repetition/recollection

"Repetition and recollection are the same movement, except in opposite directions, for what is recollected has been, is repeated backward. Repetition, therefore, if it is possible makes a person happy, whereas recollection makes him unhappy-assuming of course, that he gives himself time to live and does not promptly at birth find an excuse to sneak out of life again, for example, that he has forgotten something. " - Soren Kierkegaard, from Repetition

When asked to write a piece for the 200th anniversary of the birth of Danish philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard, I began to delve deeply into his work. I came upon his book, Repetition, which insists that the way of 'repetition' is one of the most important key points in Kierkegaard's philosophy. Therefore, I decided to title the piece repetition/recollection, based on his philosophy.

I am usually not a big fan of 'repetition' in music, such as in compositions by Mozart, Beethoven, classical Viennese music, or even minimalistic music. Therefore, I generally avoid using repeats in my own compositions. However, I reconsidered and thought that this piece would be a good opportunity for me to explore the use of repetition, not in the sense of recurring note pattern, but in a deep structural and functional level. On the surface, one might think it is a very simple piece, but there are actually 5 to 6 layers of different length rhythmic patterns that forms the repetition and backbone of the composition.

Dai Fujikura (edited by Eriko Daimo)




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