Various - The Koto Music Of Japan mp3

Tracklist

Credits

• Artwork [Cover] – John Trotta
• Compilation Producer – Jac Holzman
• Design [Cover Design] – William S. Harvey
• Recorded By, Liner Notes – Katsumasa Takasago

Notes

Recorded in Japan.

A1. "Echigojishi" is a folk song based on an ancient Lion Dance performed in the festivals of Echigo in the Eastern part of Japan. "Echigojishi" was written in the eighteenth century and has been passed on by generations of talented koto artists.

A2. The kinuta is primitive machinery for refining cloth materials. Though this machine no longer exists, the sound of the kinuta has often been described in poetry and music and suggests the sad monotones of the fall season. The rustling leaves and the voices of insects always accompanied the sound of the kinuta when autumn arrived.
"Godun-kinuta" (kinuta in five steps) is regarded as the unequalled music of autumn. A number of works which simulate the kinuta have been composed, but none of these are comparable to this piece.

A3. Music Of Six Steps ("Rokudan-no-shirabe") is a representative style of koto music composed by Yatsuhashi Kengyo (kengyo is an honorary title given to blind koto masters) who died in 1685. Yatsuhashi was an epic figure in the history of the koto, and his compositions have been widely handed down.
Music Of Six Steps is an "absolute" music consisting of six sections of 52 beats. Though this piece was originally composed for the koto, it later became fashionable to play it on the shamisen (three-stringed guitar-like instrument). The popularity of "Rokudan" was such that succeeding composers often adapted the melody.

B1. Music Of Spring ("Haru-no-kyoku") is one of the important works of the pseudo-classical movement which took place in the nineteenth century. This movement aimed to overcome the modern sentimentality and the concurrent subordination of koto music to shamisen music. The music of the four seasons, including "Haru-no-kyoku", are the culmination of this movement.

B2. "Shin-Takasago" was composed in the nineteenth century and is based upon "Takasago", a famous Noh drama. Takasago is a seaside town near Kobe which has been frequently cited in Japanese literature for its scenic beauty. "Takasago" in the Noh drama describes happiness and joy, emotions evoked by this lovely koto solo.

B3. Evening Glory ("Yugao") was originally written by Kengyo Kikuoka, but later Yaezaki Kengyo turned it into a masterpiece of koto music. It is based upon the "Tale Of Genji", a famous story of the eleventh century. The chapter of "Yugao" tells that when the Lord Genji visited his sick mother in the Gojo House in Kyoto, he found another small house covered with lovely blossoms in which there lived a pretty girl. Genji fell in love with her immediately and invited her to a detached hut. The girl, who was called Evening Glory (Yugao), dies of a curse cast by the spirit which haunted the hut. The lord grieves: "The bud of Evening Glory which opened in the transient dream faded like the cold autumn breeze."
"Yugao", a koto-shamisen-shakuhachi piece, is inspired by the tragedy of Yugao.

About The Performers:
Master Shogin Hagiwara was born in 1900 and lost her eyesight when she was six. She entered the Watanabe School, where she studied koto music of the Ikuta-ryu style. In 1917, she was given the degree of koto master and subsequently taught at the Kyoto School for the Blind. In 1954, she was assigned by the Government as Juyo-Mukei-Bunkazai (an important cultural post) which is one of the great honors for a Japanese Artist.
One of Hagiwara's most promising disciples is Master Ginsho Mineuchi who was born in 1912 and studied under Ihara Kengyo. After Ihara's death in 1926, she became a student of Hagiwara. Now Mineuchi is planning to open her own academy.
In this album Hagiwara plays Rokudan-no-shirabe, a traditional masterpiece composed by Yatsuhashi Kengyo in the seventeenth century. Mineuchi presents a brilliant performance of Godan-Kinuta (music of weaving) with Hagiwara.
Master Kitagawa and her friend Yamaguchi, who both belong to the Seitoha (traditional school) of Ikuta-ryu playing, perform "Yugao", an elegant classic based upon the "Story of Genji" written by a lady of the court named Murasaki in the eleventh century.
Shakuhachi (bamboo flute) master Kikusui Kofu who accompanies the koto artists on this album, is a living giant of the shakuhachi world. He learned Japanese flute music in the Tozanryu, Meianryu, and Uedaryu schools and has been studying for over 15 years. While he specializes in traditional music, he is an important figure in the experimental new directions of modern Japanese music. Kikusui, who recently opened the Kikusui-ryu school of shakuhachi, is also a skilled inventor of various wind and string instruments.
Hagiwara and Kikusui are often heard performing together over NHK, Japan's most influential radio station.

Printed in U.S.A.

NONESUCH RECORDS 51 West 51st Street New York, N. Y. 10019

Info

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