About My Requiem

The score of the piano reduction version is published. There is also an orchestra rental score and each part.

For inquiries about my music score, please send e-mail the publisher.

 

<Performances abroad>
*2012 (Prague, Rudolfinum)

  April 1, at Dvorak Hall (overseas premiere)
*2014 (Vienna)

  October 11, at St. Stephen's Cathedral
*2016 (Florence)

  September 22, at The Basilica of Santa Trinita
*2016(Düsseldorf)

  November 13, at Thomas Church

​

This work was inspired by the Great Hanshin Earthquake that occurred on January 17, 1995.Composition began in 2008, the completed premiere was done in Kobe on January 17, 2010.

    That earthquake destroyed the city of Kobe, and I racked my brain to find a way that I, as a composer, could support the people in Kobe. Eventually, I had the idea to compose a requiem that could be sung by the the survivors themselves, who had fought so tenaciously to rebuild their lives in a city that had been turned to ruins.

    This work differs slightly from the usual format of a requiem in that while all 10 movements contain Mass texts, four movements also contain original lyric that I have composed. The latter half consists of  cheerful music ending with a hymn of hope.

    I composed this work with the hope that it would enable the survivors ti grieve for those they have lost by singing out the sadness and suffering, make them feel the joy of being alive and slowly move them along the path toward hope.

    This requiem is not only about Kobe. I composed this piece to honor the precious lives that were lost in all kinds of tragedies, from natural disasters to war and terrorism, and to create a bridge to a bright future for those who are alive today.

    This requiem is sung by many people in Japan. iThe areas played are Kobe, Tokyo, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Okinawa, Sayo-cho. And it is also playing in Sendai(Miyagi), Minami Soma(Fukushima) and Kuji(Iwate) of East Japan Great Earthquake disaster area.

 

    This work will honour the victim of many tragedies that have taken place around the world, and express our hope for a peaceful and bright future.

​