Jo Kondo ‘Pomegranate’ (2020) for solo piano

Описание: Performed by Satoko Inoue

Programme Note:
The form of this work is based on responsorial plain chant, in which a cantor sings first and then the chorus responds. That is to say, a single melody is played, and then the melody is repeated along with other notes (in other words, with added thickness of sound). This repetition occurs twice (unlike in the case of responsorial chants), and the second repetition has an even denser texture than the first. However, we cannot necessarily recognize that they are repetitions of the same melody here, because the original melody is buried in the chordal textures (in other words, the chord-colourings of each individual note that constitute the original melody) which grow thicker with each repetition. Thus the second repetition may be heard as a transformation of the melody into thicker sounds (sounds as colour) rather than as a repetition of the melody.

In any case, after a melody is repeated a total of three times in this way, it is followed by a new melody. The entire form of the piece is based on the repetition of this process of three repetitions of each melody.

There is no particular reason why I named this piece ‘Pomegranate’. When I finished writing the piece, the name came into my mind – that is the sole reason.

Pomegranate was composed on commission from Satoko Inoue. Some time after I sent her the completed score, I happened to learn that pomegranate is one of her favourite foods. That said, even if I thought that perhaps there was some unconscious inevitability at work in this title, that would be, of course, only a delusion. (Jo Kondo)


"Feldman meets freq"
Date: 18-20 February 2022
Venue: Kyushu University, Faculty of Design, Acoustic Research Centre

In partnership with freq, an event that has been exploring the sounds produced by media technology for the past twenty years, ‘Feldman meets freq’ introduced the profound influence of composer Morton Feldman and American experimental music on contemporary and electronic music in Japan, particularly among Fukuoka-based composers and performers. Hear beautiful patterns, the complex yet quiet and profound music of Feldman, his colleagues, his students, and his admirers, performed by the best contemporary and electronic musicians from Fukuoka and Japan.


We acknowledge the financial support of the Asahi Group Arts Foundation, and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science’s Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (19K21615).