Description

When considering this composition Rattling Darkness, I was also creating a large-scale work for Shomyo, Japanese Buddhist vocal music, at the same time. The texts used in that Shomyo work were
‘Wind Chant’ and ‘Night Chant,’ which are based on the traditional poetry of the Native Americans and which Navaho people use when they have their traditional sand painting rituals. I tried to know their thoughts on their chant and to feel the meaning and sound of the chant as Navaho people do.

While studying their chant, rituals, and the Navaho creation myth, I encountered the term “rattling darkness,” which means “shaking the dark.” “Rattling darkness” made me envision dry and “empty” nights in New Mexico, unlike Japanese cold nights with high humidity. I imagined the voice of the chant drifting in the darkness of that empty night, and then, I composed this piece, like translating their voice into the sound of the trombone.