Shinshoufuukei, or An Imagined Landscape
Elizabeth Brown
About this work:
Winner of the Grand Prize in the Makino Yutaki no Kai Concours in 2011, Shinshoufuukei was premiered on January 29, 2011 in Tokyo's Kioi Hall by Pro Musica Nipponia, conducted by Yasushi Inada. Written for Hougaku (Japanese traditional instrument) orchestra, Shinshoufuukei takes it shape from the Japanese Stroll Garden, which slowly reveals itself as a path directs one's gradual progression. After the first movement colorfully leads the listener along a musical path, the second movement quietly contemplates a small beauty near at hand. In the third movement, the three shakuhachi players alternate musical haiku praising the landscape; and the fourth movement represents departure, both with longing and with apprehension for a new beginning.
This work was funded in part by the Composer Assistance Program of the American Music Center.
Movements:
1. Stroll garden
2. Aged, mossy rock
3. Praise poetry - landscape haiku
4. Departure
Year composed: 2010
Duration: 00:15:00
Ensemble type: Orchestra:Unknown
Instrumentation: 4 Other Wind Instrument(s), 2 Other Percussion Instrument(s), 5 Other Stringed Instrument(s)
Instrumentation notes: Japanese traditional instruments: 3 shakuhachi (2x1.8, 1x2.0), nohkan, 2 kotos, 21-string koto, shamisen, ichigenkin, and percussion.