieth century: The Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization by jazz artist George Russell, and The Technique of My Musical Language by composer Olivier Messiaen. Additionally, Takemitsu wrote many essays on music, the majority of which are in the book Confronting Silence and focus on philosophical aspects of art, music, and theatre. In this thesis, I take these works by Russell, Messiaen, and Takemitsu, as well as other scholarship into consideration while analyzing Rain Tree Sketch II. By drawing on Russell's, Messiaen's, and Takemitsu's perspectives, I provide a nuanced analysis of the piece and demonstrate how it can influence performance.