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#1 2007-08-16 13:23:41

Afray
Member
Registered: 2007-08-16
Posts: 2

Favorite Piece? from a newbie

Hi,

I'm basically a highly trained flutist with very little knowledge on the traditional music of Japan / China.  I'm posting because I want to pick your brain!  I'm wondering what your favorite Sakuhachi tune is?  What really speaks to your soul?

I'm looking for your advice because I'm desiring to compile some tunes for my flute students so they can appreciate the music as well.  I've found some really nice stuff from looking at these forums already but also am a little overwhelmed by the sheer volume of transcriptions that I saw on some of the sites.

If you can dumb it down to your favorite tune or recording that would be amazing.

I was also looking for a place where people were dicussing either CD's or Music books that really are worth buying.  Any advice there is great as well.

thank you,
Alastair Fray

Last edited by Afray (2007-08-16 13:24:44)

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#2 2007-08-16 16:19:14

Michael A. Firman
Member
From: Naperville, IL USA
Registered: 2006-08-28
Posts: 57
Website

Re: Favorite Piece? from a newbie

I personally like the recording on the WERGO label by Katsuya Yokouama (CD) titled "Zen".
Almost any cut on the CD is wonderful (maybe except for Shika no Tone, which is okay but
I've heard better recordings).
Shingetsu by Tajima Tadashi (both the CD title and the title of a very good performance on the CD).

These recordings represent the Dokyoku style and show great virtuososity (sp?).

There are many shakuhachi styles and various schools and types of music within the various
schools. This is a tough request for that reason, but I'm sure you will get a lot of good suggestions.


Michael A. Firman
Naperville IL USA

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#3 2007-08-16 22:31:48

Kerry
Member
From: Nashville, TN
Registered: 2005-10-10
Posts: 183

Re: Favorite Piece? from a newbie

There are many favorites, but one that stands out for me is Kikusui Kofu's version of 'Sekiheki no Fu' from the Japanese Masterpieces for the Shakuhachi - Lyrichord Discs

-kerry


The temple bell stops, but the sound keeps coming out of the flowers. -Basho

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#4 2007-08-16 23:18:56

caffeind
Member
From: Tokyo
Registered: 2006-04-13
Posts: 148

Re: Favorite Piece? from a newbie

As far as honkyoku pieces go, I would suggest listening to any of Riley Lee's or Yoshikazu Iwamoto's honkyoku cds. Both of these players have recorded cds with mixed honkyoku from several lineages. I think these would probably be more accessible to flautists who have no prior knowledge of shakuhachi music.

Yokoyama Katsuya has some recordings which are a good mix of modern music, sankyoku and honkyoku. These would give a broader perspective on what shakuhachi is about. 'Sounds from Japan' is one old release, and there are some more recent releases that I cant recall the name of just now.

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#5 2007-08-17 15:05:33

jeff jones
Member
Registered: 2005-10-08
Posts: 113
Website

Re: Favorite Piece? from a newbie

Hello, I've been listening to the cd..five metamorphoses of (Nesting of the cranes) by Sakai Syodo quite a bit lately. It's five variations of the song Tsuru no sugomori played in the style of five different groups. It can be purchased  from www.mejiro-japan.com in Japan. Great to clean the house to, really a beautiful recording, played very well.


Beauty is ugly at rest

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#6 2007-08-17 16:23:33

Michael A. Firman
Member
From: Naperville, IL USA
Registered: 2006-08-28
Posts: 57
Website

Re: Favorite Piece? from a newbie

jeff jones wrote:

Hello, I've been listening to the cd..five metamorphoses of (Nesting of the cranes) by Sakai Syodo quite a bit lately. It's five variations of the song Tsuru no sugomori played in the style of five different groups. It can be purchased  from www.mejiro-japan.com in Japan. Great to clean the house to, really a beautiful recording, played very well.

I wonder if this is Sakai Shodo (different spelling/typo/translitteration)? If it is, he played a variant of
Tsuru no sugomori at the WSF in Boulder CO in 1998 that was positively electrifying. Also, if it is, I think I'll
have to get this CD!


Michael A. Firman
Naperville IL USA

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#7 2007-08-17 17:37:49

dstone
Member
From: Vancouver, Canada
Registered: 2006-01-11
Posts: 552
Website

Re: Favorite Piece? from a newbie

Alastair,

Other ideas...  Koku Nishimura.  Another Zen monk.  If not as performance-oriented as some, I think just as important to fill out the shakuhachi landscape.  He has passed on but his kyotaku tradition is living on strongly in students.  He has one album available that I'm aware of.

Two still very living masters to check out, to to my preference, are Atsuya Okuda and Alcvin Takegawa Ramos.  These guys take their bamboo seriously, down to their "dig it and drill it yourself" ethic.  An approach like that might be something your flute students find interesting.

Okay, you asked for pieces.  Hard to narrow it down... I'll recommend, from those last two... 
* Shin Kyorei by Atsuya Okuda
* Neri Saji by Alcvin Ramos
Both play on wide and/or long jinashi shakuhachi.  Close your eyes, put those pieces on, and tell me they don't transport you somewhere interesting.  I think Okuda has sound previews on his side.  You might find preview or full length MP3s on Alcvin's site also.

-Darren.


When it is rainy, I am in the rain. When it is windy, I am in the wind.  - Mitsuo Aida

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#8 2007-08-17 20:21:40

Kiku Day
Shakuhachi player, teacher and ethnomusicologist
From: London, UK & Nørre Snede, DK
Registered: 2005-10-07
Posts: 922
Website

Re: Favorite Piece? from a newbie

jeff jones wrote:

Hello, I've been listening to the cd..five metamorphoses of (Nesting of the cranes) by Sakai Syodo quite a bit lately. It's five variations of the song Tsuru no sugomori played in the style of five different groups. It can be purchased  from www.mejiro-japan.com in Japan. Great to clean the house to, really a beautiful recording, played very well.

Michael A. Firman wrote:

I wonder if this is Sakai Shodo (different spelling/typo/translitteration)? If it is, he played a variant of
Tsuru no sugomori at the WSF in Boulder CO in 1998 that was positively electrifying. Also, if it is, I think I'll
have to get this CD!

Sakai Shodo is an amazing player. He is the iemoto of the Chikuho-ryu.
I don't know if he did Tsuru no Sugomori at Boulder, but he did in New York, and that was surely electrifying!
He played a new rendition of Moroi Makoto's 'Chikurai Gosho' in a concert in Kobe a few month ago. Amazing!
The Tsuru no Sugomori CD can be highly recommended. It is also interesting to hear these different versions.

Kiku


I am a hole in a flute
that the Christ's breath moves through
listen to this music
Hafiz

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#9 2007-08-18 15:32:25

philipgelb
Chef, musician, teacher
From: Oakland, California
Registered: 2005-10-08
Posts: 135
Website

Re: Favorite Piece? from a newbie

What is the new version of Chikurai Gosho? Was the piece re-written in some way? curious!

phil


Philip Gelb
shakuhachi player, teacher & vegetarian chef
Oakland, CA
http://philipgelb.com  http://myspace.com/philipgelb, http://myspace.com/inthemoodforfood

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#10 2007-08-19 11:24:58

Kiku Day
Shakuhachi player, teacher and ethnomusicologist
From: London, UK & Nørre Snede, DK
Registered: 2005-10-07
Posts: 922
Website

Re: Favorite Piece? from a newbie

philipgelb wrote:

What is the new version of Chikurai Gosho? Was the piece re-written in some way? curious!

phil

It was not a new version as such. It was a new interpretation. More expressive than what I had heard from Shodo before. It was very coo indeed.


I am a hole in a flute
that the Christ's breath moves through
listen to this music
Hafiz

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#11 2007-09-01 00:41:11

Afray
Member
Registered: 2007-08-16
Posts: 2

Re: Favorite Piece? from a newbie

Love you guys, such good responses. I've got alot of listening to do.

thank you very much

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#12 2007-09-03 05:09:10

Daniel Ryudo
Shihan/Kinko Ryu
From: Kochi, Japan
Registered: 2006-02-12
Posts: 355

Re: Favorite Piece? from a newbie

Tsuru No Sugomori is one of the most interesting honkyoku to listen to, I think, though it is a long piece.  Shika No Tone (Call of the Wild Deer) is the classic shakuhachi duet.  Hifumi Hachi Gaeshi ('One, Two, Three, Return the Bowl') is the first piece one usually learns in the honkyoku repertoire (if one is learning the standard 33 Kinko honkyoku) and is the piece the Fuke shu monks used to play in thanks for receiving rice in their wandering through the Japanese countryside in days now long gone; it's more subdued than the crane and deer pieces, but it's the piece that got me interested in shakuhachi initially, and it contains many of the techniques used in the later honkyoku: good recordings of it can be found on albums by Yamaguchi Goro, Kawase Junsuke, and Notomi Haruhiko.  And there are some of the standard pieces in the Dokyoku lineage such as the Tamuke, Sanya, Daha, Sanan, Yamagoe and the already mentioned Honshirable, which are all excellent; it's difficult to pick out just one piece, and that's only honkyoku. For minyo, Eisashi Oiwake is a piece that comes to mind...  Happy listening!

Last edited by Daniel Ryudo (2007-09-03 05:12:59)

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