Art of the Koto - The music of Japan Played by Kimio Eto

Etō Kimio
Elektra Records - EKL-234

Track	Title	Kanji	Length	Artist
1	Sakura Sakura	さくらさくら	03'28	Koto: Etō Kimio
	Cherry Blossoms A set of variations on in old Japanese folk song, arranged by Kimio Eto.
2	Yuki no Genso	雪の幻想	05'15	Koto: Etō Kimio
	Snow Fantasy A light, spirited piece which demonstrates the wide variety of technical effects possible with this instrument.
3	Hachidan no Shirabe	八段の調	07'42	Koto: Etō Kimio
	Variations in Eight Steps One of the mainstays of the classic repertoire. Composed around the middle of the 17th century by Yatsuhashi Kengyo, the musician most responsible for the development of popular Koto music. In this type of composition, each variation has a fixed, uniform length with a gradual increase in tempo up to the last variation when the tempo is again slowed.
4	Three Children's Songs		06'41	Koto: Etō Kimio
	TEMARI TSUKI (Bouncing a Ball) KAKUREMBO (Hide and Seek) KISHA GOKKO (The Train Game) Mr. Eto displays his gifts as a composer with pieces inspired by games popular among Japanese children. Bouncing a Ball suggests the game in which elaborate variations of increased difficulty in bouncing a small rubber ball are continued until the ball is dropped. Hide and Seek implies the excitement this game always produces. In The Train Game we can imagine children creating for themselves a completely convincing journey.
5	Yachio Jishi	八千代獅子	06'39	Koto: Etō Kimio
	Lion of Eight Thousand Generations from the 16th century This is an example of the Lion Piece, a large category in traditional Japanese music. A lion, usually one that is trying to sleep, is disturbed, becomes excited and performs a violent dance. Some of the most spectacular dance numbers of the traditional theatre belong to this category. In this piece, it is the musical form with its quietly sung beginning, colorful instrumental mid-portion, and brief vocal ending in which we find the relationship to the lion dance. The lyrics are rather conventional, expressing wishes for the welfare of the Imperial House, and they are connected with the lion theme only by a rather tenuous play on words. The effect has been suggested here with the word "flourish," which should be read both in the meaning suggested by the context and as suggestive of the lion "flourishing" his mane in the dance. The lines after the instrumental passage return us to a quiet mood with the image of an old pine covered with snow, symbolic of a vigorous old age. With this August Reign Unchanging forever, May these glorious reigns Flourish through many thousands; Through Eight Thousand Reigns. Snow clings on paired needles of the pine, Snow clings on paired needles of the pine.
6	Izumi	泉	04'59	Koto: Etō Kimio
	A Spring Another composition by Mr. Eto, suggesting the play of fresh water gushing forth from a mountainside. Notice here, as in Mr. Eto's other compositions, that phrases and figures representative of both the Japanese and Western traditions have skillfully and harmoniously been brought together in music characteristic of the "New Japanese Music" movement. The extreme flexibility of pitch made possible by exerting pressure or tension below the bridges is particularly noticeable in this number.