Analysis Of Toshio Hosokawa’s Vertical Time Study

As one of the most famous composer in Japan, Toshio Hosokawa (1955-) is now being hailed as the most potential of the Japanese composers after Torn Takemitsu by the international music. The style of Hosokawa fell under the influence of Japanese traditional culture and Western composing technique. And on the basis, to incorporate the above characteristics thus formed his music style, Hosokawa sublimated his works to another spiritual and religious level. This paper takes music analysis as the perspective and discusses the composing technique of vertical time study, based on the introduction of presenting Toshio Hosokawa and his works.Taking Toshio Hosokawa’s vertical time study Ⅱ&Ⅲ as an example, the article analyzed the specific composing techniques. In the structure of pitch, vertical time study Ⅰ contains the core materials of the pitch, namely, symmetry tetrachord. The first chapter analyzed for all four dimensions:twelve-tone series, free disposed the pitch, lengthway structure of the pitch and musical form. The second chapter analyzed the pitch mode of vertical time study Ⅲ on the three aspects:structure of chords, artificial scale and musical form. The re-emergency of symmetry tetrachord makes the structure of pitch uniformly in the two works. Based on the analyses above, the third chapter discussed the use of "holon" in the two works for four dimensions:the "holon" technique, the structure of "holon", the penetration of "holon" and the decoration of "holon". Besides, the "holon" technique of Hosokawa is compared with Isang Yun’s combined with the reference of relevant literatures. The vertical time study draws upon the concept from calligraphy’s white space, making the works with sound characteristic of "nihility and reality". So the fourth chapter discussed the mode of sound structure in the vertical time study on the five aspects:the notation, timbre, dynamic, rhythm, and tempo.