In this two part concert we experience the interesting eclecticism and openness to non-Japanese music as well as the strong connection to Japan's musical past. The Musicians We assemble for this US tour top performers uniquely qualified to demonstrate the wide spectrum of music demanded by the program. They are Ms Etsuko Takezawa and Mr Kazuhiro Iseki on the voice, koto, bass koto and sangen, along with Mr Bruce Huebner, shakuhachi performer. The educational aspect of the tour will involve demonstrations of the instruments, lectures on musical styles and social background, and discussion of the literary aspects on the song texts as they relate to the music. Group or private practical lessons on the instruments could also be provided.
Fees are negotiable for concert, demonstrations, lectures and other activities.
Part of the interest of Jiuta lies in the fine interplay between the tones of the instruments when played with a plectrum or plucked with the fingernails and the shakuhachi's characteristic finger and breath attacks and sustained tones. The Shakuhachi and Honkyoku Relatives of the shakuhachi are found along the silk road as far away as Persia and even Eastern Europe. Its closest cousin was played until recently in China. The shakuhachi was initially brought to Japan from China in the Nara Period like the koto, the biwa and most other Japanese instruments as part of the Gagaku court orchestra. After several centuries of neglect, a second import occurred in the Muromachi Period in the 16th century.