Haiku in music: 5 sublime pearls of Matsuo Bashō transformed into musical fragments

In this article, I want to present five haiku by the great Japanese master Matsuo Bashō (1644 – 1694), accompanied by as many musical fragments composed and recorded by me on various instruments, including the Koto, a typical chordophone resembling a small harp and widespread throughout Japan.

For the time structure, I adopted an irregular tempo of 5/8 for the first and last bars and one of 7/8 for the middle bars. This way, the haiku’s syllabic (or, more accurately, blackberry-based) structure can be reproduced according to the 5/7/5 pattern. Of course, these are not authentic compositions where a theme undergoes various elaborations, and harmony plays a significant role. In this case, considering the minimalist and brief nature of haiku, I thought that the space of only three lines could try to express the poem’s meaning (in emotional terms).

Viewed from the perspective of musical composition, these fragments can be imagined in a sequence interspersed with a silent space from which the notes emerge and then fade away like waves of the sea. My vision of haiku is not isolated compositions (which might remind one of the hermetic approach) but microcosms that follow one another like dew drops that slowly fall off a leaf and fall to the ground.

Snow will return this year

Will the snow return this year 
That together with you 
I contemplated?

Koto‘s composition focuses on the question and interweaving of memory, then ends in a short crescendo that remains suspended, indicating the uncertainty that the haiku communicates.

Silence

Silence.  
A song of cicadas
Scratches the stone.

This short melodic fragment is written for Shakuhachi, a wind instrument typical of Japan.

It is evening now

It is evening now. 
Among the flowers 
chimes of bells extinguish.

The instrument chosen for this short melody is the cello, which, with its warm, twilight thunder, calls to the evening calm and the landscape that tends toward the stasis of night.

Fast Moon

Fast moon: 
The tops of the trees 
Are soaked with rain.

The short composition is designed for solo violin, alternating between pizzicato and the use of the bow to render the co-presence of a moonscape imbued with raindrops slowly falling to the ground.

End of the year

End of the year. 
All the corners 
Of this floating world are swept away.

This last haiku was dedicated to the classical guitar I love and play. The idea is to create a kind of suspension that abruptly veers toward a cadence, as if the initial awareness of the end of the year is lulled by memories of this “liquid” world only to suddenly witness their dissolution and, ultimately, the advent of a new year.

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Short biographical note on Matsuo Bashō

Matsuo Bashō, born in 1644 in Ueno, Japan, was a renowned Japanese poet of the Edo period who played a significant role in developing haiku poetry. Bashō is best known for his minimalist style, which aimed to capture the essence of a moment in a few words. His haiku often reflected themes of nature, travel, and the impermanence of life.

Bashō’s most famous work, “The Narrow Road to the Deep North,” chronicles his travels across Japan and has been celebrated for its profound insights and lyrical beauty. His poetry collections, including “The Sound of Water” and “Monkey’s Raincoat,” have inspired generations of poets worldwide.

Through his mastery of language and keen observation of the natural world, Matsuo Bashō revolutionized the form of haiku, elevating it to a respected literary genre. His legacy continues to resonate today as his timeless verses capture the fleeting beauty of life and the interconnectedness of all things.

For more on haiku and further reading.

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Last update on 2024-06-24 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

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