Ensemble Nipponia
Selected Works of Minoru Miki Vol.1 - The young Sprout
Camerata (Japan) 1974
CMT-1001 (LP) w/obi.
sleeve : EX-(some slightly dirts, slightly color-faded.)
media : EX/EX(some slightly noises.)
After studying composition under Akira Ifukube and working on film and stage music, Minoru Miki began his career as a composer in earnest, and after founding the Ensemble Nipponia in 1964, composed a number of contemporary pieces on classical Japanese instruments. This album features four pieces, ranging from ensembles and solos on traditional Japanese instruments, including Suite A1 with four movements, Keiko Nosaka's twenty-string koto solo A2/B3, Hirokazu Sugiura's sangen solo B1 and ensemble B2 with shakuhachi, koto and sangen. All of the pieces are excellent performances of contemporary music full of Japanese sentiment, expressing the colourful seasonal transitions typical of Japan, but with avant-garde developments lurking in key places.