- Karen Tanaka
Wave Mechanics II (1994)
- Chester Music Ltd (World)
Commissioned by the Xebec Hall
Programme Note
Between the spring and summer 94, I had written a piece for 20 instrumentalists entitled ‘Wave Mechanics’ for the Ensemble Kanazawa. In this piece, each instrument was used in a soloistic manner, with special importance given to the first violin part. This part has been extended into this new solo violin piece ‘Wave Mechanics II’.
‘Wave Mechanics’ is originally a technical term of physics. The waves, in this case, are not conceived as having any real physical existence, the term "waves" being used only by analogy as a description of the mathematical relations employed, and the wave would have to be imagined in a hyperspace of many dimensions. This piece interprets concepts of wave mechanics in a metaphorical way, rather than deploying them as a system of immutable mathematical rules.
The pitches E, B-flat and D which appear at the beginning are used as axis throughout the piece, and harmonics and noise generated by those three notes serve as a foundation of the structure.
© Karen Tanaka
‘Wave Mechanics’ is originally a technical term of physics. The waves, in this case, are not conceived as having any real physical existence, the term "waves" being used only by analogy as a description of the mathematical relations employed, and the wave would have to be imagined in a hyperspace of many dimensions. This piece interprets concepts of wave mechanics in a metaphorical way, rather than deploying them as a system of immutable mathematical rules.
The pitches E, B-flat and D which appear at the beginning are used as axis throughout the piece, and harmonics and noise generated by those three notes serve as a foundation of the structure.
© Karen Tanaka