Art of Bamboo, The - The International Shakuhachi Society

Art of Bamboo, The

Sugawara Kuniyoshi
Kyoto Records - KYCH 2011
1997

Track	Title	Kanji	Length	Artist
1	Jogen no Kyoku	上弦の曲	14'35	Shakuhachi: Sugawara Kuniyoshi Koto: Izumiyama Shoko
	This duet for koto and shakuhachi was written by the leading koto composer and performer Tadao Sawai. The unique chacteristics of each instrument are developed through a dialogue between them. Both parts require the highest level of musical and technical ability. Particularly the fast passages require teamwork to produce the necessary tension and subtlety of expression. This is one of Sawai’s most important works.
2	Meikyo	明鏡	12'42	Shakuhachi: Sugawara Kuniyoshi Shamisen: Baba Hiroko
	This work of Kineya is built on a traditional base which centers on the nagauta shamisen tradition, but a myriad of novel techniques appear on that base. Breathing techniques are the life of shakuhachi classics, and when similar musical ideas are expressed by the shamisen, new combinations of shamisen and shakuhachi possibilities are born. Kineya is the only composer capable of producing these splendid ideas.
3	Shikyoku No 1	詩曲一番	13'38	Shakuhachi: Sugawara Kuniyoshi Koto: Kuribayashi Hideaki
	This work, Matsumura’s first for traditional Japanese instruments, was composed in 1969 for the Matsushita Exhibition Hall at the Osaka World Exposition. As a contemporary composer, most of Matsumura's works are in Western style, but he is also involved in promoting the rediscovery of classic style traditional music. This work is not based on "Western" or "Japanese" principles, but rather makes the unique characteristics of the shakuhachi and koto come alive.
4	Kangen Hissho	絃秘抄	15'55	Shakuhachi: Sugawara Kuniyoshi Koto: Izumiyama Shoko
	This is one of the standard works in the contemporary repertoire for traditional instruments. The composer says, "Our predecessors left us very little pure instrumental music; most of the repertoire is vocal with occasional instrumental sections. But in those instrumental sections the heart sings beautifully and because they are irreplaceable they still exist today. I have tapped that 'monument' which is secretly flowing through our veins and written this work." The continuous splendid koto and shakuhachi themes in this masterpiece clearly show that they are not just accompanimental instruments.
5	Aki no Kyoku (Modern)	秋の曲	14'01	Shakuhachi: Sugawara Kuniyoshi Koto: Miyakoshi Keiko
	This lyrical work was composed by Minoru Miki for shakuhachi and twenty-string koto. It is divided into two parts, "Prologue" and "Autumn Fantasy." The koto part requires technical proficiency, and the tremolos in "Prologue" and the flowing melody in "Autumn Fantasy" give it a romantic and melancholic autumn feeling. The fast shakuhachl passages, wide tonal range, and heights of the twenty-string koto composition and create a piece which flows non-stop.