How Slow the Wind by Toru Takemitsu with Christian Lindberg , trombone. Kioi Sinfonietta Tokyo, conductor Tadaaki Otaka.

BIS-CD-1078

Toru Takemitsu, who died in 1996, was a self-taught musician, fascinated by the Western music he heard during the war years.

An essayist and composer of film music, with a prolific library of works, he had no interest in his native Japanese music until his later years. His inspiration was Debussy, Messaien and Webern.

This CD opens with Rain Coming written in 1982, and as an introduction to his music it is a symbolic metaphor to water. The music flows, the rain is gentle. His idea of incorporating the sounds of nature is shown in many of his titles.

It was his composition Requiem for Strings, in 1959, that brought him recognition. The piece was dedicated to his teacher and was heard by Stravinsky, who praised it highly while on a visit to Japan, in 1959.

An unusual track for me was Fantasma/Cantos 11, which features the melodic trombone of Christian Lindberg, a sound one doesn't associate with Japan.

It does, however, have an oriental feel, with the use of silences and elegant strings, the trombone slips in and gives an almost 1940s interpretation to some of the phrases.

For the most part I found this an unusual and elegant CD, in fact I was very taken with it. The imagery is reflective, curious, and at times quite soporific.

Give it a try if you fancy something a little different.