Shi-o no Ne(SSAA)

Digital Score ONLY (currently this is only for participants of the 6th Tokyo International Choir Competition)

Composer：Naoto Aizawa

Words from composer

 I appreciate that “Shiruya Kimi(Do you know this, my dear?),” which I composed for the set piece at the 1st Tokyo International Choir Competition, has been sung by many people since then. This time, I was commissioned again, and as before, I chose the same poet, Toson Shimazaki.

 The coming of spring as felt through the changing tides. The first half of the poem describes the ebb tide in seven-and-five syllable meter, and the second half describes the rising tide in five-and-seven syllable meter. That contrast between the two is the very joy of life, isn’t it?

 In composing the piece, I focused on tracing the landscape imagined from the metaphorical words into the harmony. Therefore, subtleties of dynamik and agogik should be evoked spontaneously from the feeling of harmony, and the music should be espressivo and have free elegance.

Note: The original title “潮音” is generally read as “Shione” or “Chōon,” but I have adopted “しほのね(Shionone)” from the last line of the poem as the title of the piece.