bass clarinet
BASS CLARINET CONCERTO BY
SOMEI SATOH
Homage to Vincent van Gogh
photo of the World Premiere © Yamaguchi Atsushi
THE WORLD PREMIERE OF THE BASS CLARINET CONCERTO OF SOMEI SATOH WITH CONDUCTOR JUNICHI HIROKAMI, THE JAPAN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA AND FRANS MOUSSAULT (MUSO) AS SOLOIST IN THE SUNTORY HALL TOKYO WAS ON THE 11TH & 12TH OF JULY 2025
The Bass clarinet concerto of Somei Satoh, which is dedicated to Frans Moussault is a homage to the painter Vincent van Gogh. Somei Satoh writes about his connection with van Gogh:
“I know my musical talent can not be compared with the artistic talent of Van Gogh. There is a difference between heaven and earth, but I see one similarity. Both Van Gogh and I see the unseeable, hear the inaudible.”
“In the paintings of Van Gogh, this world and the other world overlap. Sometimes lights of different dimensions gently cross each other, and sometimes sharp light causes halation.”
“Some people say he was mad. But I think that his perception was quite normal. People have forgotten or lost their sense of perception. Time does not stream into one direction, from the past to the future. Past, present and future are always mixed in chaos. One moment is eternal.”
“A human being is not enclosed in an infinite space. The universe exists in a single elementary particle. That secret is hidden in Van Gogh’s paintings. I wish my music also contains the same secret.”
translation by Fuyuko Tomita
from left to right: Somei Satoh, Frans Moussault, Yukari Nanami
original text by Somei Satoh:
『僕とゴッホの才能は天と地ほどの開きがありますが、共通点があると思います。
僕とゴッホは眼に見えざるものを見、耳に聞こえざるものを聴いていることです。
ゴッホの絵はあの世とこの世の風景が重なっています。
あるいは異なる次元の光がやわやわと交差し、時には強烈に射し込みハレーションを起こしています。
それを狂気と感じる人もいますが、ゴッホの感覚こそが人間にとって正常なのです。
その感覚を人はいつの間にか忘れてしまったのにすぎません。
時間は過去から未来に一方方向に流れるのではなく、過去現在未来は常に混淆し、一瞬は永遠なのです。
人間は無限の空間に包含されるのではなく、一粒の素粒子に永遠の宇宙がある。
ゴッホの絵にはその秘密が隠されているのです。僕の音楽もそうありたいと常に願ってきました。』
Frans Moussault about the bass clarinet concerto of Somei Satoh:
"When I was around the age of twenty, there were two important events for me:
First: I heard the Zen Shakuhachi for the first time and was deeply impressed: That was how I wanted to make music. The Shakuhachi has endless expressive possibilities, including in tone and in a deep eloquence that seemed to be between heaven and earth.
Second: I discovered the bass clarinet. This instrument produces a sound that embraces you, a sound of comfort, of shared sorrow and compassion.
These elements come together in Somei Satoh's bass clarinet concerto:
It is music between heaven and earth with a deep expressiveness. and it is also music of comfort, shared sorrow and compassion.”
Review of the World Premiere by ClassicNavi Japan:
披露目が今回にまで至った作品。独奏バス・クラリネット、ハープ、弦楽という編成だ。曲は、（もはや死語に近いかもしれないが）〝幽玄〟との形容が相応しい音楽。発音方法の異なる3種の器楽が、特性の差異を示しつつ、宇宙的ともいえる音空間を醸成する。ハープが琴、バス・クラリネットが尺八を彷彿させる場面をはじめ、和のテイストも濃厚だ。ムソーは、楽器の特殊性を意識させない自然なスタンスで、太く柔らかなソロを聴かせる。滅多にない編成によるこの静謐（せいひつ）な音楽は、不思議なインパクトをもたらしたと言っていい。
The concerto composed by Somei Satoh for Muso, written in 2017, was originally scheduled to premiere during the pandemic period, but that plan was thwarted, and the piece has finally been unveiled on this occasion. Scored for solo bass clarinet, harp, and strings, the work can best be described — though the term may now be almost obsolete — as yūgen, or profound subtlety. The three types of instruments, each with distinct modes of sound production, reveal their unique characteristics while together cultivating a cosmic sonic space. There are passages where the harp evokes the koto and the bass clarinet recalls the shakuhachi, imbuing the music with a strong Japanese flavor. Muso performs the solo with a naturally fluid presence that makes one forget the instrument’s peculiarities, delivering a robust yet gentle sound. This serene music, created with a rarely encountered instrumentation, left a curious and undeniable impact.
picture: Boomwortels by Vincent van Gogh. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Stichting)
