Год|Year: 1999
Жанр| Genre: Ethnic, New Age, Relax, Meditative
Страна| Country: Japan
Качество| Quality: 320 kbps
Размер| Size: 100 Mb
Track List
01. Path
02. Furusato
03. A Lullaby of Takeda (Takeda no Komoriuta)
04. A Lullaby of Shimabara (Shimabara no Komoriuta)
05. Beyond the Window
06. A Lullaby of Itsuki (Itsuki no Komoriuta)
07. Ho Ho Hotaru Koi I
08. Ho Ho Hotaru Koi II
09. I've Felt Little Autumn (Chiisai Aki MItsuketa)
10. Hanayome Ningyo
11. Furusato II
12. Oyasumi
When did we start saying that we were so "busy"? When we were kids, there was always plenty of time. One day lasted a long time.It felt like the summer vacations would never end. Deep forests, rice paddies and brooks. Childhood friends calling me out to play. These are landscapes beautifully etched in my memory, a nostalgia of a time long gone.
When listening to the "Furusato" (Old Home) played by Mizuyo Komiya, longing for time past and a sweet sad resignation started to flicker within my heart like sunlight sifting through the trees.
The instrument Komiya plays in this CD is a 25 stringed "Sou", a modern solo instrument recreated from the traditional 13 stringed Sou. With the paulownia wood forming a smooth slope with rows of beautiful bridge stops on the top supporting the strings, the Sou is a classic instrument that brings tradition into our lives and is something that serves as a bridge to a world, introducing new sounds.
SOU produces plenty of fresh, pure sounds but it is also able to create many curious sounds that catch your attention and tug at the heart. Let's listen to these sounds. There is, for an instance, the faint "creaking" sounds that are created when the ivory nails hit the strings. There are also subtle sounds that are created when traditional technique called "oshite" (pushing) is applied to the chords to change the pitch.
What can be called "shadows of sounds" particular to the Sou are found in these recorded pieces, scattered like so much particles and quietly bursting open. Soliloquies and sighs of the people past, people singing children to sleep with songs that tell of the hard and painful lives they had led. The thin lights of the fireflies' trails. The sounds of the wind blowing through the bamboo grass fields. Tones of the Sou are tones that have been soaked up from people's hearts and those from Nature.
When you listen to the music and let the memories come as they may, you may find the time from far back when locked away within your heart. Perhaps "Furusato" takes on life in such circumstances. This may be a Lullaby for grown ups who live in a world where the luxury of time has been lost.
Amazon.com
A mixture of traditional compositions, original works, and contemporary music by other composers, Mizuyo Komiya's Lullaby exploits the beautiful sounds of a 25-string sou, which is a modern reinvention of the traditional 13-string koto. Allowing for greater melodic possibilities, the instrument also recalls the tonality of a harp but with an Eastern tuning system. This modern koto is the focal point of the album; however, some surreptitious keyboards from Kiyoshi Yoshida and producer Kazumasa Yoshioka provide atmospheric augmentation in certain spots. The strength of Lullaby lies in its multifaceted expression. Komiya is not content to noodle about, instead contrasting contemplation with motion, and balancing sparse passages with gracefully restrained displays of musical dexterity. The opening track "Path" balances slow-moving koto with light keyboard swirls; the delicate, dreamy "I've Felt Little Autumn" is propelled by an enchanting melodic structure; and the flittering strings within "Ho Ho Hotaru Koi I" provide an eerie, gripping bridge to an otherwise meditative instrumental work. The compositions on Lullaby are short and sweet--the 12 tracks add up to approximately 44 minutes--and these serene works are concise enough to inspire repeated listenings and long enough to linger in your memory after listening. A charming, nonmusical bonus: look for four incense sticks placed within the jewel case itself, evidently a staple of Pacific Moon releases. --Bryan Reesman
Product Description
Like a watercolor brush stroke, the sound of the koto spreads through your heart. The simple beauty of these traditional Japanese lullabies and nursery songs hearkens back to the carefree days of childhood.
