Snow in August

While we are enjoying a cool summer, other regions are experiencing temperatures exceeding 35 degrees Celsius—for example, Tokyo is exceeding 40 degrees. At times like this, one can’t help but wish for a few days of snow…
An essay about my choral piece “Snow” has been published in the magazine Sprachkunst – Beiträge zur Literaturwissenschaft.
The title is: “The Role of Snow in Poetry: A Case Study from the Early Modern Period to the Present,” edited by Christine Frank.

Musicologist and Japan expert Imke Misch carefully analyzes the work and introduces my background.
Musicologists interpret music from a different perspective than composers. My job is simply to write the desired notes on the paper.

Musicologists read works in a different way than composers. When I compose, I intuitively write down many things. After completing the piece, I reread my music and notice that the sounds coexist. In many cases, this is not due to conscious reasons.

Reading her analysis, I find things in my music that I had not noticed before. It is truly fascinating to see how musicologists recognize structures and connections that I was not aware of when composing. It’s as if someone is explaining to me “what you really wanted to say.” This adds another dimension to the music. As a composer, it’s surprising, like looking into a mirror that reflects my inner self. I feel that the notes should be that way, so I write them down. I don’t need to explain to myself why. However, musicologists can visualize it. 
It’s very impressive.