Nami no Ho (score)

This piece was born from the wintry sea where snow dances and the wind and waves rage. It captures such a scene that one cannot help but feel the harshness.
However, the main focus is not on depicting this severity. It expresses the wish that winter will eventually lead to abundant harvests. Life is nurtured precisely because of the harsh winter. The "ears of waves" shattered by the wind and spray become waves of ears of grain, swaying in the wind through the seasons. This piece portrays winter as a premonition of fertility, depicted as an omnipresent landscape.
Especially in these times when material things are abundant, but there is a lingering sense of coldness in our hearts. I hope that the new century will be one where strong life, nurtured by hardship, thrives and we regain a rich sense of humanity. This is the wish embedded in the piece.
As a side note, the "SO-SO-MI" used several times in the piece is due to its similarity to the sound of "TO-TO-MI", the old name of the region to which the commissioning organization belongs.

Commissioned by Yamaha Symphonic Band in 2000.

(Jun Nagao)