Lyrics by Matsuo Bashō

Translations by Robert Bly & Donald Keene

The temple bell stops –
but the sound keeps coming
out of the flowers.

—

Such stillness—
The cries of the cicadas
Sink into the rocks.

Program Note

Matsuo Bashō (1644-1694) was one of the most famous Japanese poets during the Edo period.  Today, he is known as one of the most masterful writers of haiku.  For Two Haiku, I analyzed the spectral components of two different temple bells.  Each of these bells contains a fascinating complex of inharmonic partials, which I used as the basis for the harmonic and melodic materials in these songs.