by mendicant Buddhist monks in the 16th century that characterized the unique lyrical and meditative attributes of the instrument which later on were passed down to secular concert music such as the geisha songs and sankyoku (chamber music). In terms of the variety of genres involved, for a Japanese composer such an instrumental context must have not been easy to deal with (see Fig. 6).

---

---

In November Steps Takemitsu is able to outshine such diversities by questioning the obvious cultural cliches associated with Western and Eastern art. The shakuhachi and biwa are exploited primarily as dramatic instruments whilst the orchestra provides the necessary gestural support and timbral nuances, often with an impressionistic flavour. By so doing, however, the composer does not disregard the other qualities of both instruments nor the traditional spirit of Japanese sensibility at all. This is an inclusive, rather than exclusive, solution in that both elements – the dramatic and the meditative – coexist at a high degree of intensity. Out of the contrasting genres and instrumental logistics described, he is able to include the traditional connotations of the Japanese – through the use of pitch structures and instrumental techniques – in a contemporary and more universal idiom, as exemplified in the final cadenza. A most striking instance is the sensation of sound not only as a physical attribute, but also a psychological notion. This is the Japanese concept of ma, a particular sensibility towards highly complex sounds perceived as complete events in themselves and described by Takemitsu as ‘. . . an unquantifiable metaphysical space (duration) of dynamically tensed absence of sound’ (Takemitsu: 1994). In such a space, the ‘interplay’ between sound, time and silence becomes a powerful feature of this work (see Figs. 7–9).

What if the same music would have been written by a Western composer? Should a Westerner using a sitar embrace the technical, stylistic and aesthetic package of Indian musical tradition, or rather detach the instrument from its original cultural background? And should a Chinese composer using an oboe subscribe to the technical and stylistic conventions of Western music or use the instrument according to the stylistic paradigms of Chinese music?

My work Encounter for world percussions, harpsichord and electronics, written in 1998, was commissioned by the British harpsichordist Jane Chapman and writ-