fragments for the moon
Elizabeth Brown
About this work:
Commissioned by Music from Japan.
When I was living in Japan in 2009, a mutual friend introduced me to Kohei Nishikawa, who was looking for new pieces for his traditional flutes. As he demonstrated each instrument, I was immediately drawn to the nohkan, whose unusual interior construction creates an asymmetrical scale unlike any other flute. The nohkan shares certain characteristics with the shakuhachi, and they are the same things that drew me to shakuhachi many years ago: each instruments has a lonely and mysterious voice, and both emphasize gesture and timbre over uniformity of sound.
Some of the differences between the instruments inspired me as well, especially in regard to silence. The nohkan's piercing cries clear the air so that the silence afterwards becomes charged, while the shakuhachi often dissolves completely into silence, becoming part of it. In these brief, fragile pieces, the flutes emerge and recede from the night as they speak antiphonally or in tandem. I worked closely with Kohei Nishikawa throughout the composition of the pieces, and am grateful for his ongoing attention, expertise and enthusiasm.
Year composed: 2010
Duration: 00:10:00
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:Other Combinations, 2-5 players
Instrumentation: 2 Other Wind Instrument(s)
Instrumentation notes: shakuhachi (1.8) and nohkan