Zen Music - V - Международное Общество Сякухати

Zen Music - V

Yamaguchi Gorō
Victor, Japan - SJL-2065

Дорожка	Название	Кандзи	Длина	Исполнитель
1	Kinsan Kyorei	琴三虚霊	24'56	Сякухати: Yamaguchi Gorō
	'Kin' means Koto or So, and 'San' Shamisen, both traditional string instruments. Kyorei is the name for an important composition that has much to do with the origin of Fuke Shakuhachi. According to a legend, Fuke Zenji, the founder of Fuke-shu, used to wander through the streets, shaking Taku (a kind of bell). After his death his disciples composed a Shakuhachi piece symbolizing the sounds of Taku in the empty sky. Their longings for the mysterious sounds were then realized in the piece called Kyorei (empty bell or empty spirit). Afterwards, various pieces were composed, taking after the music. And there is another term for Shakuhachi; Kyotaku (empty bell). It is believed that the piece 'Kin San Kyorei' was transmitted to Kyoko-an, a hermitage in Uji built by a Zen Buddhist, Roan, in the Bummei era (1469-1486). Kurosawa Kinko, the founder of Kinko-ryu, was taught the piece by Ryoan, another Zen Buddhist. He then arranged and recomposed it, and added it to the repertoire of Kinko-ryu Honkyoku. The piece was once called 'Shamisen Kyorei' because of such secular melodies as to be heard in a Shamisen music. But Kurosawa Kinko consulted Yuko Sonji and Taigen Sonji and changed the title to 'Kin San Kyorei' (according to 'Kinko Techo'). It is probably that the secular melodies were arranged in different contours, for the piece as performed today is a sacred as other pieces of Kinko-ryu Honkyoku. But one does find a unique part around two-thirds from the beginning. And the formal design follows the three-part structure (high register, low, and high), while the other pieces three-part (low, high, and low). Despite of the title words 'Kin' and 'San' the metrics is not regulated (regular pulsation) as seen in Koto and Shamisen music, but it is a free as in other Honkyoku pieces.
2	Akebono Sugagaki	曙菅垣	13'56	Сякухати: Matsumura Hōmei Сякухати: Yamaguchi Gorō
	'Sugagaki' originally denotes instrumental performances of string instruments not as accompaniment to the voice. For example, 'Rokudan', a Sokyoku (Koto music) piece, is also called 'Rokudan Sugagaki' because it is purely instrumental. Therefore, it is conjectured that the present piece must have been originated from a piece for strings. The word 'akebono' means a high tuning. This piece is among the ura repertoire, which should be learned after the whole omote repertoire is mastered, while a piece simply called 'Sugagaki' is included in omote. 'Akebono Sugagki' is not a piece in which the original 'Sugagaki' is simply transposed to higher tessitura, but it is designed so as to be possibly played as kaede (counterpart) to it. In this recording, 'Sugagaki' is played by H. Muramatsu and 'Akebono Sugagaki' by G. Yamaguchi, both instruments of theirs being the regular size (1 shaku 8 sun). The piece is unique among Fuke Shakuhachi in that it is regular in meter. This is probably due to its source of origin, string music.
3	Tsuki no Kyoku	月の曲	13'26	Сякухати: Yamaguchi Gorō
	It was composed by Araki Chikuo (1823) as his last opus. He was born as a third son of a samurai and liked Shakuhachi as a child. Araki Kodo, II, gave him the title name. He is respected as the restorer of Kinko-ryu and as the founder of modern Shakuhachi music. Because, it was he together with his fellow, Yoshida Itcho, who proposed to the government that Shakuhachi as a musical instrument rather than as a religious one (it used to be regarded so) should be open to the public. His proposal was admitted, even though it was after the government had prohibited Fuke-shu and Fuke Shakuhachi in the cultural revolution in early Meiji. This piece was not actually completed by himself but was supplemented by another person. So, it is natural if one feels something heterogeneous toward the end. It is not intended to be sacred or religious. But it can be stylistically regarded as belonging to the tradition of Kinko-ryu Shakuhachi, for it is purely instrumental and unlike Koto or Shamisen musics. With free metric, it provides contemplation over the moon, a clear, cold atmosphere, and mono no aware (pathos). It should be noted that such a special technique as used in the well-known piece, 'Shika no Tone', is applied also in this piece. It may be designated 'somersault' technique in that a gradual upward portamento is followed by a sudden downward slide, and then by a series of staccatos.