Flare Up

如楽
Nyoraku Records - NRCD 102
2002

トラック番号	タイトル	漢字	長さ	アーティスト
1	Tsuru no Sugomori (Futaiken)	鶴の巣籠 (布袋軒)	12'22	尺八: 如楽
	This version of Tsuru no Sugomori ("Life of the Cranes"), is from the Futai-Ken line. Performing techniques unique to the shakuhachi are heard to depict the lives of cranes: their love calls, wing flutters, cries and the fledgling's first flight. There is extensive use of tamane, a fluttertongue technique. Symbolically the piece represents the Buddhist principle of love between family members and is meant for spiritual cultivation.
2	Kokû (Nezasa Ha)	虚空 (根笹)	13'49	尺八: 如楽
	Shirabe ("prelude") is an introductory piece of music heard before a longer work and I intended to create a state of "oneness" between the performer, the bamboo, and the universe. This version was improvised at the recording session. Koku ("Bell Ringing in the Empty Sky") is one of the three oldest traditional pieces for shakuhachi. It echoes the legend of the Zen monk Fuke Zenji, who was said to have walked about ringing a small bell. The monk predicts the day of his death, and the villagers who opened his coffin only to find it empty, clearly heard the sound of his bell ascending into the sky. This version is from the Nezasa-ha or Kinpu School of shakuhachi playing, a style noted for the use of komibuki (crowded breath), a pulsating breath technique similar to the folk singing style of the Tsugaru region.
3	Banji	鑁字	08'33	尺八: 如楽
	The dark mood of Banji is emphasized here by its performance on the very long 2.8 shakuhachi. The music is unusually melodic, and while sad in character, speaks to the dignity of solitude.
4	Ichijo	一定	09'34	尺八: 如楽
	Seiho Kineya is a contemporary composer and shamisen player who wrote Ichijo following the sudden death of a good friend. The rapidly shifting moods in the music represent the emotional upheaval from joy in life to loss in death - of that experience.
5	San'ya (Brooklyn)		08'57	尺八: 如楽
	An original composition that derives its principle melodic material from the traditional piece known as Sanya, a 400 year-old piece played for a safe and easy childbirth. There are many versions of Sanya, often named for their location. This one is from Brooklyn.
6	Flare Up		06'15	尺八: 如楽
	Flare Up is an original work that uses non-traditional playing techniques. The intensity of the music eventually pokes fun at its own seriousness.
7	San'ya (Jinbo)	神保三谷	07'11	尺八: 如楽
	Sanya is a traditional piece that has survived in several versions. When a komuso (wandering priest) begged for alms at a home where a child was soon to be born, he would play Sanya as a prayer for a safe birth. The version here (played on a long, 2.8 shakuhachi) is named after Jinbo Masanosuke, who devoted his whole life to the perfection of this one piece.