Search - Tangerine Dream :: Autumn in Hiroshima

Introspection and enlightenment in equal measure

Steve Benner | Lancaster, UK | 05/09/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Autumn in Hiroshima" is the third of Tangerine Dream's "Five Atomic Seasons", an on-going musical project undertaken in response to a commission from a Japanese business manager, identified only as "Mr HT". It continues HT's personal chronicle in the aftermath of the atom-bomb attacks on Nagasaki and Hiroshima in August 1945 and as such follows on from where "Summer in Nagasaki" left off. While drifting somewhat aimlessly in both the collective shock experienced by the whole Japanese nation over the enormity of the atrocities, as well as the intense personal shock at the death of his fiancée, Ayumi, in the bombing of Nagasaki, HT found himself sharing a train carriage with a group of Buddhist monks who seemed, oddly, not to share in the collective numbness of the other passengers. "Autumn in Hiroshima" portrays the circumstances of HT's encounter with the monks and his subsequent spiritual journey in the months that followed, after agreeing to accompany them back to their small Zen monastery, located just 90 miles north of Hiroshima.



Like the other discs in the series, the music plays continuously over its 57-minute duration but with each section assigned a separate track (and title). As befits its subject, the music is both more intimate and more personal than on the opening disc of the series ("Springtime in Nagasaki"). It is also, in my opinion, much better at portraying its intended subject matter than the second disc in the series, "Summer in Nagasaki", with this third disc recapturing much of the oriental flavour as well as some of the musical depth and cohesiveness present in the opening volume but so sadly lacking from the second. Significant contributions from musicians other than Edgar Froese -- most notably wordless vocals from Barbara Kindermann and Iris Camaa; flute from Linda Spa and a luscious guitar contribution from Bernhard Beibl -- also provide an added richness and variety, although some listeners may find sections such as 'Awareness (1st Teaching)', for instance, rather too close to "Inferno" for their liking. There are times when the musical ideas are somewhat hackneyed but overall I would say that this part of the project has been pulled off reasonably well and certainly much better than the previous one.



The only disappointing feature of the disc for me was the ending, with the music feeling to fizzle out merely because the time was up, rather than to come to any particular conclusion (or even a sensible pausing place, given that there are still two parts of this project to follow.) Overall though, anyone who enjoyed either of the earlier parts of this series will undoubtedly enjoy this release also and need not hesitate about buying; those without either are urged to try "Springtime..." first.



The discs making up "The Five Atomic Seasons" are being made available as limited edition releases by Eastgate (Edgar Froese's publishing company) directly from their online music store but are otherwise in short supply. "Springtime in Nagasaki" was released in March 2007, with "Summer in Nagasaki" following in July of that year. This third disc in the series dates from October 2008; the fourth part, "Winter in Hiroshima", released in August 2009. There remains no official word at this time on the likely availability date for the concluding part."

Boring Background Noodlings from Tangerine Dream

Paul Cook | Tempe, Arizona USA | 12/14/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I've followed TD since the mid 70s and since the mid-Eighties, their music has gone virtually straight downhill. The problem is that they produce too much music and too much of it is easily made. These are just mellow noodlings that TD can crank out in their sleep. There's nothing exciting here; nothing inventive. I listened to this disc one and a half times then threw it away. Yes. I threw it away. I'll never trust any review of their music again. This is just background music, something to have playing while you're chopping lettuce for dinner or cleaning out the cat box."