Work of the Week - Atsuhiko Gondai: Decathexis

The US première of Decathexis, the latest orchestral work by the young Japanese composer Atsuhiko Gondai takes place on 14th of December in New York at the world-famous Carnegie Hall. Decathexis was co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall and the Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto and will be performed by the Saito Kinen Orchestra under Tatsuya Shimono as part of the JapanNYC festival curated by artistic director Seiji Ozawa. Alongside various musical events the citywide celebration will include traditional Noh theatre, Butoh dancing, Manga, exhibitions and Japanese cinema.

The unusual title of the piece derives from the psychoanalytical term “cathexis”, which describes the charging of mental or emotional energy in people or their ideas; decathexis is the opposite, the withdrawal of this energy. In his work Gondai takes this meaning even further to a philosophical-religious experience:

Decathexis describes the way to reach nirvana; that is to say, it is resignation of all worldly affection, release from every relationship, and the perception of eternity fusing with universe after leaving the limited body.

Infinity and eternity are reoccurring subjects in Gondai’s music and often manifest themselves through ideas inspired by his collaborations with the Buddhist priest Shomyo. In Decathexis the search for the state of eternity is represented among other things by a special arrangement of different meters. The complete work is marked by regular time changes with the number of beats per bar shifting between 1/8 time and 8/8 time – the proportions increasing or decreasing. At the almost silent conclusion of the work (fivefold p!) a 13/8 time is finally reached while the violins transcend to their highest range to reach a final long fermata.

• Atsuhiko Gondai - Profile
  
• Festival JapanNYC