Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Date: 26-May-2010
6/6/2010 541
Interpretation of Extended Techniques in Unaccompanied Flute Works by East-
Asian Composers: Isang Yun, Toru Takemitsu, and Kazuo Fukushima
by
18 May 2007
sonorities and effects on the flute and have been an important compositional staple of Avant-
garde composers in the twentieth century. While many of these techniques developed
exclusively within the Western tradition, many others derived from influence of non-Western
flute traditions. Three East-Asian composers, Isang Yun (1917–1995), Toru Takemitsu
(1930–1996), and Kazuo Fukushima (b.1930), contributed to this performance practice style
by drawing from the flute traditions of their cultures. By focusing on the unaccompanied solo
flute works of these three composers, this document will demonstrate many of the important
applications of extended flute techniques in the twentieth century present their East-Asian
ii
Copyright k 2010 by Seon Hee Jang
All rights reserved
iii
Acknowledgments
I would like to gratefully acknowledge the support of my committee, friends, and family
throughout this project. My advisor and flute teacher, Bradley Garner, D.M.A., has supported
my entire musical life in Cincinnati. His creative and flexible approach enabled me to go
beyond my initial expectations of this research and numerous hours of flute study with him
and his advice were essential to my life. The members of my document committee, Jeongwon
Joe, Ph.D., and Sandra Rivers, M.S., made suggestions that were central to the whole process
and their insightful comments were essential to my final version. Many thanks go to Myung-
Ja Moon, and Jae-Yu Paeng. Without their endless love and support I would not have made it
through my life. My colleague and friend, Ellis Anderson, contributed countless hours of
editing and revising the whole process. His help and consistent support were essential to this
final version. I express my deepest gratitude to Ki-Jong Soh, for his undying support, love,
and faith in me. Last, but not least, I thank my parents, Yong-Geun Jang and Hye-Ja Cho, and
my grandmother, Soon-Ae Moon who taught me to strive for excellence, for supporting
everything throughout my life. Without their endless love and support, I would not have as
iv
Table of Contents
List of figures 2
Introduction 5
Chapter II. Yun, Takemitsu, and Fukishima and the Influence of East-Asian Flutes 30
Chapter III. Extended Techniques in the Solo Flute Works of Isang Yun 42
z Performance Guideline for Etudes 51
z Performance Guideline for Salomo 54
z Performance Guideline for Sori 56
z Performance Guideline for Chinesische Bilder 59
Chapter IV. Extended Techniques in the Solo Flute Works of Toru Takemitsu 60
z Performance Guideline for Voice 65
z Performance Guideline for Itinerant 69
z Performance Guideline for Air 72
Conclusion 82
Bibliography 83
List of figures
Ex.1-1. Vibrato notations from Isang Yun’s Images für Flöte, oboe,violin und violoncello 11
Ex.1-2. Takemitsu’s vibrato notation and his Air for flute, mm.48–50 12
2
Ex.19. Tungso 37
Ex.21. Shakuhachi 41
Ex.22-2. Seo Yong-seok ryu Daegŭm sanjo, Jinyangjo movement (modern notation) 44
3
Ex.38. Chinesische Bilder, first mvt. mm.51–55 57
4
Introduction
The history of the flute is rich with developments in the instrument itself and in
techniques used in performance of it. The modern flute was developed by Theobald Boehm
(1794–1881), who in 1847 replaced the conical bore with a cylindrical tube, re-created the
embouchure hole, and added keys by using longitudinal rod-axels, among other advancements.
While the structure and mechanism of the flute has not significantly changed since Beohm’s day,
twentieth-century composers and performers have explored many different ways to produce
sound with the flute, including pitch bending, microtones, double tremolos, key click,
multiphonics, whisper tones, and many others. Flutists use the term, extended techniques, to refer
Extended techniques for the flute are noticeable in the works of many early twentieth-
century western composers, such as Varèse, Richard Strauss, Berio, and Messiaen. Since 1950,
prominent Asian composers have also contributed many pieces exploiting these techniques and
creating new ones. The Korean-German composer, Isang Yun (1917–1995), and the Japanese
composers, Toru Takemitsu (1930–1996) and Kazuo Fukushima (b.1930), all won international
compositions. In their music, these composers drew heavily from the performance practices of
the traditional flutes of their respective countries. Yun incorporated techniques of the traditional
Korean transverse flute, Daegŭm and the vertical flute, Tungso in his pieces for Western flute.
5
Likewise, pieces by Takemitsu and Fukushima demonstrate the influence of Japanese transverse
flutes, the Shinobue, Nohkan, and Ryūtecki, and the vertical flute, Shakuhachi. As a result of
drawing from these traditions, these three composers contributed to avant-garde flute playing and
undoubtedly their music is now recognized as good examples for tracing extended flute
techniques. This document will add to the literature on extended technique as well as contribute
to the understanding of the music of Yun, Takemitsu, and Fukushima. It comes from the premise
that a large degree of the extended flute techniques appeared as a result of composers drawing
from non-Western flute traditions. I will use the unaccompanied works of these composers to
The first two chapters present background information and context for the remaining
chapters which will analyze specific pieces of Yun, Takemitsu, and Fukushima. I explain the
history and development of extended techniques in chapter one with an examination of the
general characteristics of each feature and a corresponding musical example that will greatly aid
the reader’s understanding of the possibilities available to composers and performers. Chapter
two focuses on the Eastern influence in the music of the three composers, especially in terms of
the traditional flutes, and how this influence contributes to the list of extended techniques. The
remaining chapters are devoted to detailed analyses of the extended techniques in the ten
published unaccompanied flute works of these three composers. Yun wrote four pieces for
unaccompanied solo flute: Etudes (1974), Salomo (1978), Sori (1988), and Chinesische Bilder
(Chinese Pictures, 1993), a work originally for recorder. Takemitsu composed three
unaccompanied solo flute works: Voice (1971), Itinerant (Meguri) - In Memory of Isamu
Noguchi (1989), and Air (1995). Fukushima’s three unaccompanied solo flute works are
6
Requiem (1956), Mei (1962), and Shun–san (A Hymn to Spring) (1969). For each piece, a
7
Chapter I
During the twentieth century, the performance and compositional expectations for the
flute expanded well beyond those of the previous century. Because of the rising independence of
the flute as a solo instrument and a new compositional emphasis on atonality, the use of complex
rhythms, the liberation of dissonance, and an expanded sense of musical sound, the twentieth
century marks a significant break with the past. One manifestation of these changes was the
creation, usage, and acceptance of extended techniques: techniques not previously used as a
compositional resource. These techniques can be viewed as an expansion of the existing ways to
play the flute and include, among other sounds and procedures, flutter tonguing, key clicks,
singing while playing, and multiphonics. Though a handful of extended techniques did exist in
the nineteenth century, it was not until the twentieth century that they were used extensively in
compositions. To understand the atmosphere in which extended techniques flourished, one must
recognize the significant nineteenth-century precursors. The Boehm flute, patented in 1847,
allowed for new technical freedom and a standardization which was not known up to that point.
Late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century orchestration utilized this flute in interesting and
important ways as is the case with the opening flute solo in Prelude to “The Afternoon of a Faun
(1894)” by Claude Debussy (1862–1918). While drawing from tradition, the twentieth-century
8
push for experimental sounds resulted in the development of avant-garde techniques for the flute,
and the instrument’s versatility made it a focus of early twentieth- century composers.
Many composers contributed to the expansion of flute technique in the twentieth century.
In his piece, Density 21.5 (1936), considered to be the first work that explicitly demands a
specific extended technique, Edgard Varèse (1883–1965) called for the performer to obtain a
percussive effect by slapping the keys of the flute.1 Likewise, Luciano Berio (1925–2003) in
Sequenza for solo flute (1958), another landmark in the flute repertoire, included various
extended techniques such as double stops, key clicks, multiphonics, and prolonged flutter-
tonguing. Several significant performers like the Italian flutist Severino Gazzeloni (1919–1992)
popularized extended techniques as they played and championed the works of contemporary
composers. Books, articles, and pedagogical studies were published to explain and provide
instructions in how to realize these effects. Bruno Bartolozzi (1911–1980)’s New Sounds for
Woodwinds (1967) is filled with extended techniques and tonal possibilities that excited many
composers.2 The best of these, no doubt, were written by individuals who both composed and
played the flute. Flutists such as Aurèle Nicolet (b.1926) and Robert Dick (b.1950) not only
utilized the techniques, but also created challenging new literature encouraging the performer to
become more proficient in this developing field. Nicolet provided the first collections of
extended technique etudes, “Pro Musica Nova: Studies for playing Avant-Garde Music,” which
introduces flutists to each technique through a designated musical exercise. Dick’s two
1
Alejandro Sanchez–Escuer, “The Interpretation of Selected Extended Techniques in Flute solo
compositions by Mexican composers: An analysis and performance recommendations,” Ph.D. diss., (New York
University, 1995). 3; and Ardal Powell, The Flute. (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2002), 272.
2
Christina Jennings, “Exploring Takemitsu’s Voice,” Flute Talk 19, no.8 (April 2000): 11; Akiko Shimada,
“Cross-Cultural Music: Japanese Flutes and their Influence on Western Flute Music,” The Flutist Quarterly 34, no.2
(winter 2009): 26; and Powell, The Flute, 273.
9
pedagogical studies, “The Other Flute: A Performance Manual of Contemporary Techniques,”
and “Tone Development through Extended Techniques,” analyze existing effects for the flutist,
noting specific embouchure placement, fingering possibilities, and air speed considerations. The
modern university trained flutist must learn extended techniques to play twentieth-century music,
but some maintain that these skills improve the player overall. According to Jill Felber:
Besides gaining the skills to perform new music, the flutist may find working with new
sonorities and techniques to be beneficial to his/her traditional playing. Practicing these
techniques can develop a greater control of the embouchure, a wider range of dynamics,
and a variety of timbres.3
There are many different effects that can be created on the modern flute, but they are
grouped into five basic categorizations: modification of timbre, percussive effects, multiple
sonorities, articulation, and pitch variance. Each of these will be explained in turn.
Modifications of Timbre
There are seven types of extended technique that are in some way or other modifications
of timbre. Vibrato/breathy trill, dynamics, and harmonics are all changes in timbre inherited from
nineteenth-century performance practices that were expanded in the twentieth century. Among
these, dynamics are the most basic with modern composers simply using ppp or fff to broaden
contrasts even more than before. Whistle (whisper) tones/residual tones, hollow tones/wind
tones/bamboo tones, jet whistle, and special fingerings were new ways in the twentieth century
3
Jill Felber, “The Avant Garde Flute Manual,” (M.M. thesis, Bowling Green State University, 1982),
quoted in Rebeca Rae Meador, “A History of Extended Flute Techniques and a Examination of Their Potential as a
Teaching Tool,” D.M.A. thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2001. 49.
10
Vibrato and the breathy trill are both very important in twentieth-century flute literature.
Vibrato is produced by varying the speed of the airstream in regular pulsations, and it is the
lyric vocal vibrato that provides the inspiration and model for a good flute vibrato.4 A good
vibrato may be defined as a regular pulsation added to the basic tone of the flute, involving
changes in pitch, in intensity (loudness), or in a combination of pitch and intensity. If the rate is
too slow, the tone will have a laborious, heavy, or sluggish effect. If the rate is too fast, the
effect will be lost completely and it will approach the sound of a nanny-goat vibrato.5 Just as in
singing, vibrato is taught and developed from early on and is used constantly in normal playing
because it not only provides for a better tonal quality, but also creates intensity and gives
direction to the musical line.6 However, it can also be specifically notated as a special effect. In
the twentieth century, composers often explore sounds without vibrato or an extremely wide
vibrato, both of which would have been unusual in the nineteenth century and before. These
effects are sometimes notated with a wavy line, but perhaps more common is with a series of
abbreviations:
Ex. 1-1 vibrato notations from Isang Yun’s Images für Flöte, oboe, violin und
violoncello.7
n.v. = non vibrato
p.v. = poco vibrato
v. = vibrato
m.v. = molto vibrato
v.p.c. = vibrato poco a poco crescent
4
Thomas E. Rainey, Jr., The Flute Manual: A Comprehensive Text and Resource Book for Both the
Teacher and the Student. (New York: University Press of America, 1985), 116–18; and Michel Debost, The Simple
Flute: From A to Z. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), 260–261.
5
Frederick W. Westphal, Guide to Teaching Woodwinds. 5th ed. (CA: Wm.C. Brown Publishers,1990),
279; and Bradley A. Garner, Flute Facts: Guidelines to Better Flute Playing. (Cincinnati: University of Cincinnati
Press, 2004), 3.
6
Rainey, Jr., The Flute Manual, 115.
7
Kyo-chul Chung and Sook-young Lee, “Study on the 20th century’s Modern Techniques of Flute II:
Focusing on Isang Yun’s works.” Journal of the Musicological Society of Korea 11, no.9–2 (May 2006), 131.
11
Ex.1-2 Toru Takemitsu’s vibrato notation and his Air for flute. mm.48ದ50.8
The breathy trill is similar to vibrato but it is applied mainly to resemble East-Asian flute sounds
such as the half-closed key sound in Daegŭm or Tungso. It is produced by breathing fast or slow,
big or small, to create a bend or curve in the note, and it is notated either with the word “Breathy”
Flutists must be able to vary the width and the speed of vibrato depending on the style of the
music being performed. It is also important that the vibrato can be turned off when it is not
needed. The effective use of vibrato flexibility will go far in broadening the limit of musicianship
and artistry. Further, East-Asian flutes make a vibrato with lip and moving head or jaw vibrato,
and avant-garde composers such as the ones in this study, Isang Yun, Toru Takemitsu, and
Kazuo Fukushima use these effects from Asian traditions in their compositions for the Western
flute.
Harmonics, also referred to as the overtone or harmonic series, are a series of notes
produced from one basic tone. Harmonics are produced on the flute by fingering one note and
manipulating the embouchure to produce higher pitches corresponding to the harmonic series.
Specifically, the flutist must decrease the size of the aperture in the lips, increase the intensity of
8
Toru Takemitsu, Air for flute. (Tokyo: Schott Japan, 1996). Score. 2, 4.
12
the air stream, and alter the direction of the air flow as the increasingly higher overtones are
achieved. Harmonics are the simplest of all ways to vary the flute’s tone quality, and many
teachers recommend the regular practice of harmonics as a means of developing flexibility and
control of the embouchure.9 Natural harmonics in the flute are best achieved by over-blowing
regular fingerings from low B3 to D#5.10 For instance, if low C4 is overblown, the following
Fundamental note: C4
Harmonics: C5 – G5 – C6 – E6 – G6 – Bb6 – C7
The use of the pure sound of a true harmonic in flute literature began in the early twentieth
century, and harmonics have become an essential part of the advanced flutist’s technical
facility.11 Contemporary composers have more and more frequently used harmonics on the flute
to create a special color. They have long called for the bright, distant effect of these harmonics
and have used them for echo effects or extremely soft fade-outs on high notes. Typically notated
with a small circle above the note head to indicate that it is played as a harmonic, it will
sometimes appear as just the note that sounds or together with the fundamental note from which
the harmonic is produced.12 For playing harmonics, the flutist should always keep the fingering
of the lowest fundamental note. He or she will play the higher note like they would do when
playing them with a normal fingering and change only the embouchure. One particular passage is
the “Allegretto” movement in Isang Yun’s Etudes for solo flutes. Here, several harmonics are
9
Westphal, Guide to Teaching Woodwinds, 39.
10
Robert Dick, The Other Flute. (St. Louis: Multiple Breath Music Company, 1989), 9.
11
Westphal, Guide to Teaching Woodwinds, 39.
12
Ibid., 40; and Rainey, Jr., The Flute Manual, 108.
13
alternated with regular fingerings in wide interval succession to create a decrescendo effect. Yun
uses the standard notation of a small circle above the note head.
Ex.2 Isang Yun’s Etudes for solo flutes. Allegretto. mm. 68–70.13
If vibrato, dynamics, and harmonics are all timbre modifications inherited from
nineteenth-century flute technique, there are several others developed in the twentieth century.
Whistle tones and residual tones are very similar. Whistle tones, which are also called whisper
tones, are individual partials of notes, which are high pure tones.14 They can be produced with
every fingering, and depending on the fingering, anywhere from five to fourteen whisper tones
can be sounded by forming a very relaxed lip tension, narrow lip opening, relaxed embouchure
and blowing as gently as possible directly into the embouchure hole to create the whistle sound.15
As the angle of the air stream is raised, progressively higher whistle tones will sound.16 Whistle
tones are soft sounds similar to high-pitched wind chimes that can improve intonation at ends of
phrases, tone quality in the third octave, increase dynamic contrast, support pianissimo passages,
13
Isang Yun, Etüden für flöte solo. (Berlin: Bote & Bock, 1975). Score. 19.
14
Michael Jerome Davis, “Creative Strategies for Teaching Extended Flute Techniques: A Pedagogical
Approach with a Performance and Analysis of an Original Work, Dream Weaving for Flute and Tape,” Ed.D. diss.
(Columbia University Teachers College, 1993). 165; and Dick, The Other Flute, 140.
15
Dick, The Other Flute, 140; Becky Glover, “Whistle Tones,” Flute Talk 17, no.8 (April 1998): 20;
Sandy Schwoebel, “Warming Up With Whistle Tones,” Flute Talk 20, no.6 (Februar 2001):16; Nora Lee Garcia,
“On Whistle Tones and Articulation: An Interview with Bernard Goldberg,” Flute Talk 16, no.7 (March 1997): 9;
and Powell, The Flute, 272.
16
Dick, The other Flute, 140.
14
and make awkward intervals smoother.17 According to Robert Dick, he plays whisper tones
“because they are incredibly beautiful and have an absolutely magical effect in concert.”18 The
similar residual tone is a noise-like resonance of the tube of the flute, usually consisting of a very
weak fundamental and a few higher partials, and is often heard with natural harmonics.19 It is
very easily produced, and can be played alone or at low dynamic levels with whisper tones.
Residual tones can be played with all fingerings by forming a wide lip opening and directing a
relatively unfocused air stream across the embouchure hole. Unlike whisper tones, residual tones
have the full dynamic range of ppp to ff. Additionally, strongly played residual tones may
include one or more clear resonances at the third or higher harmonic produced by a given
fingering.20 Very soft residual tones are achieved by raising the angle of the air stream as far as
Another technique of the twentieth century is the hollow tone/wind tone/bamboo tone.
This effect is an unfocused sound produced when too little of the embouchure hole is covered
17
Glover, “Whistle Tones,” 20.
18
Powell, The Flute, 274.
19
Dick, The Other Flute, 141.
20
Ibid.
21
Ibid.
22
Takemitsu, Itinerant [Meguri: In Memory of Isamu Noguchi] for flute. (Tokyo: Schott Japan, 1989).
Score. 5.
15
and when the air is directed too much into the embouchure hole rather than across it.23 Hollow
tones are notes of decreased resonance, produced by special fingerings. They work best in soft
dynamics, in the first octave of the flute, and yield a tone color akin to that of primitive
instruments. Because hollow-tone fingerings are quite complex, producing a very special
sonority, the effect works beautifully in soft, sustained passages. The following excerpt from
Toru Takemitsu’s Itinerant illustrates a successful use of hollow tones (notated H.T.).
Wind and bamboo tones are similar to hollow tones. The wind tone is produced by blowing more
air out of the embouchure and less air pressure than the Western flute.25 Tonguing is also “Hue”
or “Sh” rather than “Tu.” Thus, it makes sounds that are ambiguous and empty sounding. It
A third twentieth-century effect that involves timbre manipulation is the jet whistle. The
jet whistle sounds like a “swoosh” or “siren” effect and is a high pitched aural effect produced by
covering the entire embouchure hole with the lips and blowing hard. The more key holes on the
23
Westphal, Guide to Teaching Woodwinds, 31.
24
Takemitsu, Itinerant, 4.
25
Chung and Lee, “Study on the 20th century’s Modern Techniques of Flute II,” 135.
16
flute that are covered, the more pronounced the effect will be. When playing a jet whistle it is
important that the flutist place the embouchure hole between the lips – pressing the lips against
the embouchure plate so that no air escapes – and blow directly into the flute.26 They should be
breathy, semi-pitched resonances of the flute’s tube, and vary from short, violent ‘shrieks’ to
very soft, sustained sonorities not unlike residual tones.27 Angle of the embouchure hole
between the lips, the vowel shape of the mouth, fingering, and breath pressure determine the
volume, pitch, and timbre of jet whistle.28 This technique was first specified in Heitor Villa-
Lobos (1887–1959) The Jet Whistle for flute and violoncello (1950).
One final way to create a technique through changes in timbre involves special fingerings.
Contemporary composers indicate some special fingerings in printed music for special sounds
effects. Especially, Yun, Takemitsu, and Fukushima used special fingerings in their flute music.
26
Dick, The Other Flute, 142.
27
Ibid.
28
Ibid.
29
Hun-soon Sah, “Jet Whistle,” Flute & Flutist (October/November 2006): 59.
30
Westphal, Guide to Teaching Woodwinds, 288.
17
Ex.6 Kazuo Fukushima’s Shun-San for solo flute. second system.31
Percussive effects
Percussive effect is another category of extended techniques for the flute, and one that is
completely new in the twentieth century. It includes two types: the key click/key slap and tongue
pizzicato. The key click was pioneered by Edgard Varèse (1883-1965) in his famous work for
solo flute (1938), Density 21.5. It is a percussive sound produced by slapping one or more keys
and may be produced without additional sound coming from blowing into the flute or while
clicking the tongue or striking the embouchure hole with the tongue on the flute hard enough to
produce an aural effect.32 Either way, specific pitches (fingering) are notated or in the cases
where there is no blowing, note heads are usually replaced with an “x” or “+.” In the case where
key clicks are joined by production of pitches, they can be used to articulate all types of
sonorities, including single pitches, multiphonics, whisper tones, residual tones and jet whistles,
and in notation the “x” is added to the stem of the note.33 Key clicks are produced by the
mechanism of the flute, usually moved with more than normal force and the air column of the
instrument resonates the click to make it audible.34 The G key makes the loudest sound and is
31
Kazuo Fukushima, Shun-san [A Hymn to Spring] for flute solo. (Tokyo: Muramatsu, 1972). Score.
32
Dick, The Other Flute, 136; and Chung and Lee, “Study on the 20th century’s Modern Techniques of
Flute II,” 134.
33
Dick, The Other Flute, 136.
34
Westphal, Guide to Teaching Woodwinds, 291; and Dick, The Other Flute, 137.
18
often included when players key slap another pitch.35 Toru Takemitsu’s Voice employs this
procedure frequently. In this piece, the key clicks usually alternate with normally-articulated
pitches.
Another percussive effect possible on the flute is the tongue pizzicato. This effect is
produced by fingering a specific pitch and producing a hard "T" with the tongue (the throat must
be closed to avoid extra expulsion of air). This effect is easier to execute than the tongue ram, as
double-tonguing may be employed to produce quick streams of tongue pizzicato. Some flutists
prefer to produce this sound with a forcible opening of the lips, in which case the term "lip
With the flute and embouchure in normal playing position, the tongue is extended
through the lip-opening, then, with the lips firmed, it is quickly withdrawn, producing a
popping sound. The flute will both amplify the noise of the pop and will resonate the
lowest two pitches produced by whatever fingering is used. Tongue-pizzicato is related to
traditional French style articulation, in which the tongue is inserted into the lip opening,
then withdrawn to articulate single pitches, but the motion and lip compression used in
tongue-pizzicati are much greater. Tongue-pizzicato may be used to articulate single
pitches effectively. This will be most striking if a very short delay is used between the
35
Debost, The Simple Flute, 153.
36
Takemitsu, Voice for flute solo. (Paris: Editions Salabert, 1988). Score. 3.
19
tongue-pizzicato and the pitch sounding. Tongue-pizzicati can be developed by the flutist
to have a dynamic range of pp to ff, and are effective throughout all sizes of flutes.37
The notation for tongue pizzicato is pizz. (tongue pizzicato) with fingering note. This passage
from Isang Yun’s Etüden for solo flute illustrates an effective use of the tongue pizzicato.
Articulation
A third way to produce extended techniques on the flute is through different articulations,
and the two most common of these are flutter tonguing and the double tremolo. First used in the
works of Richard Strauss (1864–1949), flutter tonguing is one of the oldest and most widely-
used extended techniques.39 In this procedure, the flutist alters the airstream while blowing with
the tongue to produce a rougher more aggravated tone and a tremolo effect.40 Technically
speaking, flutter tonguing is not an articulation but a special tonal effect. It is one in which
twentieth-century composers have made much use because of the unusual sonority flutter
37
Dick, The Other Flute, 139.
38
Yun, Etüden. Score. 8.
39
Rainey, Jr., The Flute Manual, 91; and Westphal, Guide to Teaching Woodwinds, 34.
40
Davis, “Creative Strategies for Teaching Extended Flute Techniques,” 161–62; Debost, “The Guttural
Tongue,” Flute Talk 19, no.5 (January 2000): 4; and Debost, The Simple Flute, 253.
20
tonguing gives. With the tongue completely relaxed and using firm breath support, the flutter
tonguing is produced by rolling the tongue rapidly against the roof of the mouth as in rolling the
letter “R” producing a very rapid vibration. There is no set speed for the roll, but the more rapid
the tongue movement the more effective the sound. A second way to execute flutter tonguing
calls for growling in the back of the throat as with the “kh,” a technique often called uvular
fluttering or guttural tongue, and one that is most effective in the low register (C4–G4), or for
multiphonics, extended timbres, soft residual tones and whisper tones.41 Guttural tonguing
requires more air than rolling the tongue.42 The many varieties of flutter tonguing range from
slight pulsations in the tone to very loud, buzzing noises, and this technique can also be applied
to all the sonorities produced by air movement on the flute, including single tones, multiphonics,
residual tones, whisper tones and jet whistle.43 Composers notate flutter tonguing in one of two
ways: through use of three slashes through a note stem, or by writing “flatterzung (fltzg.)” and
“fluttertzung (flutt.). The technique has many uses beyond the mere “special effect.” In the
following passage from his solo flute piece Etudes, for example, Isang Yun uses flutter tonguing
to mark prominent notes both individually or in small groups within a dense musical surface.
41
Debost, “The Guttural Tongue,” 4; and Rainey, Jr. The Flute Manual, 91.
42
Debost, “The Guttural Tongue,” 4.
43
Dick, The Other Flute, 136.
44
Yun, Etüden. 8.
21
While the tremolo is a kind of trill between two notes, a double tremolo, which is another
extended technique involving articulation, is produced by a trill that is basically on one note
similar to a percussionist’s tremolo technique.45 However, in flute technique, the double tremolo
is a tremolo that involves multiphonics simultaneously. It is created when the upper note is deftly
inserted during the tremolo. The upper note should have a little tenuto, similar to a melody note
of a florid passage in the music.46 In Etudes, Isang Yun, used traditional notation with “Doppel-
composers used multiphonics as well as singing while playing to make polyphonic sounds from
the instrument. Multiphonics occurs when two or more distinct pitches are sounded
simultaneously using either standard or a special fingering.48 The multiple pitches will all be a
45
Chung and Lee, “Study on the 20th century’s Modern Techniques of Flute II,” 133.
46
Aralee Dorough,” Performing Berio’s Sequenza,” Flute Talk 19, no.7 (March 2000): 12.
47
Yun, Etüden. 17.
48
Davis, “Creative Strategies for Teaching Extended Flute Techniques,” 162.
22
part of the same harmonic series.49 Multiphonics require the flutist to possess extremely precise
control of the embouchure and airstream (more or less breath support as needed), as well as the
memorization of nonstandard fingerings. Further limitations exist: not all combinations of notes
are possible, some work only at specific dynamic levels, and the ease of production can vary
from instrument to instrument. Performers find it very helpful if composers specify the
fingerings to be used. The following passage from Isang Yun’s Etudes illustrates an effective use
of multiphonics with both the alto flute and the bass flute.
49
Westphal, Guide to Teaching Woodwinds, 290.
50
Yun, Etüden. 9.
23
Ex.11-2. Multiple sounds fingerings for alto flute by Yun.51
51
Ibid., 5.
52
Ibid., 15.
53
Ibid., 5.
24
A second way of creating polyphony on the flute is through the extended technique of
singing while playing. This technique was pioneered by jazz musicians and developed by
composers seeking for new sounds for the instrument.54 It is produced by forming a normal flute
embouchure and literally singing through it. Several possibilities exist for singing and playing
simultaneously: singing pitches different from flute notes; singing pitches in unison with
fingered notes; or singing in octaves with the sounding flute pitches.55 The latter two are most
effective because the resonance of the tube is enhanced by the frequency of the vibrating vocal
cords. Singing in unison or octaves with the note played is fairly easy to perform and produces
little or no modulation. Singing in other intervals with the played note is more difficult, as is
either sustaining a played pitch and changing the sung note or vice versa.56 Further, it is
extremely difficult to play most multiple sonorities and sing simultaneously. The following is
one of the most famous examples of this technique from Takemitsu’s Voice. While playing, the
flutist speaks, shouts, or sings the text, “Qui va la? Qui que tu sois, parle, trasparence! (Who goes
there? Speak, transparence, whoever you are!).” The excerpt also features the technique of
covering the embouchure hole completely and singing through the flute while fingering specific
pitches notated in the top line. It can be hummed, shouted, and spoken while playing single
pitches, creating multiple sonorities that are often heard with very pronounced modulation.57
The intervals formed and the timbre of these multiple sonorities depends on the pitch and timbre
54
Powell, The Flute, 274–75.
55
Robert P. Militello, “Voice over Flute,” The Instrumentalist 31 (January 1977): 44.
56
Dick, The Other Flute, 143.
57
Ibid.; and Chung and Lee, “Study on the 20th century’s Modern Techniques of Flute II,” 133.
58
Ibid.
25
Ex. 13 Toru Takemitsu, Voice, Systems 7–9.59
Pitch modification
The last category of extended techniques in twentieth-century flute playing involves pitch
modification. Of all of the categories, this one seems to be most influenced in the desire for non-
western sonorities. One of the most common of these extended techniques is the pitch bend,
which is a term that covers its own meaning but is an umbrella for others such as the glissando
and portamento. Pitch bending itself is the change of pitch without the change of fingering,
which is achieved by rolling the flute inwards to lower the pitch and rolling it outwards to raise
the pitch. Embouchure adjustments while playing the flute are a matter of course to adjust to the
very different angles of the airstream for the purpose of tuning. Pitch bending utilizes this
procedure first to hit the tone in tune, then to move slightly to a microtone. It is more effective
with an open-hole flute, and regardless of the pitch being played, the flute will always bend
59
Takemitsu, Voice. 2.
26
downwards further than it will upwards.60 The use of transposing fingerings upwards a semitone
and then bending down that semitone is a very effective means of emulating many East-Asian
flutes. Yun uses this technique in his piece, Sori for solo flute.
The glissando, which literally means sliding, is produced by moving from one note to
another through extremely rapid scale-wise execution.62 There are two different kinds of
glissandi: the fingered glissando, and the lip glissando. Fingered glissandi are only possible on
certain notes of open-hole flute, so it is best for a composer to consult a performer before using
them. The lip glissando has a smaller pitch range than the fingered variety, but is more flexible
because just about every note on the flute can be bent to a certain extent (though pitches in the
first two octaves are much easier to bend than third-octave notes). A glissando is notated as a
straight line from the note head, up or down depending on its direction. Fukushima’s Mei for
60
Dick, The Other Flute, 140.
61
Isang Yun, Sori für flöte solo. (Berlin: Bote & Bock, 1988). Score. 6.
62
Roger S. Stevens, Artistic Flute: Technique and Study. Ruth N. Zwissler, ed. (Hollyood, CA: Highland
Music Company, 1967), 60.
27
Ex. 15 Kazuo Fukushima’s Mei, mm.16-17.63
Portamento literally means carrying. This term is applied to the practice of sliding
smoothly from one note to the next on many different instruments, including the trombone, voice,
approach on the open-hole key flute by gradually covering the holes of the keys, one at a time
misapplied to portamento from note to note.66 Toru Takemitsu used portamento in his solo flute
piece, Itinerant.
Microtones are a kind of pitch modification that involves intervals smaller than a half-
step (semitone), of which the most common is the quartertone.68 The execution of quartertones
63
Fukushima, Mei for flute solo. (Milano: Edizioni Suvini Zerboni, 1966). Score. 2.
64
Stevens, Artistic Flute, 60; and Chung and Lee, “Study on the 20th century’s Modern Techniques,” 138.
65
Ibid.
66
Ibid.
67
Takemitsu, Itinerant. 3.
28
requires the performer to either employ a different fingering, often by depressing a half-holed
key, or bend the pitch up or down with the embouchure. Because the standard Boehm-system
flute was developed in the 1840s and obviously not designed for microtones, the artificial
fingerings involved will produce different timbres that are sometimes radically different from the
surrounding semitones. Because of the nature of many quartertone fingerings, they are more
effective at softer dynamic levels than at louder ones.69 Notation methods vary, but the
following example is a fairly typical way of indicating the use of quartertones and raised and
lowered inflections.
68
Davis, “Creative Strategies for Teaching Extended Flute Techniques,” 162.
69
Westphal, Guide to Teaching Woodwinds, 290.
70
Yun, Etüden. 12.
29
Chapter II
The three best known East-Asian composers, Isang Yun, Toru Takemitsu, and Kazuo
Fukushima, developed distinctive musical styles that combined elements of both Eastern and
Western traditions. Yun and Takemitsu, especially, were famous composers in the Western
Avant-garde movement and spent considerable time in Western countries studying compositional
techniques and later teaching. Fukushima participated in Takemitsu’s Jikken kōbō (experimental
music laboratory) in Japan in the 1950s. All three were attendees of numerous Darmstadt
festivals, and each employed techniques being developed by progressive composers in the West
in many of their pieces. However, Eastern philosophies had an important influence on the
composers and manifested themselves through their works as did the music and instruments of
their native cultures. Yun wrote exclusively for Western instruments but incorporated
performance techniques and styles from Korean traditional instruments including the strings,
Gayagŭm and Geomungo, percussions instruments, Bak and Janggo, and flutes, Daegŭm and
Tungso. Takemitsu drew from many of the traditions of Japanese music, including Noh theatre,
and from instruments like the biwa, a traditional Japanese lute. Fukishima, also adopted styles
from the Noh theater and the biwa, but also turned to traditional Buddhist chant, Shômyô, as a
source of inspiration. Also, both Takemitsu and Fukushima composed music for both Eastern
30
Yun’s music is always concerned with the culture, history, philosophy, and aesthetics of
his native country.71 He drew from Korean traditions but sought to express them with Western
compositional styles, notation, and instruments. Many of his pieces have Korean names and he
maintained that they contained deep significance. Although his early works show the influence
of Strauss, Debussy, and Bartok, among others, and experimentation with twelve-tone techniques
and serialism, his mature style explored techniques mainly for solo instruments from Korean
sources. This later style is largely based on “main-tone technique,” in which a tone is stated and
prolonged then ornamented with a wide variety of tonal inflections including glissandi, trills,
vibrato, mictrotonal inflections, and timbral changes.72 This “phrase,” then, gives way to a new
tone and embellishment figure. For Yun, the philosophy of the negative and positive pairs, Yin
and Yang, had a profound influence on this technique. This style is evident in Glissées for solo
cello (1970), Piri for oboe (1971), and Monologues for Bassoon (1984), but his solo flute works
Even as a child, I was surrounded by our traditional flute music. I heard the Korean bamboo flute,
the tanso, and our much older traditional version of the flute, the taegum, in the temple and with
the farmers. In our poetry and paintings, you can often find the motif of flute-playing hermits. I
think that the flute is the instrument best suited to the ornaments my music needs.73
Yun’s use of extended techniques for flute come directly from his desire to recreate the sounds of
71
Andrew McCredie, “Isang Yun (1917-1995),” Music of the Twentieth-Century Avant-Garde: A
Biocritical Sourcebook ed. Larry Sitsky. (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2002). 588-89; and Ji-sook Choi,
Sangchuibeun Segieui Geojang Yun Isang [Wounded great artist in the century, Isang Yun]. (Seoul: Kyohaksa,
2000), 47-48; and Yong-hwan Kim, Yun Isang Studies. (Seoul: Sigongsa, 2001), 17.
72
Yong-hwan Kim, Yun Isang Studies, 38.
73
Eric Salzman, Liner notes for Isang Yun, Fanfare & Memorial Distanzen, Etudes, The Berlin
Philharmonic, Lorin Maazel, conductor, The Scharoun Ensemble, Heinz Holliger, conductor, Tara Helen O’Connor,
flute, ARC 1997-2 (New York: Arcadia Records and Music Management Inc., 1992), Compact disc.
31
Takemitsu was the first Japanese composer to reach international recognition. Largely a
self-taught composer, he composed concert works, chamber works, and over ninety film scores,
many of which received honors. Of the three composers, Takemitsu’s music exhibits the most
techniques, atonal expressionistic qualities, modal scales, electronic music, musique concrete,
and even incorporated Jazz elements. He was most interested in composing music that used an
international modern musical language to express traditional Japanese instruments and aesthetics,
and the stated goal of his music society, Jikken Kōbō, was to “create new music which would
Japanese musical concepts to achieve variety of timbres in a single tone, timelessness, ambiguity,
space, and a free rhythmic quality. In his later works (1976 to 1995), especially, he sought to
compose “in the nostalgia of memories of his early life.”75 He composed small instrumental
works for not only Western instruments but also Japanese traditional instruments such as the
biwa (lute) and Shakuhachi (flute), and took styles from both court and folk traditions of
Japanese music. Like many twentieth-century composers, Takemitsu, invented many notational
devices to indicate his unique expressions and helped to expand flute techniques and the
Fukushima’s musical aesthetics and aims are similar in many ways to those of Takemitsu,
with whom he had much contact. With a deep understanding of his native traditional music and
instruments, Fukushima captures sense of time and silence in his compositions and achieves a
74
Takemitsu, “A Mirror and an Egg,” Daniell Starr and Syoko Aki, trans. Banff Letters (Spring
1985). 19.
75
James Siddons. “Tôru Takemitsu (1930–1996),” Music of the Twentieth-Century Avant-garde: A
Biocritical Sourcebook ed. Larry Sitsky. (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2002). 518.
32
beauty in simplicity. His interest in and study of Buddhist philosophy and music manifests itself
in his music and lends to it a meditative quality. Single tone writing and timbral variety are also
important in his compositions as they were in Yun’s and Takemitsu’s. Also like Takemitsu’s
later works, most of the compositions by Fukushima are relatively small instrumental pieces for
solo or ensemble. When it comes to his flute music, such as Mei, he draws from traditional
Japanese court music, Gagaku and Noh-music, and integrates within Western flute techniques,
glissandi, overblowing, free rhythms, and his own suggestions of performance technique.
The solo flute works of Yun, Takemitsu and Fukushima all blend elements of their native
cultures with the Western art music they studied. As various flutes are among the most important
instruments in both Japan and Korea, it is no small wonder that these composers are influenced
by them and seek to emulate their sounds with the modern, Western flute. Also, two of the
composers, Takemitsu and Fukushima, composed music for traditional Japanese flutes as well as
Korean and Japanese flutes are made from bamboo; they are all single conical bores,
which include finger holes, but no key mechanisms. Types of each different flute can be used in
both court and folk traditions, but generally the flutes for the court were larger. This distinction
of court and folk is important in both Korea and Japan as is the influence of Chinese music. The
main categories of music in Korea are the A-ak, a Chinese-influenced court music, Dang-ak,
Chinese-influenced court music specifically from the Dang dynasty, Hyang-ak , Korean court
music, and Sanjo, a form of Korean folk music. In Japan, the designations are somewhat similar:
the Gagaku is Japanese classical court music, the Dogaku is Chinese-originating court music,
33
and the Gogaku is Japanese court music originating from the Goguryeo dynasty of Korea. Their
folk music, often called sankyoku, also uses various flutes.76 In Japan, specific flutes are used for
Daegŭm
The Daegǔm is the largest Korean flute; it is a transverse flute and is played in both the
court traditions, Dang-ak and Hyang-ak, as well as folk music, Sanjo. It is an instrument of
special importance, and all strings and other wind instruments of the traditional Korean orchestra
are tuned to the Daegǔm’s B-flat.77 Its origins are spotty. The first record of the invention of the
Daegŭm comes from the Samguk Yusa (Romance of the Three Kingdoms), compiled by the
monk, Ilyeon (1206-89).78 According to this legend, Shinmun (r. 681-92), King of Unified
Shilla, first made a mysterious yellow bamboo flute because of a dream in which, whenever it
was played, enemies retreated, illnesses were cured, rain came after drought, and the sea
remained calm.79 It became one of the three bamboo flutes of central importance in the
following Unified Shilla dynasty (668-935) and kept its status thereafter.
76
Sa-hoon Jang, Korean Musical Instruments. (Seoul: Seoul National University Press, 1986), 283-286;
Sa-hoon Jang, Woori Yet Akki (Our Old Instrument). (Seoul: Daewon Sa, 1990), 6-9; Keith Howard, Korean
Musical Instruments. (Hong Kong, New York: Oxford University Press, 1995), 12-16; Tae-ryong, Son, Hangukeui
Jeontong Akki (Korean traditional instrument). (Kyoungsan: Youngnam University Press, 2003), 51-55, 61-69 ;
Howard, Korean Musical Instruments, 15-16, 43; and Shimada, “Cross-Cultural Music,” 27
77
Hye-gu Lee, Compiled and ed. Korean Musical Instruments. trans. by Alan C. Heyman. (Seoul:
National Classical Music Institute of Korea, 1982), 27.
78
Howard, Korean Musical Instruments, 11. Three kingdoms dominant in the first centuries AD. They are
Goguryeo (in the north, BC37-AD668), Baekje (in the south-west and center, BC18-AD660), and Shilla (in the
south-east, BC57-AD668).
79
Hye-gu Lee, trans., Shinyeok Akhak kwebum (New translation of Guide to the study of music).
(Seoul: National Classical Music Institute of Korea, 2000), 440-41; Jang, Korean Musical Instruments, 283-286;
Jang, Woori Yet Akki (Our Old Instrumen). (Seoul: Daewon Sa, 1990), 12-13; Howard, Korean Musical Instruments,
43; and Son, Hangukeui Jeontong Akki, 61-69.
34
The Daegŭm is a conical pipe carved from a length of yellow bamboo with major nodes.
The court Daegŭm is around 80ದ85 cm long and has a range of Bb3–Eb6. The version used for
folk music is shorter, around 74 cm long, and is tuned about a tone higher than its court
counterpart. The top of the instrument is sealed with wax, it has a large blowing hole (Chwi-gong,
or Chwi-gu) in a round shape like the Western flute, six finger holes (Ji-gong), one or two
(originally five) big non-stopped dipper holes (Chilsung-gong), drilled in part for decoration in
the lower part of the tube, but also to define the sounding length and control the tuning, and
80
finally an oval hole covered with a mirliton (Chung-gong). Originally, the Daegŭm was the
only flute among Eastern flutes that contained a Chung-gong. It is a membrane hole, in which a
tissue (Galdae), cut from bamboo or reed, can be exposed to produce a unique and characteristic
buzzing effect.81 The blown air vibrates the thin membrane resulting in a distinctively breathy
Apart from the buzzing sound of the Chung-gong, the Daegŭm has several other
distinctive qualities. In the low and middle ranges, sounds are soft, dark and deep while in the
upper registers, sharp and acute. Harmonics are achieved in these registers through hard blowing,
which is different than in the Western flute.82 Vibrato, called Yo-sung, is one of the major
techniques of East-Asian traditional music and is especially important for the playing of the
Daegŭm. It is produced by bobbing one’s head up and down or moving the instrument itself.
Considerable pitch adjustment can also be made by altering the embouchure across the large
80
Hye-gu Lee, trans., Shinyeok Akhak kwebum, 441; Young-gu Lee, Akki (Instrument). (Seoul; Jayu
Mungo, 2003), 270; and Jang, Hanguk Eumaksa (Korean Music History). (Seoul: Sekwang Music Press, 1986), 115.
81
Howard, Korean Musical Instruments, 44; Hye-gu Lee, trans., Shinyeok Akhak kwebum, 440-41; Jang,
Korean Musical Instruments, 283-286; Jang, Woori Yet Akki, 12-13; and Son, Hangukeui Jeontong Akki, 61-69.
82
William P. Malm, Music Cultures of the Pacific, the Near East, and Asia. (New Jersey: Prentice Hall,
1996), 208-09.
35
blowing hole. There are three types of Yo-sung: Chusung, Toesung, and Jeonsung. Chusung
literally means to “push or slide up the sound” and is similar to a microtonal glissando up a
quarter-tone higher. Toesung moves in the opposite way, “sliding down” and is similar to a
microtonal glissando down a quarter-tone. Jeonsung combines the two and is similar to a
portamento manner. The Daegŭm‘s tuning is not based on the equal temperament used in
Western music. Glissandi, various timbres, different types of vibrato, rapid crescendo-
decrescendo, microtones, and irregular intervals in the various keys and modes are the important
83
This photo is permitted by Doo-byung Jang, head of department in Jounsori Jejakso, Korea.
84
This photo is permitted by Doo-byung Jang, head of department in Jounsori Jejakso, Korea.
36
Tungso
Tungso is a Korean bamboo vertical flute or pipe also known as the Tongso, or Tungae. It
has a rather complicated history. Originally it was a Dang-ak (court) instrument, dating from the
Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) after the Unified Shilla dynasty, and had anywhere from five to six
finger holes. It did not include a chung-gong. Later it became a Hyang-ak (folk) instrument, and
is now generally 60–65 cm long, has between six and nine holes, and does include a chung-gong.
The Tungso’s embouchure hole, chwi-gu, differs from the Daegŭm and Western flute in that it is
U shaped. Its range is about two and a half octaves, and its sound is often characterized as
sorrowful or plaintive. Performance practice such as Yo-sung is similar as that of the Daegŭm.
Ex.19. Tungso85
Ryūteki/Nohkan/ Shinobue
There are three main types of transverse flutes in Japanese music, the Ryūteki, Nohkan,
and Shinobue. A greater divide between specific uses exists in Japanese music than in Korean
and these flutes are particular to the music and function for which they are utilized. Ryūteki,
ambassadors known as Gyeodangsa brought it to Japan during the Dang Dynasty (618–907).
85
This picture is also permitted by Doo-byung Jang, head of department in Jounsori Jejakso, Korea.
37
There is a similar flute, the Gomabue, supposedly from Korea, but it is classified differently than
the Ryūteki and is of less importance. The Ryūteki is similar to the Daegŭm and has seven finger
holes, but it is smaller, about 40 cm. It is also more elaborate with its body wrapped in twine or
cherry bark. As with the Western flute, a performer can play two different octaves using the
same fingerings, by blowing more or less air, the higher octave known as Seme, and the lower as
Huku. This characteristic gives the Ryūteki its distinctive piercing sound and differentiates it
from other flutes. The techniques that a performer is able to achieve on this flute are similar to
The Nohkan is a transverse flute, around 39 cm, made of 100-year-old smoked bamboo
(susudake), used specifically for Noh theater. Traditionally, Noh plays were a mixture of
performers for warrior-class (Samurai) audiences. It is still popular in Japan today as a classical
tradition. Among the instruments that make up the accompanying ensemble, the Nohkan is the
only melodic instrument. Similar to the Ryūteki, it has an embouchure and seven finger holes, but
it includes a short narrow tube called a Nodo between the embouchure and first finger hole,
which helps create the Nohkan’s distinctive sharp and strong, high-pitched color. The finger
holes are covered not by the finger tips, but by the first (top) inner knuckle joint, which makes a
key-click sound. Unlike the Ryūteki and Western flute, where overblowing makes the upper
octave possible, on the Nohkan, overblowing produces a range of flatter pitches of the note
played. Further, microtones are important for the playing of this flute and are achieved by lifting
the knuckle joint slightly from the holes.86 The distinctive character of Nohkan is evident in its
86
Shimada, “Cross-Cultural Music,” 28.
38
unstable scales, lack of exact pitches, piercing and forceful timbre, and pitch fluctuation.87 Wind
noises and breathy sounds are also common.88 Hishigi is a special gesture in which the highest,
shrillest note on the Nohkan is generally played at the beginning and end of Noh plays or other
The Shinobue are the Japanese transverse flutes used for non-court music and folk
traditions. It is differentiated by two main functions, the festival and the vocal ensemble. The
festival flute, Matsuribayashi, which is the original type, is played with a percussion instrument
because it is not tuned properly.90 The vocal ensemble flute, Uta-shinobue, is more common and
plays an obbligato, accompanying a sung melody.91 Like the other Japanese transverse flutes, it
has seven finger holes, but there are twelve different lengths of Shinobue. Shinobue playing
utilizes several traditional performance practices including meri, kari, uchiyubi, and atari, all of
which are also available to the Nohkan performer. Meri means to lower the pitch and kari to raise
it by moving the chin position onto the blowing edge of the mouthpiece without altering the
fingerings.92 Finger hits (quickly opening and closing a hole), are called Uchiyubi and are used
to separate repeated notes. Atari is the use of finger hits to produce different pitches. The
shinobue has a high-pitched piercing sound but it is less severe than the Nohkan.
87
Mihoko Watanabe, “The Essence of Mei,” The Flutist Quarterly, 33, no.3 (Spring 2008): 20.
88
Malm, Japanese Music and Musical Instruments, 119–22.
89
Ibid.
90
Ibid.
91
Ibid.
92
Ibid.
39
Ex.20 Shinobue/Komabue/Kakurabue/Ryūtecki/Nohkan (clock wise)93
Shakuhachi
The Japanese end-blown vertical bamboo flute Shakuhachi is similar to the Korean
Tungso. The name, Shakuhachi, was derived from the length of the instrument in Chinese
measurement, and in Western measurement approximates 54.5 cm. The instrument is made from
old, dark bamboo, Odake, and has four anterior finger holes and a posterior thumb hole. It is
tuned to a pentatonic scale with no half-tones, but through various fingerings and embouchures, a
player can produce all 12 tones of the chromatic scale.94 The flute is held vertically, and the
player blows air directly downward into the edge of the instrument’s mouthpiece (Utaguchi),
vibrating an air reed. The basic timbre of the Shakuhachi is similar to the sound made when
blowing across the lip of a bottle. Tone color is the major focus of playing the Shakuhachi; the
sound is generally mellow and dark, and rhythm is generally freely interpreted. Other tone colors
can be obtained by covering the holes in different combinations, by varying the speed of the
airflows, and by tilting the Shakuhachi inward and outward. The meri, kari, uchiyubi and atari
techniques of other Japanese flutes are also used here. Muraiki, one of the essential styles of
Shakuhachi playing, is an explosive, breathy sound created by a strong stream of air blown over
93
Ibid., 95; and Ferranti, Japanese Musical Instruments, 57.
94
Shimada, “Cross-cultural Music,” 28.
40
the mouthpiece.95 Yuri are horizontal and vertical head movements that produce a vibrato effect
like Yo-sung in Korean flute playing. This instrument was important in religious practices
beginning in the thirteenth century, when it was used by the Fuke sect of Buddhism in the
Ex.21 Shakuhachi96
The following chapters will explore the use of extended techniques and performance
practices derived from the traditions of East-Asian flutes in the solo flute music of Yun,
95
Ibid.
96
Malm, Japanese Music and Musical Instruments, 184.
41
Chapter III
successfully integrated his native traditional music with western music. Born in Duksan and
raised in Tongyoung in the southern part of Korea at a time of intense cultural transformations,
Yun began his education in the traditional Korean methods, which included philosophy, music
and art, before being educated in a thoroughly modern and westernized school. From the age of
seven, he took violin lessons privately and by thirteen, he was composing his own music with
little outside guidance.97 During his teen years, he studied harmony with one of the Korean
apprentices of the highly influential Franz Eckert (1852–1916), a German who lived in Japan
teaching Western music. At age eighteen, Yun attended the Osaka Conservatory in Japan, where
he studied the cello, music theory, and composition with Tomojiro Ikenouchi (1906–1991).98
During the war period, he taught music at a high school in Bu-san, Korea and managed an
orphanage school. After he had received the Seoul City Award, Yun traveled to Europe in 1956
and studied music theory with Reinhard Schwarz Shilling (1904–1985), twelve-tone techniques
with Josef Ruffer (1893–1985) a pupil of Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951), and composition
97
Ji-sook Choi. Sangchuibeun Segieui Geojang Yun Isang (Wounded great artist in the century, Isang
Yun). (Seoul: Kyohaksa, 2000).
98
Kyungmee Rhee, “KOREA: Korean Composers and Their Activities,” Asian Composers in the 20th
Century. (Tokyo: The Japan Federation of composers Inc., 2002), 244
42
with Boris Blacher (1903–1975).99 In 1963, Yun took a trip into North Korea to visit a friend, an
act that was strictly prohibited by the South Korean government, and Yun was forced to flee
South Korea or face a prison sentence. He moved to Western Europe (he lived at different times
Avant-garde composer; indeed, he was a favorite at the Darmstadt summer festivals. While he
could not return to his native country during this period of political exile, it was in this time that
This rejuvenated respect for the music of his native country greatly affected his
compositions in his later years. Nowhere can this interest be seen better than in his pieces for
flute, perhaps because of the importance of the flute in Korean music. In his pieces for flute, Yun
incorporated many of the characteristic styles and methods of the traditional Korean flutes with
Western practices and the Western flute. His four solo flute works, Etudes (1974), Salomo
(1977–78), Sori (1988), and Chinesische Bilder (1993), all blend Eastern and Western flute
sounds in two major ways. Firstly, the basic construction of the musical ideas comes directly out
of the Korean flute style, sometimes called the main tone technique, in which a single long note
is sustained for a certain amount of time, then, quickly followed by a succession of notes in
much quicker values. In Korean flute playing, this style, which is improvised, is varied through
changes of timbre that occur simultaneously: varying vibratos, dynamic changes, breathier
playing, etc. The following examples present an improvisation by the Daegŭm player Yong-seok
Seo (b.1940), as it would be notated in traditional Korean notation and then in modern notation.
These are followed by [which piece from the etudes] by Yun, in which constant changes of
timbre and embellishment through trills are the focus of this passage.
99
Ibid.; and Kunz, “Isang Yun,” 696.
43
Ex.22-1 Jinyangjo movement from Seo Yong-seok ryu Daegŭm sanjo, (Jeongganbo)100
Ex.22-2 Jinyangjo movement from Seo Yong-seok ryu Taegŭm sanjo, (modern notation)101
100
Yong-seok Seo, Daegŭm Sanjo. (Seoul: Eunha Chulpansa, 2005), 11.
101
Ibid., 3.
44
Ex.22-3 Changing timbre in Yun’s Etudes with vibrato, dynamic, and breathy trill
This style creates the impression of embellishing the central long note and this design in the
music is one of the central qualities that give this music an Eastern sound. The second way in
which the blend of East and West is noticeable is in the use of the many extended techniques,
some from Western practices, some from Eastern, accompany this basic format. In his flute
pieces, Yun employs special fingerings, key clicks, flutter tonguing, multiphonics and pizzicato
from Western traditions, and glissandi, breathy trills, double tremolos, varying vibrati, and
45
microtones that are derived from Korean flute techniques. The extended techniques and
Etudes for solo flutes is a concert piece Yun composed in March, 1974 in collaboration
with Beate-Gabriella Schmitt and it was premiered by Chang-kook Kim in Kyoto, 18 July. Each
of the five movements is written for a different member of the flute family: Moderato (Flute);
Adagio (Alto flute); Allegro (Piccolo); Andante (Bass flute); and Allegretto (Flute). The Etudes
make the most out of the various timbres and sounds of these different flutes. In this piece, the
Western extended techniques used are key clicks, singing while playing, flutter tonguing and
multiphonics, but the last of these is for the specific purpose of creating a specific Eastern sound.
Key clicks occur in both the first and second movements. At measure 79 of the Moderato (first
movement), this technique is indicated with the words, “Nur noch mit Klappengeräusch” (noise
only open and closed keys), and is accompanied with rapid dynamic change from p to ff and then
a decrescendo to ppp.
While key clicks are not possible on Korean flutes, Yun’s instructions, “immer geräuschvoller”
(keep blowing more air to create noise sound), has the effect of making this passage still sound
46
like a Korean flute. In the Adagio (second movement), the key clicks through special fingerings
There are passages of multiphonics in both of the two slow movements. In the Adagio, which is
played by the Alto flute, the sounding pitch is a perfect fourth lower than the written note, and in
the Andante for Bass flute, it is an octave lower. A special incident of multiphonics occurs in the
Andante, mm. 56–62, where there is also the other polyphonic technique, singing while playing.
47
Ex.25 Etudes, IV. Andante, mm.56–62
The extended techniques that Yun borrows directly from the traditions of Korean flutes
are wind tones, various vibrati, double tremolos, glissandi, breathy trills and microtones. All of
these techniques directly correspond to methods found in the playing of the Daegŭm and Tungso,
and help lend an Eastern sound to this piece. One further technique, flutter tonguing, though a
Western technique, is used to come close to a vibrato sound possible on the Daegŭm. Most of the
time, these techniques are used in combination. For example, flutter tonguing, microtones, both
ascending/descending, microtones and a breathy trill are used in the Andante (mm. 36–48) for
creating Daegŭm’s vibrato. It is important that the performer remember that these will be
48
Ex.26 Etudes, IV. Andante, mm.36–48
In measures 50–51 of this same movement, Yun specifies “sehr geräuschhaft, mehr Luft als Ton”
(wind sound like effect), which is a sound very similar to that of the Daegŭm.
The Andante also finishes with this technique, which creates a mysterious feeling: “Nur mit Luft,
ohne Ansatz” (only wind sound, lip far from embouchure). In the third movement, allegro,
played by the piccolo, glissandi and microtonal pitch bending are actively used. These
techniques are general performance practice of East-Asian flutes as they produce various timbre
49
Ex.28 Etudes, III. Allegro, mm. 38–44
In the Allegretto (fifth movement), a double tremolo with special fingerings, microtones, and
50
All of these techniques are used in tandem with the general melodic style to reference Korean
flute playing. It is also interesting that the Etudes use extended techniques far more than any
51
Technique Mvt. Measure Tips for Realization
8. Tremolo with 5th mm. 24–25, To avoid loosening the tension, move instrument little bit
microtonal pitch 55, 58, 63, 67 inward or outward to produce pitch bending.
bending
9. Pizzicato with 2nd m. 70, 72 Be careful of fingering which is indicated on the score.
special fingering
10. Multiphonic 2nd mm. 75–79, Blow the air harder and overblowing on special fingerings.
with special 82–85 Embouchure should be more focused.
fingering 4th mm. 56–58
11 Flutter tongue 2nd mm. 12–13, Open up the throat and place tongue as low as you can. For
21–22, 49, 51, softer sound and low register, guttural tongue will be
53, 63, 66, 69, helpful.
73–74, 87–91
4th mm. 1–2, 5–8,
13–14, 23, 39,
64–65
12 Key click like 2nd mm. 49, 52, Make a sound with pizzicato effect strong key click used
Pizzicato 67, 69–70, 72– with special fingering
73, 88–89
13 Harmonics 5th mm.68–70, Find easiest fundamental note for you and then make a soft
116 sound with high pitched harmonics. In my case, one octave
below note is helpful to create softer harmonics for G6, A6,
B6
Salomo is a solo flute piece from the cantata, Der Weise Mann (1977). Yun composed the
alto flute part in this cantata for Schmitt to play, but it can also be played by a concert flute. It
was premiered by Schmitt in Kiel, Germany, 30 April 1979. While Yun uses fewer extended
techniques in this seven minute work than he had in the Etudes, he still uses them to emulate the
performance practice of the Daegŭm and Tungso and to create a sorrowful sound. In this piece
Yun uses microtones, pitch bending, harmonics, flutter tonguing, and breathy trills to create
sounds of Daegŭm and Tungso. The piece begins with pitch bending and microtones with
indication as 1/4 Ton Erniedrigung (nur des detreffenden Tones) (quarter tone bending only
concerning pitch).
52
Ex.31 Salomo, mm.1–5.
Breathy trill sound like wind tone effect (mehr Luftgeräusch als Ton) is used in m.72–73.
53
A brief guideline for performance
Sori for flute solo was composed in Sveg, Sweden in 1988. Yun dedicated it to the flutist
Roberto Fabbriciani who premiered it at Carnegie Hall in New York, 7 November 1988. The
piece derives its name from the Korean word, “Sori,” which translates as voice or song. About
twelve minutes in length, it is a single-movement work that like the others is based on the main-
tone technique. Yun achieves a high level of expressiveness in this piece as he embellishes each
long-held single tone with repetitions, alternations, grace notes, changes in dynamics, and trills.
54
Ex.34 Sori, mm.1–4
Also, each of the melodic groups makes use of extended techniques such as microtones, pitch
bending, glissandi, various vibrati, and flutter tonguing. Especially important for this piece is
Yun’s utilization of quarter tones, both sharp and flat, to approximate the Yo-sung, which is a
He also emulates the Daegŭm’s soft and gentle sound in the lower register and the penetrating
sound in high register through extremely varied dynamics. This piece ends with ppp flutter
55
Ex.36 Sori, mm.125–26
June, 1993. Although this piece was premiered by the recorder player, Walter van Hauwe, in
Stavanger, Norway, 14 August 1993, Yun intended it to be played on the flute. It has four
movements: I. The Visitor of the Idyll, II. The Hermit at the Water, III. The Actor with the
56
Monkey, and IV. The Shepherd’s Flute. Lasting around eighteen minutes, Chinesische Bilder is
similar in style to Yun’s other solo flute works. However, changes of extended techniques occurs
much faster in this piece than in the other pieces. Microtones, pitch bending, flutter tonguing,
and tremolo are used by themselves or often in combination. The use of staccato or various
dynamic changes along with microtones and pitch bending are used to create Daegŭm’s sound.
57
The second movement also has pitch bending, microtones and a trill at the same time, which
In the third and fourth movements, various rhythmic contrasts occur simultaneously as
58
A brief guideline for performance
59
Chapter IV
Toru Takemitsu was born in Tokyo in 1930 and died of abdominal cancer in 1996. He
lived in Dairen, China for a while because of his father’s career, but was sent back to Tokyo to
live with his aunt and uncle and begin his formal education. During the 1930s and 1940s, Japan
was becoming modernized, but the political powers still prohibited much of Western culture. So,
Takemitsu was taught traditional Japanese music by his aunt and did not experience Western
music at this time. In 1943, when he was just fourteen years old, Takemitsu left the Keika
Middle School in Tokyo to join the army. It was during his military service in his early teen ages
while working on an American military base after the war that he was first exposed to Western
music. He had begun to compose music without any training at sixteen and later studied private
lessons with Yasuji Kiyose (1900-1981) and Fumio Hayasaka (1914-1955). Though he gave
some credit to “Kiyose’s guidance,” he described himself as primarily self taught.102 The 1950s
were an extremely important decade in his musical development. In 1951, together with
numerous performers, painters, poets, and other composers such as Hayasaka, he organized the
Experimental Workshop, Jikken Kōbō, in Tokyo. It was the most influential group of the
contemporary arts at this time and helped to introduce many important twentieth-century
102
The brief details were taken from Toru Takemitsu: Index of His Works, published by Schott Japan Co.,
Ltd., 1991. In Translator’s preface in confronting Silence. Xi.
60
composers to Japanese audiences. During this time, Takemitsu’s own music became strongly
Webern’s textures and constructions.103 He started to gain international recognition through his
film music and music influenced by Western composers. Because of negative memories of war
time, he had rejected traditional Japanese music from his youth, but in 1964, after contact with
the American composer, John Cage, he became interested once again in his native Japanese
music.104 He composed music for Japanese traditional instruments such as Shakuhachi and Biwa,
which were favorite sonorities of his, and combined them with Western orchestral settings.
Throughout his career, he never taught in Japan, but was a visiting professor in the United States,
at both Yale University (1975), and Columbia University (1989), among others.
When it came to the interaction of Japanese and Western culture in music, his
fundamental topics were the restoring of full, complex, and ambiguous meanings of words and
musical ideas.105 Through his own account, we can trace his concept of music and composition:
From now on, I’d like to make the most out of unstructured time and space in
the music I compose, regardless of whether I use traditional Japanese
instruments or not. In making Western music, one begins composing with do
and then re and creates many sounds that emanate from that starting point. The
Japanese approach to a single sound is very different from that. We imagine and
direct our attention to just one sound out of the infinite sounds that surround our
everyday life. That single sound is extremely complex in that it condenses the
infinite range of noise that it arises from. My music is made with Western
instruments, yet I would like to be able to contain their sounds, in motion,
within a single sound. The most important thing that we can discern from
Japanese music is that every sound is precious and indispensable. Western
music is based on a hierarchy of sound within the diatonic scale, whereby do is
most important, then so and so forth. In Japanese music, there are many distinct
103
Narazaki, A Way a Lone, 74.
104
Ohtake, Creative Sources for the Music of Toru Takemitsu. 1; Narazaki, The New Grove Dictionary of
Music and Musicians, 22.
105
Jennings, “Exploring Takemitsu’s Voice.” 11.
61
sounds, but we should consider them as equal. This is so not only for sounds
made by instruments but also for sounds in nature and all of the sounds made by
human beings. I think music begins from the point when we begin to listen anew
with open ears.106
In his three pieces for solo flute, Voice for solo flute (1971), Itinerant: Meguri-In
Memory of Isamu Noguchi for solo flute (1989), and Air for flute (1995), Takemitsu utilized
many extended techniques to blend Eastern and Western sounds and qualities. Singing or
speaking while playing, multiphonics, glissandi, key clicks, breathy trill, double tremolos,
various vibrati, among others, all play a large role in these pieces. For each a discussion about
Voice for solo flute is a seven minute work commissioned by and dedicated to flutist,
Aurèle Nicolet. It was premiered by flutist Ryū Noguchi on 9 June 1971 in the 6th Cross Talk
Concert, Tokyo. The work is composed around a line of text from the Handmade Proverbs by
Shuzo Takiguchi and the flutist speaks/sings the line in both French and English: “Qui Val La?
Qui Que Tu Sois, Parle, Transparence! / Who goes there? Speak, Transparence, Whoever you
are!”107 It was suggested in the first edition, that two microphones be used, but in the second
indicated.108 In his preface, Takemitsu credits Bruno Bartolozzi’s book, New Sounds for
106
Ferranti and Everett, “Toru Takemitsu, “On Sawari”.” In Locating East Asia in Western Art Music.
206–07.
107
Takemitsu, Voice. 5. Score.
108
Ibid.; and Jennings, “Exploring Takemitsu’s Voice.” 12.
62
Woodwind, as a source for inspiration, especially in terms of multiphonics and the quarter-tones.
Other extended techniques are inspired by the Japanese flutes, the Shakuhachi, and the Noh-kan.
Takemitsu used both extended techniques and traditional Japanese musical concept of
various colors and character in every single note. As was the case with Yun’s music, the gesture
of many small notes ornamenting a prolonged single note with dramatic dynamic changes is a
defining feature. He draws specifically from Noh theater in the moment when the flutist is asked
to speak/sing and play simultaneously. Also, Takemitsu indicates in the score a “strong accent
without tonguing as on the Japanese Noh flute.” From the performance practice of Shakuhachi,
he took the microtonal pitch bending techniques known as Meri/kari, which combine covering
half of the hole with the finger along with pitch inflection and vibrato. He also imitates the
Shakuhachi’s various irregular vibrati with breathy sounds. The seventh through ninth systems
63
Here, we can see Takemitsu’s unique fingerings for creating tremolos and trills. He also
indicates a quarter tone sharp through special fingerings. The sung text is evident in these
109
Takemitsu, Voice. 2.
64
Specific rhythm values or meter are not notated in the score, but in the preface of the score,
Takemitsu mentioned that “One bar should last about 4 1/2 seconds.”110 Each of the various
fermata signs should consist of sustained silence and the flutist can prepare the next section.
110
Ibid.
65
System Technique Tips for Realization
4 *Multiphonic tremolo Sometimes with shouting or multiple double tremolo.
*Portamento Make portamento with indicated fingering.
*Glissando Make slow glissando from piano to crescendo.
*Flutter tongue. Make accelerando with flutter tongue.
*Shouting while playing Make short voice while playing.
*Tongue pizzicato Make big audible pizzicato in here.
5 *Microtone Quarter tone up with special fingering.
*Flutter tongue Make more breathy sound while flutter tonguing.
*Harmonics Make harmonics with D4 fingerings.
6 *Singing while playing Lip apart but cover entire embouchure while singing text, and then
hum while playing the following pitch.
*Tongue Pizzicato Stick the tongue out and then make hard tonguing in forte.
*Microtone Quarter-tone with special fingering.
*Flutter tongue Make softer and legato with guttural tongue.
7 *Singing while playing Speaking text softly while playing notes.
*Microtone Playing with special fingering.
8 *Tongue pizzicato Make big audible pizzicato.
*Microtone With special fingering, make sound softly.
*Harmonics. With Eb4 key as fundamental fingering, make soft sound.
9 *Tongue pizzicato Stick the tongue out and then make strong sound “T” with tongue.
*Speaking while playing Lip should be off from the instrument and speak text alternated by
*Flutter tongue playing notes. Whisper in pianisisimo.
*Micro tones. Make legato flutter as fast as possible. Special fingerings required.
10 *Non-words singing while Like double tonguing, playing note while speaking “t and “k”. In
playing sfforzando, shouting while playing the flute.
*Microtone With special fingerings with various dynamics.
11 *Flutter tongue Make more legato and play as fast as possible.
*Shouting, crying, Shouting and crying while speaking “da” syllable and then growling
growling while playing in fast small notes. Shouting high-pitched note followed.
*Multiphonic tremolo Multiphonic is first played and then tremolo in fortissimo.
12 *Microtonal pitch bending Pitch bended quarter tone up and then down quickly.
*Flutter tongue From pianissimo to mezzo forte, flutter tongue as fast as you can.
*Harmonics Make harmonics like whisper sound. Making better high-pitched
sound, performers should find their fingerings.
13 *Tongue pizzicato and key Tongue pizzicato and key click altered or occurred simultaneously.
click Key click as strong as you can.
14 *Tongue pizzicato Make sfforzando sound as much as you can.
*Multiphonic With lip “moderately apart” and strong accent without tonguing.
*Singing while playing Shouting and playing loudly.
15 *Multiphonic double Be careful of special fingering. This double tremolo is quite difficult,
tremolo. so slow exercise is needed.
16 *Speaking while playing. Speak words normally like whispering rather than loud voice.
*Harmonics. D4 as fundamental fingering and make whispery sound.
17 *Singing while playing Speaking the text into the flute while covering the embouchure.
66
Itinerant: Meguri-In Memory of Isamu Noguchi for solo flute (1989)
Itinerant is a six minute solo piece composed for mourning the death of Isamu Noguchi
sculptures and designs can be found in many cities both in America and throughout the world
was known for the “itinerant” nature of his life and Takemitsu captures this trait in this piece
through the many shifts of style and mood. It was premiered by Paula Robison at the Isamu
Noguchi Museum in New York, 7 February 1989. Like many of Takemitsu’s other pieces, a
sense of flexibility, derived from the Japanese musical concept of time/space (ma), is noticeable
and the composer achieves this aspect through the many instances of fermatas as well as the lack
of bar lines. Various rapid dynamic changes also lend intensity to the work.
Extended techniques such as portamento, various vibrati, hollow tones, whistle tones,
flutter tonguing, harmonics, and microtones are used throughout to produce a somber and
mournful effect. In Itinerant, as he had in Voice, Takemitsu indicates his unique notations and
fingerings.
67
Ex.45 Itinerant, preface.111
Here, we can trace his treatment of the extended techniques. Some of these, including
the use of non vibrato, hollow tones, microtonal portamento, lack of tonguing, whistle tones, and
harmonics are all used to conjure the similar sounds in the Japanese flute, shakuhachi, while
multiphonics and the various rhythmic changes are drawn from Western technique. A following
example from Itinerant shows his unique fingerings for each extended technique as well as the
111
Takemitsu, Itinerant. 2.
68
Ex.46 Itinerant, seventh system –ninth system
69
Technique System Tips for Realization
8 Special 1st system Press Ab fingering trilling with 4,5,6 finger (Ab4).
fingering 4th–9thsystem 11th Press A4 fingering added 4,5,6, and D# fingering(A4).
system 15th– Be careful of quick changes of alternation of each fingering.
16thsystem
9 Dynamic Entire piece Various change of dynamic should be observed carefully. Take your
time at the end of each phrase with the fermata with big diversity of
dynamics.
Takemitsu’s last piece, Air for solo flute, was premiered by Yasukazu Uemura at
Katholisch Kirche Oberwil in Baselland, Switzerland, 28 January 1996. A six minute piece, it
was dedicated to flutist Aurèle Nicolet on his seventieth birthday. It is also a good example of the
use of traditional Japanese aesthetics and musical concepts such as ma, but also yoin (echo).112
For example, measure 19 demonstrates the echo effect where the same motive is
In this piece, virtuosic extended techniques are rare but microtonal pitch bending/ portamento,
non-vibrato, trills with special fingerings, harmonics, flutter tonguing, and rapid dynamic
changes are used to reproduce the sounds of traditional Japanese traditional flutes. Similar to
Yun’s use of the main-tone technique, Takemitsu strives for various expressions, elements, and
112
Shimada, “Cross-cultural Music.”29.
70
meanings that come close to Japanese musical concepts. The following examples show this
main-tone compositional manner with changes in timbre, alternating between harmonics and
71
A brief guideline for performance
72
Chapter V
The composer and musicologist, Kazuo Fukushima, was born in Tokyo, 11 April 1930.
While information on his life is scant, in 1953, Fukushima joined Jikken Kōbō, where he began
Takemitsu. He received some recognition when his extremely virtuosic piece, Ekagura,
composed for the flutist Ririko Hayashi, won a prize at a contemporary music festival in
Karuizawa in 1958. The following year, Stravinsky recommended the work for performance in
the Los Angeles Monday Evening Concerts.113 Fukushima was invited to the Darmstadt music
festival in 1963, where he performed some of his music and lectured on both modern Japanese
music and traditional Noh-plays. Also in 1963, he received a travelling fellowship from the Japan
Society of New York and visited America. Upon returning to Japan, he took a post at the Ueno
Gakuen College in Tokyo, where he is still currently, professor of music and director of the
Nihon Ongaku Shiyō-shitsu (Research Archives for Japanese Music), which he founded in 1973.
He has written numerous books and articles on traditional Japanese music such as court music
Japanese philosophy are readily apparent in the solo flute works of Fukushima. He uses a variety
113
Kanazawa, “Fukushima, Kazuo.” 337.
73
of extended techniques in his three pieces, Requiem for solo flute (1956), Mei for solo flute
(1962), and Shun-san (A Hymn to Spring) for solo flute (1969). Various vibratos, multiphonics
and special fingerings are all employed to create ambiguous sounds of Japanese flutes. Also, he
adopts the Japanese concept of time and space in these works. For each piece, I will discuss the
Requiem is a five minute solo piece composed in the mid-1950s, while Fukishima was
part of the Jikken Kōbō, and premiered by the composer himself in 1959. It is an early work in
his career and one based on serial technique; however, it also shows the influence of traditional
Japanese philosophy and Noh-music. The programmatic aspects of Requiem are derived from his
memories of World War II and the concept of death within Buddhist thought. Extended
techniques, such as flutter tonguing, glissandi, and special fingerings, produce mournful feelings
The piece begins with a statement of the tone row, P2 [2,5,6,4,3,0,7,E,1,T,9,8], which is
then repeated. In measures 6–18, the same tone row is heard but now with repeated notes and
grace notes. The I2 tone row [2,E,T,0,1,4,9,5,3,6,7,8] serves as the basis of measures 19–31, with
part of this row used in measures 32–38. Balance is achieved as Fukushima uses the retrograde
and inverted retrograde of the opening tone row for the end of the piece, R2
74
Ex.51 Requiem, mm.1-6
Fukushima uses various grace notes and flutter tonguing with a succession of rapid notes
to create the airy sound and pitch inflection of Japanese flutes. He also uses a wide dynamic
range from molto ffff to ppp with his flutter tongue technique.
Instances of repeated notes and rhythms with varying timbres help to produce the mournful, dark,
75
Ex.53 Requiem, mm. 25ದ30
Fukushima’s Mei for solo flute is a repertoire standard and a required piece of many
competitions. It was commissioned and premiered by Severino Gazzelloni, 23 April 1962, at the
25th Festival of Contemporary Music in Venice, Italy.114 The piece which lasts about five
minutes was dedicated to the memory of Dr. Wolfgang Steinecke. In the score’s inscription,
114
Kazuo Fukushima, Mei for flute solo. (Milano: Edizioni Suvini Zerboni, 1966). Socre.
76
Fukushima states “Mei, the Chinese character of which is written (), signifies [the] dark, dim,
intangible. This music was composed for the late Dr. Wolfgang Steinecke of Darmstadt, who
died in a tragic accident. According to ancient Japanese legend it is believed that the sound of the
flute has power to reach the dead”115 In this piece, Fukushima draws from the traditional
Japanese concept of music ma to focus on silence by alternating repeated notes and rests.
key clicks, special fingerings, flutter tonguing, are used along with a variety of dynamics to
This piece requires a great deal of embouchure control to realize the various portamentos.
According to Fukushima, these portamentos produce a pitch that is relatively unstable, but that
this is only a suggestion to achieve gestures derived from Japanese aesthetics and character of
the flutes.117
115
Ibid.; and Watanabe, “Essence of Mei.” 17.
116
Watanabe, “Essence of Mei.” 19.
117
Ibid.
77
Ex.55 Mei, mm. 43ದ46.
78
Shun-san [A Hymn to Spring] for solo flute (1969)
collaboration with flutist, Ryū Noguchi, who premiered it on 17 February 1969, at the Tokyo
Metropolitan Festival Hall.118 Shun-san is a very good example of the use of multiphonics. After
reading New Sounds for Woodwinds by Bartolozzi, Fukushima sought to employ new sonorities
from extended techniques such as multiphonics and special fingerings. But these sounds were
still used to reference traditional Japanese , especially the Noh-kan and Shakuhachi.
Every single note in this piece has its own special fingering. There are extended
techniques such as portamentos, double tremolos, flutter tonguing, microtonal pitch bending,
various vibrati, whistle tones, and wide dynamic changes besides the multiphonics. That there
are no bar lines or meter in this piece requires the performer to thoroughly create all of the
118
I use the present second edition (1977) for this document. There are several differences between this
edition and the first private edition including some special fingerings which were changed according to the advice of
flutists, Noguchi and Hiroshi Hari.
79
To create the sounds of the Noh-kan and Shakuhachi, Fukushima devised his own symbols.
Shun-san is the most difficult piece to play among Fukushima’s flute music. Flutists should learn
each of the special fingerings and follow the composer’s own suggestions for lip and air pressure
carefully.
80
A brief guideline for performance
81
Conclusion
This study has examined the use of extended techniques and performance practices of
East-Asian traditional flutes in the solo flute works by Isang Yun, Toru Takemitsu, and Kazuo
Fukushima. It is designed to help flutists perform, interpret and better understand unaccompanied
flute music by three East-Asian composers. Most of what we refer to as "extended techniques" in
Western flute music have been part of the traditional musics of the non-Western world for
thousands of years. It is only recently that we have begun to acknowledge the enormous
influence of world music on our own Classical tradition. As we explore the relationship between
East-Asian music and Western music in the unaccompanied solo flute works by Yun, Takemitsu,
and Fukushima, we discover that Western music has been enriched by that of East-Asian cultures
and extended techniques. Composers and flutists today are enhancing our musical experience by
drawing from this remarkable palette of sounds and techniques. Flutists have been both
challenged and rewarded by these new sounds and techniques. There is a great deal of freedom
in terms of tonality, structure, and expression in this music, but it requires the player to master
new skills. They also must gain a better understanding of the physical aspects of sound
production and to consider the character of non-Western music and instruments. Musicians
should not forget to study the background of each composition; by learning about the culture that
inspired the composer, we can become more advanced in how we think about and play Western
music, and we can create new musical forms and styles that are traditionally neither Eastern nor
82
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