Eternal Garden (2020) for string orchestra

In one of his late journal entries, Toru Takemitsu contemplates time, human perception, and the implications of music on reaching unknown dimensions. He relates these philosophical concepts to the continual act of music composition: “I do not stop composing, because I cannot give up hope of being one of these gardeners cultivating infinite time.” This quote led to the birth of Eternal Garden, in which a string orchestra assists me in my own contemplation of time, dimension, and composition.

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As a garden does, the piece grows through various musical environments. First, bright string harmonics nourish a melody, which erects from droning texture. This melody develops throughout the piece, weaving through countermelodies and cycling through key areas. Left attended by the natural occurrence of entropy, organic chaos and overgrowth ensue – represented by a thickening texture, comprised of scalar patterns that create ambiguous sonorities. After the point of highest tension, the garden returns to its initial droning state, as if restarting. Thus, the piece has the potential to begin again, becoming infinite like time.