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Nagare for Shamisen

流れ

[Genre]Modern
[Composed]Shinohara Makoto - Shamisen - 1981

Nagare for Shamisen appears on the following albums

Album Artist
Play ButtonNew Spirits of Sangen Shamisen : Nishigata Akiko
This piece was composed for Nishigata in 1981 in Utrecht, the Netherlands. It was first performed at the Japanese music festival in Haarlem, the Netherlands on May 15 1982, and premiered in Japan at the International Music Festival in Kusatsu on August 5 of the same year.

The work was composed for shamisen, two small gongs (kane) and a bronze resting bell (kin). It employs a chromatic scale rather than the traditional pentatonic scale. Semi tones and other glissandos are also used.

The playing technique requires a high level of virtuosity, with the bachi, the fingertips and sheaf of grains used to pluck the strings, skin and body of the instruments.

The six sections follow the traditional jo ha kyu developmental style characterized by a slow start, gradual increase in tempo and movement, and a final return to a slow pace.

(Makoto Shinohara)