From the lake was inspired by the following Zen poem taken from the Buddhacarita:
A lotus unsoiled by the dust of passion,
Sprung from the lake of knowledge;
A sun that destroys the darkness of delusion;
A moon that takes away the scorching heat
Of the inherent sins of existence.
(The Buddhacarita, Book XIV)
Subtle stylistic allusions to European 19th Century music have been used as syntactic codes appearing and disappearing throughout the piece in interlaced fashion.
From the lake was commissioned by Piet Van Bockstal and premiered by Piet Van Bockstal and Yutaka Oya at the Tokyo Wonder Site, Tokyo, on 1st July 2005.