Haruo Asakawa: Four Hymnodies

This collection of works was composed when Asakawa traveled to Italy in the summer of 1974, while he was studying at the Liszt Academy of Music in Hungary. He encountered Michelangelo's (1475-1564) four Pietà sculptures, which deeply moved and inspired him. "Hymnody" refers to hymns or sacred songs. "Pietà," meaning "pity" or "compassion" in Italian, refers to sculptures or paintings of the Virgin Mary holding the dead Christ after he has been taken down from the cross, among depictions of the Madonna and Child.

Each of the four pieces is dedicated to one of Michelangelo's four Pietà sculptures (three of which are unfinished) located in the Vatican, Florence, and Milan. The first piece is subtitled "Notre Dame" (Our Lady), the second "Magnificat" (Canticle of Mary), the third "Ricercare," and the fourth "Stabat Mater" (The sorrowful Mother stood). Each piece begins and ends with piano chords imitating the sound of church bells, yet all are subtly different. The composer himself stated that the origin of these bell sounds was his persistent effort to express on the piano what he heard every morning in Hungary, making them a symbol of Asakawa's works.

There are no indications for tempo or dynamics, leaving the interpretation to the performer's sensibility; however, it is crucial to perform with an awareness that this is music of prayer.