Shuretsu Miyashita
Collection of Works by Shuretsu Miyashita 9
Victor (Japan) 1984
SJL-25185 (LP) w/obi.
sleeve : EX+(SRW)
media : EX/EX(some slightly noise)
A superb 1984 release, the ninth volume in a series of works by Japanese koto master Shuretsu Miyashita, a major figure who contributed greatly to the development of modern Japanese music. Miyashita was awarded the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 1975 and the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Fourth Class, in 1982, and also played an important role in the development and popularization of the thirty-string koto. Side A features Chikurin Shoja, a 1972 work commissioned by NHK. Performed by koto players Tazuko Miyashita and Shin Miyashita, both Miyashita’s children, alongside shakuhachi master Katsuya Yokoyama, Keiko Abe on marimba and vibraphone, plus ryuteki, veena, tambura, tabla, conch shell, contrabass, chorus and more, the piece brings together Eastern and Western instrumentation in a highly distinctive setting. Deeply influenced by Indian classical music, this three-part suite portrays the life of Buddha with an expansive, spiritual atmosphere. On the B-side, “Sei” is arranged for koto, sho, ryuteki, percussion and voice, while “Kaiso” features four kotos and marimba, creating a soft, evocative sound world filled with a deeply Japanese, almost primordial sense of landscape and memory.
A1: 竹林精舎
B1: 静
B2: 懐想