Wind Heart
"Honkyoku and modern music for the shakuhachi."
James Nyoraku 如楽 Schlefer
Nyoraku Records - NRCD-101
1996
| Track | Title | Kanji | Length | Artist | |
| 1 | Kumoi Jishi | 雲井獅子 | 04'38 |
Shakuhachi: James Nyoraku 如楽 Schlefer | |
| Kumoi-jishi belongs to a category of shakuhachi music called gikyoku, pieces lighter in feeling than the usual honkyoku. Kumoi-jishi was played at Itcho-ken, a branch of Kyoto's famous Mei-an temple located on the island of Kyushu, and the "jishi" in the title refers to the mythical Chinese dog/lion, traditionally depicted as dancing playfully among the peonies, accompanied by fluttering butterflies. In this piece, the lion is seen playing about in the clouds. | |||||
| 2 | San'ya (Echigo) | 三谷 (越後) | 12'22 |
Shakuhachi: James Nyoraku 如楽 Schlefer | |
| Echigo San'ya is a version of San'ya, a 400-year old honkyoku that tries to express a free-floating, boundary-less Zen state in which there is no up or down, left or right; a state in which one is capable of pure, unified action, action from the heart rather than from the head. This particular version of San 'ya comes from Echigo. | |||||
| 3 | Esashi Oiwake | 江差追分 | 06'46 |
Shakuhachi: James Nyoraku 如楽 Schlefer | |
| Esashi Oiwake is a folk song from a northern area of Japan. It tells of the various hardships in the life of a fisherman. | |||||
| 4 | Tabibito no Uta | 旅人の唄 | 05'51 |
Shakuhachi: James Nyoraku 如楽 Schlefer | |
| Fukuda Rando was a well known Shakuhachi player and composer who lived at the turn of the century. Tabibito no Uta is typical of his plaintive, folk-like style. | |||||
| 5 | Omae | 06'23 |
Shakuhachi: James Nyoraku 如楽 Schlefer | ||
| Special Angel is a lamentation on the pain, loneliness, and rage that we feel when a relationship ends that we thought would last. First we let go of our plans, then our expectations, and finalIy -worst of all- our hopes and dreams. | |||||
| 6 | Night Pond | 06'04 |
Shakuhachi: James Nyoraku 如楽 Schlefer | ||
| A small forest pond glimmers in the quiet of night: black, still, but for the shimmer of water life. | |||||
| 7 | San'ya (Echigo - Betsuden) | 三谷 (越後) | 10'00 |
Shakuhachi: James Nyoraku 如楽 Schlefer | |
| This is another version of Echigo San'ya. It more closely resembles another well known San'ya, Jinbo San'ya. | |||||
| 8 | Reibo (Echigo) | 霊慕 (越後) | 10'40 |
Shakuhachi: James Nyoraku 如楽 Schlefer | |
| There is a legend that shakuhachi playing arose from a yearning for the sound of the bell, which was cherished by Buddhist priests of the Fuke Zen sect. Pieces entitled Reibo embody this yeaming. This work from Echigo is one of many Honkyoku which bear the name Reibo, and, in spite of the one temple-one melody principle, was taught as an associated piece. | |||||