"A legend is the point of departure for a narrative structure"6 in Assad's Sun Wukong's Tocatta. Through a connected series of musical metaphors and symbols, Assad creates a work that represents many different characteristics of the Monkey King, Sun Wukong, as well as some key moments from Journey to the West. Here, the cultural influence is a significant work of classic Chinese literature and the authentic use of this influence may be assessed by how Assad represents each characteristic of the character and element of the story. Because Assad is using musical imagery as representation of the cultural elements, it would be difficult to objectively say that each representation has been done authentically. However, the piece contains many of these musical symbols and the intricacies in Assad's score of how they relate to the source material illustrate both Assad's musical intentions and his deep understanding of the legend and the character. Assad not only includes a great number of effects and motifs to portray different traits of Sun Wukong but he also structures the work in ways that mirror the narrative thread of the novel. We looked at just three examples of these musical symbols (Chapter III, Part I) but there are many more in the score that provide even more information about how Assad intends to represent different aspects of both the characters and the story (for more about the other symbols, see Assad's full score at Les Productions D'OZ). These numerous symbols, that are presented within the short span of around seven minutes, present a cultural authenticity to the work as Assad represents both character and novel in a convincing way by including a varied set of musical and structural symbols that aim to give the truest impression of the source material.
All three cases showcase the authentic use of cultural influences in similar ways. Takemitsu notates his score with precise and clear musical directions to communicate the philosophy of Ma to performers of his music; Dyens keeps every single melodic note true to its popular form (Teng's version) in his arrangement; and Assad includes a great number of musical and compositional ideas to paint a more vivid reimagining of the character of Sun Wukong through sound. What may be established from these findings is that authentic representations of the cultural influences, in all three, has been achieved through the high-level of detail that each composer/arranger has added to their scores. Rather than just implying their respective cultural influences, each example convinces us that the creative artist behind the work has a deep insight into the source of this influence and this is shown by their attention to detail in trying to represent a particular philosophy, melody or narrative structure through musical and compositional devices.
Authenticity is essential in the representation of cultural influences within art. Misrepresentation of culture is the direct result of a lack of cultural authenticity and a culturally inauthentic work can result in an unclear, inaccurate and/or insensitive representation of a culture. The purpose of cultural influences should be to promote culture through art, and vice versa. "Art is a lie that makes us realize truth, at least the truth that is given to us to understand" - Pablo Picasso7. In the case of music influenced by other cultures, one of the truths is the culture itself. To give a false impression of a culture by making use of cultural elements in an inaccurate way creates a different 'truth' about the culture, perhaps even a stereotype. It is this fear of stereotyping and potential denigration of culture through misrespresentation that has become associated with the term "cultural appropriation". In the next chapter, we shall explore the ideas and concepts of this term in depth, looking at some examples in history and art and considering the cultural implications so that we may be better informed as to how we can approach cultural inspiration in music in a sensitive and appropriate manner.
All the works that have been looked at in the previous three chapters have, of course, taken inspiration from an Eastern culture. Takemitsu notes in his essays the Japanese philosophies that have informed his compositional process; Dyens, Yocoh and Kanno have arranged popular and folkloric melodies from China and Japan; and Assad uses musical symbols to represent different aspects of the character of Sun Wukong from the Chinese legend Journey to the West. Has the implementation of these cultural influences through music been done in a way that represents the cultures in an authentic way? Why is it important that the cultures that have been used as inspiration be represented in an authentic way? This chapter will discuss these questions so that we may begin to develop an understanding of the ethical considerations that must be made going forward towards the third part of this research - where I shall be involved in bringing forth new repertoire with Eastern cultural influences.
Terminology and the semantics of particular keywords will be important in this part of the investigation. I would like to draw attention to the first keyword: cultural authenticity. Authenticity is defined as the quality of being real or true1. In relation to the cultural influences of the pre-existing works of Part I, a cultural influence and its implementation in an original work or arrangement may be called authentic if that cultural influence represents the culture, that it is coming from, in its truest sense. Let us then take an example from each chapter and evaluate the autheticity of the representation of its respective cultural influence.
In the chapter that dealt with the works and writings of Tōru Takemitsu, the importance of the Japanese philosophy of Ma in In the Woods was discussed. Takemitsu notated his scores in a way that encourages the performer to create an awareness of the space between notes by writing whole bars of rest or using fermati (figure 7 and 8 in Chapter I, Part I). But what makes the use of this Japanese philosophy of Ma authentic? Fortunately, Takemitsu left many written records about his philosophy and thoughts on art and music (his own music and the music of other composers). The Japanese Garden (gardens created in line with Japanese aesthetics) fascinated Takemitsu, especially the "color spacing and form"2 of specific types of gardens like the kaiyu-shiki - the "stroll garden". Ma is quite present in the creation and appreciation of Japanese gardens. Different elements of the garden are spaced out in relation to one another and these empty spaces create a sense of 'breath' that gives a feeling of connection between the elements of the garden and the viewer3. Interestingly in figure 8, Takemitsu notates a breath marks after the final chord, that have been notated with a long rhythmic value and a fermata (figure 8 in Chapter I, Part I). The rhythmic values and the fermata themselves already imply the idea of Ma as these directions urge the performer to hold the space for chords and notes as long as possible but this small addition of a breath mark not only provides more musical direction but also shows Takemitsu's deep understanding of the concept of Ma. "Breath" through Ma is a fundamental philosophy in the Japanese Garden and Takemitsu has introduced this concept authentically (in a true sense) in the way that he has notated his scores with this fine detail that may seem, at first, primarily musical but actually serves a philosophical purpose.
Dyens' arrangement of Weng Ching-hsi The Moon Represents My Heart 月亮代表我的心 is an arrangement that showcases Dyens' compositional style whilst remaining authentic to the original source material. Although there have been numerous recordings and arrangements of the song, the song was made popular by the culturally iconic pop singer, Teresa Teng, during the late 1970s4. Comparing Dyens' arrangement with the version by Teng, the melody is identical (despite being in different keys). Wherever the melody is presented, Dyens writes this, note for note, in the same way as it is sung by Teng (including ornamentations). It is as if Dyens has artistic freedom with every other line that is not the melody. In this way, Dyens preserves the melodic authenticity of the popular version of the song. The huge popularity of Teng's version became a cultural sensation in China and the song was seen as: "something completely new, people of [that] generation were suddenly infected with this very personal, individual world."5. By remaining authentic to Teng's version (through the melody), Dyens captures this cultural significance of this song which is known nationally within China because of Teng's rendition. Below are the versions by Teng and Dyens (performed by Yang).
Figure 8h