Tokyo Shift Response (2019-2020) for quintet

Tokyo Shift Response is a song cycle for quintet (instrumentation is slightly flexible). It was composed between 2019 and 2020 and sets poetry by Tokyo based sound artist, designer, and poet suzueri.

suzueri’s poems come from a monograph called Tokyo Shift Response 東京シフトレスポンス which catalogued an open-lab event using nuclear waste from Fukishima. suzueri’s poems are short meditations on the themes of “decay”, “radioactivity”, and “death”.

Tokyo Shift Response is approximately 13-15 minutes long. It was commissioned by Kamraton and was premiered November 8, 2020.

It’s sibling piece, Tokyo Shift Response Shards is approximately 10 minutes and was written for and premiered by the TAK Ensemble in January 25, 2020.

version for flutes, clarinets, soprano, violin and cello performed by Kamraton

cover of Tokyo Shift Response monograph

photo of a cicada toy used in Tokyo Shift Response

Instrumentation:

C flute (doubling alto flute), Bb clarinet (doubling bass clarinet and half clarinet), soprano, violin, and cello

the soprano also requires access to a triangle, transistor radio capable of producing white noise, and a cicada toy.

OR

C flute (doubling alto flute), Bb clarinet (doubling bass clarinet and half clarinet), soprano, violin, and percussion

percussionist requires: one triangle, cicada toy, crotales, one low tom drum (played w/ rute and superball mallet) and a transistor radio

score and parts can be purchased here

version for flutes, clarinets, soprano, percussion, and violin performed by TAK Ensemble