Disklavier : Tomoki Akiyama
Electronics : Yuki Nakahashi

Inside for Disklavier and Electronics

« Kanawa »（鉄輪）for utai and string quartet (2023)

•Commission by Ensemble-no

•Performance by Ryoko Aoki, Tatsuki Narita, Ryosuke Suho, Kei Tojo and Ayano Kamimura

•Live recording in "Contemporary  Music × Noh Vol.10" 30/11/2023 at Tokyo Bunka Kaikan Small Hall in Tokyo, Japan

•View and buy the score
Coming soon on Naoki Sakata's online shop!

©︎Naoki Sakata

« Kanawa » for utai and string quartet (2023)

Granny’s Old Tale

composed in 2023

performed June 2025
read here: https://www.forrestmoody.net/sestina-thoughts

sestina

My residency at Künstler*dorf Schöppingen has been full of discoveries—both internal and external—and I truly feel I have met people and encountered ideas that will carry me for years to come. It began with artist presentations by Imane Zoubai and Sohorab Rabbey, both of which struck me like lightning. One of Imane’s slides featured her drawings. On a piece of weaving-pattern grid paper, she had meticulously drawn dots, and the way these dots formed grouping patterns created a sense of rhythm. Indeed, as Imane explained, her work is inextricably tied to the notion of music—a connection I, as a musician, deeply resonate with.

Imane also served us tea on several occasions, in the traditional Moroccan way. Sweetened green tea with mint, poured from a metal pot into glasses from a distance—creating foam on the surface of the tea—was always refreshing and calming. She explained that the foam helps protect the tea from desert sand.

My piece Tea Ceremony with Grains is a synthesis of these experiences. I studied Imane’s drawing closely and reinterpreted the patterns to create a score—something akin to the piano rolls used in player pianos. The information in the score triggers various aspects of a water-like soundscape. Part of it is a recording of Imane pouring tea from a distance into a glass; another part is digitally and artificially generated. To imitate the sound of tea being poured, the piece gradually transitions from one chord to another—a process that at times manifests as a change in brightness, and at other times as a perceivable harmonic shift.

I dedicate this electronic work to Imane Zoubai and to all the fellows and staff members I have come to know during my time at Künstler*dorf Schöppingen. I look forward to creating many more pieces like this in collaboration with the wonderful people I have met—even if we are far apart.


Inside for Disklavier and Electronics

Yuki Nakahashi

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