- Date: 1971
- Composer: Toru Takemitsu
- Period: Modern (1910-1949)
Review
Written in 1971 in Tokyo and dedicated to Aurèle Nicolet, "Voice for Solo Flutist" was inspired by an excerpt from Shuzo Takiguchi's "Handmade Proverbs": "Qui va la? Qui que tu sois, parle, transparence! ... Who goes there? Speak, transparence, whoever you are!".The flute is amplified by both a contact microphone and a standard air microphone, the amplified level mixed just slightly above the normal acoustic sound of the flute in the performing space. This enables very tiny, non-projected sounds to be heard, and also effects which are initiated by small levels of air pressure to be played.
A wide range of playing techniques is employed in this mysterious evocation: the fingers are tapped upon the keys both when making a blown sound and also when no sound is played except the hollow percussiveness (somewhat like a small log drum) of the keys themselves; notes are played by clicking the tongue; notes are played while the flutist simultaneously sings, shouts, speaks, and hums into the flute; high overtones are played with a half breath; and there is also normal speaking, shouting, whispering away from the instrument, and speaking "from voiced consonant to voiceless consonant". The words of the brief poem except quoted above are employed in both French and English for these instrument and non-instrument vocalizations.
Quarter-tones are also used throughout, and multiphonics or chords formed according to the procedures and notations employed by Bruno Bartolozzi create electronic-like sounds, together with the fascinating timbre of quick multiphonic tremolos. There are also eerie passages built of successive trills and wide single note tremolos.
In the normal playing technique, tones are held for relative durations indicated by extended lines attached to the notes, with grace notes played as fast as possible, quasi flutter-tonguing introduced occasionally, and the special effect of a strong accent with tonguing like the technique traditionally used for the flute played in Japanese Noh theater. The use of this effect at the conclusion on a sustained E-flat while the voice speaks into the flute "Whoever you are!" is mesmerizing. ~ "Blue" Gene Tyranny, All Music Guide
