I first became aware of this album about twenty years ago, hearing one of its pieces on Radio 3’s Late Junction, where the late Robert Sandell did a programme themed around David Sylvian and his collaborators (and those he thought should collaborate).
I was well aware of Sylvian and Sakamoto’s Forbidden Colours, but knew nothing of Sakamoto’s solo work.
Viewed as one of his classical pieces, it’s dark and minimalist, as the title suggests. The first movement, Grief, develops a theme on some sparse violin work, while the cellos threaten alongside tolling bells before discordant piano overlays the repeated background. The furious second movement, Anger, repeats a single note, firstly a few seconds long, later over a minute long, while various instruments deviate and go their own way. It’s simultaneously as anarchic as that sounds, while strongly structured and coherent, so what will follow?
Prayer - a foghorn like bassoon(?) opens a trance like theme. while bell like sounds bubble underneath. After a couple of minutes, a higher woodwind begins to play, as if dawn has risen, similar in pace to the lower woodwind, but gradually increasing the variety of notes, and is that a harp underneath? But the atmosphere alone isn’t enough to sustain interest for the full piece, as it ends in a gentle piano on top of drone-like strings. The final movement, Salvation, starts with a conversation piece which lower strings start to overlay, before the theme from Grief is reprised, this time on flute, once more brightening the piece, leading to a grand orchestral conclusion, via a spoken word section.
UPDATE - Ryuichi sadly died in March 2023. He will be much missed.
3* - a powerful piece, although the third movement feels longer than it needs to be. I need to listen again.
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