European Shakuhachi SocietyNewsletter

November 2013

November 2013 Publications officers: Michael Soumei Coxall & Horacio Curti

Grateful thanks for the translations in this number to:Hélène Codjo, Chris Molina, Galina Sgonnik (Галина Сгонник), Maris Morales, Horacio Curti

Grateful thanks for the pictures in this number to:Michael Hartley, Trevor Tibbits, Hélène Codjo, Viz Michael Kremietz

Cover picture: Marcio Ávila

2

From the ESS Chairperson English 3Français 4Español 5Русский 6

Letter from the editors English 7Español 8

Obituaries English 9Français 11

ESS AnnouncementsESS Summer School 2014 English 14

Español 16Русский 18

ESS Summer School 2013 Video Available!! Eng / Esp 20ESS Member´s profiles English 21

Shakuhachi Water-Sound Figures English 22

ReportsESS BCN Summer School English 23

Français 27Español 31

John Kaizan Neptune´s Shakuhachi Making Workshop in Barcelona English 35

Masterclass by Fukuda Teruhisa English 40Français 41

Prague Shakuhachi festival English 42

Prague Shakuhachi festival. Another view English 44Français 47Deutsch 50

ReviewsDocumenting Perfection. A Review of Notes on Kinko-Ryu Honkyoku: Per-formance Techniques by Gunnar Jinmei Linder

English 54

ReleasesYokoyama Katsuya DVD Collection. Vol. 1 English 57ESS Membership English 59

Index

3

I would like to welcome everybody to the new issue of the ESS Newsletter with an introduction of our new Publication Officers, Horacio Curti and Michael Soumei Coxall. Horacio and Michael were elected to the role at

the ESS AGM at the European Shakuhachi Summer School 2013 in Barcelona, Spain. This is the first time that we have had two persons sharing a role as an ESS committee member – but I am sure it will work out well. Please welcome them into their new roles within ESS.

We have had a wonderful shakuhachi summer this year. First of all, our own ESS Summer School in Barcelona went above expectations with 65 participants. It was a wonderfully well-organised event at an incredible venue. It was a great experience and also very useful when looking at it as a preparation for the ESS to co-host the World Shakuhachi Festival in 2016 in Prague, Czech Republic.

I was personally also present – apart from the Summer School in Barcelona – at the Prague Shakuhachi Festival this year, which was – as always – a great event. Reviews of both of these and other events are in this edition of the ESS NL. It is wonderful that several large, good quality shakuhachi events can take place in Europe during the same summer!

We are looking forward for more next year. The European Shakuhachi Summer School will be in Radolfzell in Germany and we have to continue working on the big event in 2016. If you have any ideas, please write to us and suggest your ideas on our forum: www.shakuhachiforum.eu where there is a special WSF16 forum section.

Enjoy the ESS Newsletter!

Kiku Day Chairperson, ESS

4

Pour cette nouvelle édition de la newsletter de l’ESS, je voudrais commencer par vous présenter nos deux nouveaux chargés de publication, Horacio Curti et Michael Soumei Coxall. Horacio et Michael ont été élus lors

de l’Assemblée Générale de l’ESS qui s’est déroulée lors de l’Académie d’été 2013 de l’ESS à Barcelone, Espagne. C’est la première fois que nous avons deux personnes, membres du comité de l’ESS, partageant cette fonction - mais je suis sûre que cela va très bien fonctionner. Merci de les accueillir dans leur nouveau rôle au sein de l’ESS.

Nous avons eu cette année un merveilleux été en ce qui concerne le shakuhachi. Tout d’abord, notre propre Académie d’été à Barcelone a dépassé toutes nos attentes avec 65 participants. C’était un évènement merveilleusement bien organisé dans des lieux incroyables. Cette belle expérience a été aussi très utile en regard de la préparation du World Shakuhachi Festival en 2016 à Prague (République Tchèque), qui sera co-organisé par l’ESS.

J’ai été aussi personnellement présente cette année - en plus de l’Académie d’été à Barcelone - au Festival de Shakuhachi de Prague, qui était, comme toujours, un évènement marquant. Vous trouverez des compte-rendus de ces deux manifestations ainsi que d’autres évènements dans cette newsletter. Nous pouvons nous réjouir de voir que plusieurs grandes manifestations de qualité consacrées au shakuhachi puissent se dérouler en Europe le même été.

Nous en espérons encore plus l’année prochaine. L’Académie d’été de l’ESS se déroulera à Radolfzell en Allemagne, et nous devons continuer à avancer sur le grand projet de 2016. Si vous avez des idées, n’hésitez pas à nous écrire et à nous soumettre vos idées sur notre forum : www.shakuhachiforum.eu , qui comporte une partie spécialement dédiée au World Shakuhachi Festival (WSF2016).

Bonne lecture !

Kiku Day,Présidente de l’ESS

5

Me gustaría dar la bienvenida a todos a este nuevo número del ESS Newsletter en la que presentamos a nuestros flamantes oficiales de publicaciones, Horacio Curti y Michael Soumei Coxall. Horacio y

Michael fueron elegidos para el cargo durante el encuentro general de socios que tuvo lugar en el European Shakuhachi Society Summer School 2013 en Barcelona, España. Esta es la primera vez que tenemos a dos personas compartiendo un rol como miembros del comité del ESS, estoy segura de que funcionará muy bien. Por favor dadles la bienvenida en su nuevo rol dentro del ESS.

Hemos tenido un fantástico verano de shakuhachi este año.. Primero nuestra propia escuela de verano en Barcelona superó todas las expectativas con 65 participantes. Fue un evento fantásticamente bien organizado y en un sitio increíble. Una gran experiencia y muy útil de cara al rol del ESS como co-organizador del World Shakuhachi Festival que tendrá lugar en 2016 en Praga, República Checa.

Personalmente he estado presente –aparte del evento de Barcelona – en el festival de shakuhachi de Praga este año, el cual fue – como siempre – un gran evento. En esta edición del newsletter encontraréis reportes de ambos eventos. Es fantástico que podamos tener durante el mismo verano varios eventos de gran calidad y formato en Europa! Estamos ansiosos de más durante el próximo verano. El European Shakuhachi Summer School del 2014 tendrá lugar en Radolfzell en Alemania y además debemos ir trabajando para el evento del 2016. Si tenéis ideas, por favor enviádnoslas a nuestro forum: www.shakuhachiforum.eu en el que encontraréis una sección especial para el WSF16.

Disfrutad de la Newsletter del ESS!

Kiku Day Presidenta, ESS

6

Я хочу пригласить всех вас к чтению нового выпуска Бюллетеня Европейского Сообщества Сякухати, представив вам наших новых ответственных редакторов, Горацио Керти (Horacio Curti)

и Майкла Соумей Коксалла (Michael Soumei Coxall). Горацио и Майкл были избраны на этот пост на Ежегодном Собрании ЕСС во время Европейской Летней Школы Сякухати 2013 в Барселоне, Испания. Это первый случай, когда позицию ответственного редактора делят между собой два члена комитета ЕСС, но я уверена, что это был правильный выбор. Давайте поприветствуем их в новой роли в составе ЕСС. В этом году у нас было потрясающее сякухати лето. Во-первых, наша Летняя Школа в Барселоне превзошла все ожидания, собрав 65 участников. Это было превосходно организованное мероприятие, которое прошло в удивительном месте. Это был прекрасный и также очень полезный опыт, если рассматривать его в свете подготовки ЕСС к тому, чтобы принять Мировой Фестиваль Сякухати в Праге, Чехия, в 2016 году.Я сама – помимо Летней Школы в Барселоне – посетила в этом году Пражский Фестиваль Сякухати, который, как всегда, оказался большим событием. Обзоры обоих этих и других мероприятий размещены в этом выпуске Бюллетеня. Это очень здорово, что несколько больших и качественных сякухати событий могут проходить в Европе в течение одного лета! В следующем году мы ожидаем еще большего. Летняя Европейская Школа Сякухати пройдет в городе Радолфцелл, Германия, и мы продолжаем работать над подготовкой к большому событию в 2016 году. С любыми вашими идеями вы можете обращаться на наш форум www.shakuhachiforum.eu , где Мировому Фестивалю Сякухати 2016 года посвящен специальный раздел.

Приятного чтения!

Кику Дей (Kiku Day)Председатель, ЕСС

7

During the ESS Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at the Barcelona Summer School in July 2013, Philip Horan stepped down from the

position of publications officer and it was decided that for the first time two people would share this position. Horacio and Michael decided to embark on this task with little knowledge but with a lot of energy.

Our idea regarding this Newsletter is to follow the path marked out by Phil’s outstanding tenure as editor and at the same time to try and reach for new ideas for the NL. We are hence calling for the members´ ideas on what you would like to read about here as well as your availability to translate articles when necessary given that linguistic diversity has always been a priority for the ESS.

We are planning to develop "sections" in the NL and to try to have articles to represent those sections in each issue. Following this line, we are introducing in this number, a section called “Releases” with the intention of having a space to review materials (beyond simple advertisement) related to shakuhachi and its different “environments”. We encourage you all to contact us regarding materials that can fit into this category for future issues and to provide reviews. We hope to define other sections in the following numbers.

We wish you all a great year 2013-2014

Michael Soumei Coxall & Horacio Curti

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS

8

En la ultima reunión general de socios del European Shakuhachi Society que tuvo lugar durante la escuela de verano de Barcelona en Julio de 2013,

Philip Horan anunció que renunciaba a su cargo de oficial de publicaciones y se decidió que por primera vez dos personas compartan esta posición. Michael y Horacio han decidido asumir esta tarea con pocos conocimientos pero mucha energía.

Nuestra idea sobre esta Newsletter es seguir el camino marcado por Philip durante su tiempo como editor y, a la vez, intentar encontrar nuevas ideas para el NL (Newsletter).

Aprovechamos entonces este momento para solicitar a los miembros que nos envíen sus ideas sobre que les gustaría leer aquí y también sobre su posibilidad de traducir artículos cuando sea necesario dado que para el ESS siempre ha sido una prioridad la diversidad lingüística.

Estamos planificando organizar la NL en secciones intentando tener artículos que representen a cada sección en cada número.En esta línea introducimos en este número una sección denominada “lanzamientos” con la intención de tener un espacio para reseñar (más allá de la simple publicidad) materiales relacionados con el shakuhachi y sus diversos “espacios”Os alentamos a todos a enviarnos materiales que puedan entrar en esta categoría para que podamos encontrar revisores para ellos y esperamos definir nuevas secciones en los próximos números.

Os deseamos a todos un gran ciclo 2013-2014

Michael Soumei Coxall & Horacio Curti

CARTA DE LOS EDITORES

9

Obituaries for Moroi Makoto (17th December, 1930 – 2nd September, 2013) and Seyama Tôru (28th October, 1950 – 28th September, 2013)

The shakuhachi world has lost some important figures over the past few years. This year, two people who were important to the shakuhachi in a more indirect – but never-the-less significant way have passed away. Composer Moroi Makoto and ethnomusicologist Seyama Tõru.

Moroi Makoto passed away on 2nd September 2013, aged 82. What makes him an important figure in the shakuhachi world is first of all his composition Chikurai Goshô.

Moroi was part of a new movement of composition that arose in the late 1950s. Until then, new music composed for Japanese instruments had been composed by hôgaku players themselves but, with the new movement known as gendai nihon ongaku or gendai hôgaku, composers trained in Western compositional methods began exploring the possibilities of Japanese instruments. Initially, the shakuhachi did not receive as much attention as the koto and other instruments but that changed in the 1960s. Moroi’s Chikurai Goshô was composed in 1964 in close collaboration with Sakai Chikuho II. It consists of traditional shakuhachi techniques blended in with non-traditional techniques. It is also known for having pushed the player technically further than previous works. Chikurai Goshô became a turning point for the shakuhachi and its repertoire as it is regarded as the first avant-garde piece and it paved the way for more pieces in the contemporary genre. Another aspect of Chikurai Goshô that is interesting and important for the shakuhachi world is that it is also regarded as one of the first pieces to transcend ryûha or school affiliation. This came about when Moroi asked a very talented student of his at Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music, Tsukitani Tsuneko (1944–2010), to transcribe the piece into western notation from its original Chikuho-ryû notation. It is also with regard to Tsukitani that Moroi had a significant indirect impact on the shakuhachi world. Tsukitani once told me that when she was a graduate student, she asked her teacher, Moroi, for advice on what to write about in her dissertation. She wanted something very unusual – she had told her teacher. According to Tsukitani, Moroi answered: “If you want something unusual, write about the shakuhachi”. This was the beginning of the career of an extraordinary shakuhachi researcher – although the majority of Tsukitani’s work has still not yet been translated into English. Thus, despite the fact that Moroi Makoto’s work consisted mostly of compositions in western classical style for western instruments, and his major work introduced such elements as twelve-tone composition technique and serialism to Japan, he was an important figure and had an influence on where the shakuhachi is today. Shakuhachi players will continue to perform Chikurai Goshô and thus play a tribute to the work of this innovative composer and teacher.

Seyama Tôru died from skin cancer on 28th September, 2013, aged 63. Seyama was an ethnomusicologist who worked as an independent scholar as well as being a part-

OBITUARIES

10

time lecturer at Osaka University of Fine Arts. The work that concerns shakuhachi players the most is that which he did as a member of the Shakuhachi Kenkyû Kai (Shakuhachi Research Group) based in Japan together with other important shakuhachi researchers, such as Tsukitani Tsuneko and Shimura Satoshi. There, they worked on the history of the shakuhachi and also researched old shakuhachi instruments from the Edo period. He continued his research into music and the shakuhachi after the Shakuhachi Research Group ceased being active. Seyama was a very kind and approachable person who was always ready to assist and advise whether the person asking for help was an amateur shakuhachi enthusiast or a professional researcher. It is sad that we have lost such a helpful soul in the shakuhachi community.Seyama created a website where he uploaded his thoughts on musicology and was active on Facebook and Twitter. During the last month of his life, he uploaded a few haiku poems on his Facebook Wall:

7th June, 2013:Cry, hydrangea, cry!

For the death of our good friend Until the tears dry

30th August, 2013: Lying on the bed

Many things in last summer Come into my head

Among the publications he has co-authored are (incomplete list):Seyama Tôru; Tsukitani Tsuneko; Yamaguchi Osamu; Fujii Tomoaki. 1988. The magic of

the Index Finger: The Body and instrument as seen in Shakuhachi Honkyoku. Tokyo: Kõbundõ.

Seyama Tôru et al. 1991. Distant calls of deer: an invitation to the world of classical syakuhati (shakuhachi) honkyoku. Tradition and its future in music. Special event of the 4th Symposium of the International Musicological Society. Sims Osaka: Mita Press.

Seyama Tôru; Shimura Satoshi; Tsukitani Tsukeko; Yamaguchi Osamu. 1993. Simplicity as complexity - technicalities and aesthetics of Japanese musical instruments and music. Proceeding of the International Computer Music Conference, 10-17

Seyama Tôru et al. 1994. The syakuhati: the instrument and its music, change and diversification. Contemporary Music Review 103-29. Reading: Harwood academic publishers

Both Moroi Makoto and Seyama Tôru will be remembered by shakuhachi players for their

contributions to the shakuhachi world.

Kiku Day

11

Notices nécrologiques pour Moroi Makoto (17 décembre 1930 - 2 septembre 2013) et Seyama Tôru (28 octobre 1950 - 28 septembre 2013)

Le monde du shakuhachi a perdu d’importantes figures ces dernières années. Cette année, deux personnes, qui étaient importantes pour le shakuhachi d’une façon plus indirecte mais néanmoins significative, sont décédées. Le compositeur Moroi Makoto et l’ethnomusicologue Seyama Tõru.

Moroi Makoto est décédé le 2 septembre 2013 à l’âge de 82 ans. Ce qui en a fait une figure importante dans le monde du shakuhachi est en premier lieu sa composition

Chikurai Goshô. Moroi avait fait partie d’un nouveau mouvement de composition qui était né dans les années 1950. Jusque-là, la musique moderne composée pour instruments japonais l’avaient été par les joueurs de hôgaku eux-mêmes mais, avec la naissance de ce nouveau mouvement, connu sous le nom de ongaku ou gendai hôgaku, les compositeurs ayant étudié les méthodes de composition occidentale ont commencé à explorer les possibilités des instruments japonais. Au début, le shakuhachi n’a pas suscité autant d’intérêt que le koto et d’autres instruments, mais cela changea dans les années 1960. Chikurai Goshô de Moroi a été composé en 1964 en collaboration étroite avec Sakai Chikuho II. La pièce est composée de techniques traditionnelles de shakuhachi mêlées à des techniques non-traditionnelles. Elle est aussi connue pour avoir repoussé les limites techniques de jeu plus loin que les œuvres précédentes. Chikurai Goshô marque un tournant pour le shakuhachi et son répertoire, car cette pièce est considérée comme la première pièce d’avant-garde et elle a ouvert le chemin à d’autres compositions contemporaines. Un autre aspect de Chikurai Goshô, qui est intéressant et important pour le monde du shakuhachi, est qu’elle est aussi considérée comme l’une des premières pièces à transcender le ryûha ou l’affiliation à une école. Cela s’est produit lorsque Moroi a demandé à l’une de ses étudiantes particulièrement talentueuse de l’université des Beaux-Arts et la Musique de Tokyo, Tsukitano Tsuneko (1944-2010), de transcrire la pièce en notation occidentale à partir de la notation originale Chikuho-ryû. C’est aussi en rapport avec Tsukitani que Moroi a eu un impact indirect significatif sur le monde du shakuhachi. Tsukitani m’a dit un jour que, alors qu’elle commençait son doctorat, elle demanda un avis à son professeur, Moroi, pour son sujet de thèse. Elle voulait quelque chose d’original - dit-elle à son professeur. Selon Tsukitani, Moroi avait répondu : «si vous voulez écrire sur quelque chose d’original, écrivez sur le shakuhachi». Ce fut le début de la carrière d’une chercheuse extraordinaire sur le shakuhachi, bien que la majeure partie du travail de Tsukitani n’ait toujours pas été traduit en anglais.Donc, en dépit du fait que l’œuvre de Moroi Makoto consiste en majorité de compositions dans le style occidental pour instruments occidentaux, et que sa contribution majeure ait été l’introduction au Japon d’éléments tels que la musique dodécaphonique et le sérialisme, il a été une figure importante et a eu une influence non négligeable sur la situation actuelle du shakuhachi. Les joueurs de shakuhachi continueront à interpréter Chikurai Goshô et donc à rendre hommage à l’œuvre de ce compositeur et professeur innovant.

NÉCROLOGIQUES

12

Seyama Tôru est décédé d’un cancer de la peau le 28 septembre 2013 à l’âge de 63 ans. Seyama était un ethnomusicologue qui travaillait à la fois en tant qu’indépendant et en

tant que maître de conférences à temps partiel à l’université des Beaux-Arts d’Osaka. La partie de son travail qui concerne le plus les joueurs de shakuhachi est ce qu’il a fait en tant que membre du Shakuhachi Kenkyû Kai (groupe de recherche sur le shakuhachi), basé au Japon, en collaboration avec d’autres chercheurs importants, tels que Tsukitanu Tsuneko et Shimura Satoshi. Ils ont fait ensemble des recherches sur l’histoire du shakuhachi et sur les shakuhachis anciens de la période d’Edo. Il continua sa recherche sur la musique et le shakuhachi après l’arrêt de l’activité du groupe.

Seyama était quelqu’un de très gentil et de très abordable, qui était toujours prêt à aider ou à donner un avis, quelle que soit la personne qui le sollicitait : un amateur enthousiaste ou un chercheur professionnel. Il est triste que nous ayons perdu une âme aussi serviable dans la communauté du shakuhachi.

Seyama avait créé un site web où il publiait ses pensées sur la musicologie et il était actif sur Facebook et Twitter. Lors du dernier mois de sa vie, il avait posté quelques haikus sur son mur sur Facebook :

7 juin 2013 Pleure, hortensia, pleure!La mort de notre bon ami

jusqu’à l’assèchement des pleurs.

30 août 2013Allongé sur le lit

beaucoup de choses cet étésont venues dans mes pensées.

Il a participé aux publications suivantes (liste non-exhaustive):

13

Seyama Tôru; Tsukitani Tsuneko; Yamaguchi Osamu; Fujii Tomoaki. 1988. The magic of the Index Finger: The Body and instrument as seen in Shakuhachi Honkyoku. Tokyo: Kõbundõ.

Seyama Tôru et al. 1991. Distant calls of deer: an invitation to the world of classical syakuhati (shakuhachi) honkyoku. Tradition and its future in music. Special event of the 4th Symposium of the International Musicological Society. Sims Osaka: Mita Press.

Seyama Tôru; Shimura Satoshi; Tsukitani Tsukeko; Yamaguchi Osamu. 1993. Simplicity as complexity - technicalities and aesthetics of Japanese musical instruments and music. Proceeding of the International Computer Music Conference, 10-17.

Seyama Tôru et al. 1994. The syakuhati: the instrument and its music, change and diversification. Contemporary Music Review 103-29. Reading: Harwood academic publishers.

Moroi Makoto et Seyama Tôru resteront dans le souvenir des joueurs de shakuhachi pour leur contribution au monde du shakuhachi.

Kiku Day

14

The European Shakuhachi Summer School 2014 will be held in the picturesque town of Radolfzell, on the German shore of Bodensee (Lake Konstanz), which

separates Germany, Switzerland and Austria, from the morning of 19th to the late afternoon of 22nd June 2014.

The primary focus of the Summer School will be the honkyoku of the Kokusai Shakuhachi Kenshukan (school of Yokoyama Katsuya). From Japan, the senior KSK teachers Furuya Teruo, Matama Kazushi and Kakizakai Kaoru have been invited and have agreed to come. They will be joined by European KSK teachers Véronique Piron, Horacio Curti and Jim Franklin (who, as primary organiser, will have a somewhat reduced teaching role). Other schools (Tozan, Kinko) will also be represented, and discussions are in progress for Min’yo and contemporary music to be taught as well. The main language of the Summer School will be English.

The medieval town of Radolfzell lies idyllically on the shores of the lake, and there are ample opportunities to take a break and enjoy the summer weather before, during and after the Summer School, with walks along the shores and in the surrounding countryside and excursions to nearby towns (such as Konstanz with its gothic cathedral). Radolfzell is also home to the Weltkloster (World Monastery, welkloster.org), a small centre for interreligious encounter and dialogue. The Weltkloster is acting as partner and host for the Summer School, and most teaching will take place in its spaces.

Concerts will be held every night. Not all venues have yet been confirmed, but Radolfzell and surrounding areas are home to a number of Romanesque, Baroque and modern churches with excellent acoustics, in which the concerts are planned. It is possible that one of the concerts will be held in Überlingen, on the opposite shore of the lake. If this eventuates, the entire Summer School will make an "excursion" for the evening. An additional concert in Radolfzell with the Japanese KSK teachers is in the planning (but not yet confirmed) for the evening of 18th June, immediately before the start of the Summer School. Entry to this concert will be free for Summer School participants.

The participation fee will cover only the tuition and concerts; participants must pay for their accommodation and meals separately. The level of fees has not yet been set, but will be comparable with fees for Summer Schools in previous years.

ESS ANNOUNCEMENTS

15

The Weltkloster is not able to provide accommodation to the participants, but there are a number of hotels in Radolfzell in various price categories, from budget to luxury. Negotiations are underway to obtain good rates for participants in block bookings; details will be posted on the ESS website in due course. There are numerous cafes and restaurants in Radolfzell, also ranging in price from budget eateries to expensive establishments. It is envisaged that participants will be able to obtain cheaply a cooked lunch (vegetarian or including meat) each day from the cafeteria of a nearby clinic. (From personal experience, the food is good, and this is a viable option.)

Even though it is not a large, centrally located city, Radolfzell is relatively easy to reach by public transport. The nearest large airport is in Stuttgart, and from Stuttgart there is an intercity train connection (about 1½ hours travel time) to Radolfzell. There is a smaller airport at Friedrichshafen (on the other shore of Bodensee), although flights to this destination tend to be more expensive than to Stuttgart. Of course, any rail connection in the European network can be used, with transfer via Stuttgart or one of the other main cities in southern Germany.

So, I hope to see you in June 2014!

Jim Franklin

16

El European Shakuhachi Summer School 2014 se realizará entre la mañana del 19 de Junio y la noche del 22 de Junio de 2014 en el pintoresco pueblo de

Radolfzell, en la costa alemana de Bodensee (lago Konstanz) que separa Alemania, Suiza y Austria.

El principal foco del Summer School estará puesto en el honkyoku del Kokusai Shakuhachi Kenshukan (la escuela fundada por Yokoyama Katsuya). De Japón han accedido a participar en el evento los principales maestros del KSK, Furuya Teruo, Matama Kazushi y Kakizakai Kaoru. A ellos se les unirán Véronique Piron, Horacio Curti y Jim Franklin (este ultimo es a la vez el principal organizador del evento por lo que su rol en el apartado enseñanza puede verse disminuido). Otras escuelas como Tozan y Kinko estarán también presentes y en estos momentos se están teniendo conversaciones para poder contar con clases de Min´yo y música contemporánea. La lengua principal del Summer School será el Inglés pero sabemos que, como siempre, habrán muchas otras presentes y estamos seguros de que la lengua no será un obstáculo para nadie.El pueblo medieval de Radolfzell se asienta idílicamente en las origllas del lago y habrán muchas oportunidades de tomarse un descanso y disfrutar del clima veraniego antes, durante y después del Summer School. Caminatas por las orillas del lago, por el campo circundante y excursiones a pueblos cercanos como Konstanz con su bella catedral gótica. De hecho Radolfzell acoge el Weltkloster, un pequeño centro para el encuentro y diálogo interreligioso (podéis encontrar más información en: weltkloster.org). Precisamente Weltkloster es socio organizador y acogerá nuestro Summer School y la mayoría de las clases serán en sus espacios.

Cada una de las noches se realizará un concierto que (aun pendiente de algunas confirmaciones) se están organizando en algunas de las iglesias románicas, barrocas y modernas existentes en Radolfzell. Es posible que uno de los conciertos tenga lugar en Überlingen en la orilla opuesta del lago, algo que de confirmarse, regalará a todos los participantes con una “excursión” para esa noche. Se está también organizando un concierto extra, la noche del 18 de Junio como antesala del Summer School, por parte de los maestros japoneses del KSK en Radolfzell (también se encuentra aún pendiente de confirmación). La entrada a todos estos conciertos será totalmente gratuita para todos los participantes en el Summer School.

La matricula cubrirá tanto la enseñanza como las entradas a los conciertos. Los participantes deberán pagar por su propia cuenta el alojamiento y comidas. El costo de la matricula no está determinado aún pero se encontrará en el rango de las matriculas de las últimas Summer Schools.

ESS ANUNCIOS

17

Weltkloster no podrá suministrar alojamiento a los participantes pero tenemos la ventaja de que Radolfzell cuenta con varios hoteles de una amplia gama de precios desde económicos hasta lujosos. Actualmente nos encontramos organizando acuerdos que puedan garantizar los mejores precios para los participantes, los detalles serán publicados en la página Web del ESS. El pueblo cuenta también con numerosos bares y restaurantes, estamos seguros de que hay opciones para cada presupuesto y se prevé que sea posible obtener un almuerzo económico cada medio día incluyendo una opción vegetariana (mi experiencia personal me ha demostrado que la comida es buena y es una opción viable).A pesar de que Radolfzell no es una ciudad importante y con una ubicación central, es relativamente fácil acceder mediante transporte público. El aeropuerto principal más cercano es el de Stuttgart y desde allí en 90 minutos de tren se llega a Radolfzell. Existe también un aeropuerto más pequeño en Friedrichshafen (en la otra orilla del Bodensee) pero los vuelos suelen ser más caros que en el caso anterior. Por supuesto cualquier conexión dentro de la red de trenes europea puede ser utilizada con conexión en Stuttgart o alguna otra gran ciudad en el sur de Alemania.

Espero verlos en Junio de 2014 en Alemania!

Jim Franklin

18

Европейская Летняя Школа Сякухати 2014

Европейская Летняя Школа Сякухати 2014 будет проходить в живописном городе Радолфцелл на немецком берегу Бодензее (озеро

Констанц), там, где сходятся границы Германии, Швейцарии и Австрии, с утра 19-го до позднего вечера 22 июня 2014 года.

Основной фокус внимания на Летней Школе будет обращен на хонкеку Кокусай Сякухати Кеншукан, школа Йокояма Катсуя (Kokusai Shakuhachi Kenshukan, Yokoyama Katsuya). Приглашены и согласились приехать опытные учителя KSK из Японии, Фуруя Теруо (Furuya Teruo), Матама Казуши (Matama Kazushi) и Какизакаи Каору (Kakizakai Kaoru). К ним присоединятся европейские преподаватели KSK Вероник Пирон (Véronique Piron), Горацио Керти (Horacio Curti) и Джим Франклин (Jim Franklin), который в качестве основного организатора будет вовлечен в преподавание в меньшей степени. Будут представлены и другие школы (Tozan, Kinko), в процессе обсуждения программа Min’yo, будут также уроки современной музыки. Основным языком Летней Школы будет английский.

Средневековый город Радолфцелл идиллически раскинулся на берегу озера, и это дает массу возможностей сделать перерыв и насладиться летней погодой до, во время и после Летней Школы, прогуляться по берегу и окрестностям, отправиться на экскурсию в близлежащие городки (например, в Констанц с его готическим собором). В Радолфцелле также расположен Монастырь Мира (Weltkloster, World Monastery, welkloster.org), небольшой центр межрелигиозного взаимодействия. Монастырь Мира выступает в качестве партнера и места проведения Летней Школы, уроки по большей части будут проходить в помещениях Монастыря.

На каждый вечер запланирован концерт. Пока не все площадки подтверждены, но в самом Радолфцелле и вблизи него расположено несколько романских, барочных и современных церквей с прекрасной акустикой, в которых пройдут концерты. Возможно, что один из концертов пройдет в Юберлинге (Überlingen) на противоположном берегу озера. В этом случае всей Летней Школе предстоит вечерняя «экскурсия». Планируется, но пока не подтвержден дополнительный концерт, который японские учителя KSK дадут вечером 18 июля, прямо перед началом Летней Школы. Посещение этого концерта для участников Летней Школы будет бесплатным.

Плата за участие в Школе покрывает только обучение и концерты, за проживание и питание участники должны будут платить отдельно. Уровни оплаты пока не установлены, но будут сравнимы с тем, что вы платили за участие в предыдущих Летних Школах.

19

Монастырь Мира не может предоставить участникам возможности проживания, но в Радолфцелле есть несколько отелей разных ценовых категорий, от бюджетных до люксовых. Организаторы ведут переговоры, чтобы получить скидки для участников при блочном бронировании; детали будут своевременно опубликованы на сайте Европейского Сообщества Сякухати. В Радолфцелле множество кафе и ресторанов, также от бюджетных до дорогих. Предполагается, что участники смогут воспользоваться недорогими обедами (вегетарианскими или мясными), приготовленными в кафетерии близлежащей клиники. (Из личного опыта – еда там хороша, и это практичный выбор).

Несмотря на то что Радолфцелл небольшой город и расположен не на центральных магистралях, до довольно него легко добраться общественным транспортом. Ближайший аэропорт находится в Штутгарте, откуда до Радолфцелла можно доехать на междугороднем поезде примерно за полтора часа. Менее крупный аэропорт находится во Фридрихсхафене (на другом берегу Бодензее), хотя авиабилеты до него обычно дороже, чем до Штутгарта. Конечно, можно воспользоваться любыми поездами Европейской сети, с пересадкой в Штутгарте или другом крупном городе южной Германии.

Итак, до встречи в июне 2014-го!

Джим Франклин

20

ESS ANNOUNCEMENTS

After last ESS Summer School in Barcelona in July 2013, and following our usual practice, we have gathered together video images of what happened there to sha-re with all those who attended and also those of you who couldn´t make it.

Ignasi Boltó (www.bolotduario.com), was in charge both of the promotional video and the post event compilation for the Barcelona event.

ESS together with Ariadna Pujol (www.vimeo.com/user13308779) made a video for the Barcelona Music Museum about the shakuhachi making process as conducted at the Sha-kuhachi Making workshop taught by John Kaizan Neptune at the Music Museum during the Barcelona Shakuhachi Summer School 2013.

You will find these videos (and previous Summer School´s ones) at:www.shakuhachisociety.eu

Hope you enjoy them!

21

ESS ANNOUNCEMENTS

We are currently updating the ESS website and on the new “People” page there will be an opportunity to include ESS member’s profiles. If you would like to be included in the new website and have not yet sent us a profile or have not

updated it for a while, now is a good time to do so. Please complete the relevant section below and send it to info@shakuhachisociety.eu, before 30th November. Many thanks!

A:Players/Performers:Name of your teacher:Your name:Schools/styles played:Website:Email:Short biography. Max 200 words:

B:Players/Performers/Teachers:Name of your teacher:Your name:Schools/styles taught:Languages:Teaching locations:Skype: yes/noWebsite:Email:Short biography. Max 200 words:

C:Shakuhachi makers:Name of teacher with whom you trained making (if any): Your name:Name of the making dojo:Type of shakuhachi made:Selling shakuhachi since:Location (town, country): Website:Email: Short biography. Max 200 words:

22

SHAKUHACHI WATER-SOUND FIGURES - MIZU NO OTO NO MOCHIFU

For years now, I have been deeply impressed by the research done by Alexander Lauterwasser. He is a writer

and cymatic scientist who lives in southern Germany and has been exploring the design processes created by vibrations, water, music and by other sounds since 1993. At the end of 2011, after several joint concerts, I went to visit him at his studio to record water-sound-figures created when I play the shakuhachi.

For the actualization, the vibrations are recorded by microphone, go through an amplifier, and are then transported via an acoustic baffle board into a shallow water-bowl. Due to its high resonance ability, water reacts very quickly and sensitively to all kinds of sound waves with many different wave movements within and on its surface. Due to the overlapping and interpenetration of these waves with varying directions and intensities, complex structures, so-called interference patterns, are created.Through light reflections, the wave-movement and patterns can be made visible via special lighting, and can then be photographed from above. The water-sound-figures are unable to make the music visible but they do show how the sounds of the flute resonate with the water.

Alexander Lauterwasser & Viz Michael Kremietz

23

REPORT / ESS BARCELONA SUMMER SCHOOL

What is it about a short piece of bamboo with five holes drilled into it that has captivated people’s interest for centuries? Why try endlessly to perfect the sound

made with this instrument or travel across the world to meet others to share in this endeavour and to learn from those who have really mastered it? Recognised teachers of the instrument take obvious delight in sharing what they have learned from their lineage of equally dedicated and demanding and, no doubt, kind teachers. Though this simple-looking instrument is difficult to learn, it also rewards the effort put into learning it and the sense of community among players and their teachers is unlike anything else I have

experienced. If you can attend the next ESS school, don’t hesitate, do it!

The ESS summer school in Barcelona drew people from around the world - from as far afield as Russia, USA, Europe, Japan and Australia. This was an amazing forum of accomplished performers, composers, researchers and masters as well as students at all levels including beginners like myself. As a beginner, I had already gone through the initial

surprise of finding out that this simple looking instrument is really difficult to learn and was grateful therefore that there was a beginners’ stream. There was so much to learn and with such good teaching and encouragement we all worked really hard to improve. There have been countless times since getting home that things I had not quite understood at the summer school started to fall into place and the key has been, as we learnt there, careful practice, practice and more practice.

Jim Franklin really connected with his beginners’ class. It has to be more rewarding to teach intermediate or advanced students, so to be prepared to help struggling beginners must be a daunting task. That said, Jim did not make it seem like an onerous task at all. He was patient and kind and very insightful as far as the various difficulties each beginner struggled with and was able to pull us together well enough to play a simplified version of one of the standards. Quite an achievement in just a few days! I learnt so much from Jim and it is because of him that I want to continue with this instrument. Kiku Day also worked with us and taught us valuable lessons about relaxing and concentration - critical experiential knowledge for anyone wanting to proceed beyond the initial frustration of just fruitlessly blowing air through a hollow tube to intentionally making music with it. As a string player, I was surprised at how many variables a shakuhachi

24

player has to deal with simultaneously and at how each time one approaches the instrument, even at different times in the same day, the variables seem to change, seemingly on their own. This can result in tension. Counter-intuitively, the more one relaxes, the more it is possible to concentrate on embouchure and the correct amount of breath through the instrument - amazing. Vika Kleineman’s classes on breathing technique reinforced this. She had a very practical way of showing us how breath, concentration and relaxing work. Before Barcelona 2013, I was really struggling to get through regular three-hour orchestral rehearsals where I was beginning to "seize up". I have really worked at the relaxation techniques taught and can honestly say that rehearsals are finally not a problem now and I really enjoyed our September concert because of this. I continue to practice the techniques and note that shakuhachi is such a relaxing instrument anyway - have you noticed how typical it is for performers to play with a peaceful expression on their faces, eyes closed, looking like they might start to levitate? Shakuhachi is good for the psyche!

I observed Veronique Piron’s Shinkyoku class for a few hours and got to hear some of the most beautiful music I have ever heard in my life. The students, under Veronique’s expert tutelage, were weaving together Hideaki Kuribayashi’s "Emu" (絵夢) or “Picture Dream”. This was some of the most beautiful music I had heard for some time and Veronique’s passion directing its realisation was amazing to watch. As a western musician, I have worked in an orchestral setting with various conductors and soloists and there is a sense that players get from this that enables them to quickly identify talented musical leaders and the factors that will result in a good performance. Later, in Veronique’s own concert performances everyone attending could see exactly that and the student rendition of ‘Emu’ accompanied on koto by Fumie Hihara was really good! In the evenings we were also treated to a wide range of exceptional public performances by all the teachers and several other performers.

One of the most enjoyable experiences for me was learning the basics of shamisen. Our teacher, Fumie Hihara, gave up her own shamisen so I could join in!!! It was so much fun even though we all struggled initially to find a common language. From the range of

Spanish, Japanese, English and French, the ‘lingua franca’, literally, was French and Fumie, teaching us in French, was able to take us through to the student concert. I really enjoyed learning and rehearsing with Rafael and Hawwa on shamisen and with Fumie on koto. Talking about performances, I was amazed by the performance of Jean-François Lagrost and Mieko Miyazaki during a concert for the students. Their

rendition of Haru no umi (春の海, "The Sea in Spring") was hauntingly beautiful. I must have listened to their CD afterwards a hundred times and each time I listen, the experience

25

is just as rewarding as it was before. This is EXTREMELY beautiful music, and it is matched by a beautiful spirit in the performers.

Now, I need to tell you about Kaoru Kakizakai-sensei. When I looked at the programme, I really wondered what “robuki” was all about. I researched it, but I was not able to find an explanation that made sense to me. This is because one has to experience robuki to understand it. Playing the fundamental note, Ro, in a prolonged fashion together for a long time is really important for shakuhachi players not only to select the right starting pitch but to attune themselves to the instrument. It goes beyond how one tunes to "concert A" in a western orchestra. It helped me to be able to blow longer and more in tune, and with Kaoru’s teaching, creating different textures. Effectively, we have to tune ourselves as musicians to access the shakuhachi’s resources. So thank

you, Kaoru, for teaching us all about robuki – in doing this, you have transferred to us one of the most important teachings your teacher taught you. Another lesson was on "hot breath" and "cold breath". I must confess that I had no idea of the difference at the time but this is one of those lessons that has started to make sense during practice times where it is possible to experiment with all the techniques taught at the summer school. What I learnt at my level during those sessions was invaluable, and I am also aware that multiple layers of knowledge were shared, not only to me as a beginner but to the more advanced students.

John Neptune is an exceptional person, an amazing performer and an outstanding instrument maker. Time did not permit me, as a "newbie", both to learn shakuhachi and to participate in the shakuhachi-makers class, but I would have liked to have done both! John treated us all to an outstanding performance by all the shakuhachi instrument makers. In a concerted performance of instruments of varying lengths, John blended all these diverse instruments together into an entertaining but harmonious "symphony" in a specially crafted composition! One of the most important ingredients was John’s sense of humour and ability to connect with performers and audience alike – achieved there through John playing his own instrument in a non-standard fashion by blowing through the finger holes! Amplified by John’s antics, this had an entertaining and almost percussive off-beat effect and it sounded great against the backdrop of the shakuhachi ensemble. For a major organisational effort to run so smoothly there has to be exceptional event

26

management behind it all and this was done expertly and pleasantly by Horacio Curti and Michael Soumei Coxall with others assisting in various roles. Thanks so much to these people for working so hard behind the scenes making this event run so smoothly from beginning to end. In Perth, it is not possible to get the shakuhachi synergy that is possible within continental Europe so gatherings, like the ESS summer school, are well worth making the effort to attend. I think this should be an important lesson to all those interested in traditional Japanese music - we really need to make the most of every opportunity we have to share this music and that is best done by working together. Today, we can enjoy some of that personal training only available through long apprenticeships by gathering for summer schools and festivals where masters and like-minded students from around the world get together, overcoming cultural and language differences to learn and have fun together. It is also an excellent opportunity to learn more about the background and traditions of this music. Our practical training was augmented by exceptional presentations and public discussions by composers such as Marty Regan and Jim Franklin as well as interesting presentations of the research of both Kiku Day and Gunnar Jinmei Linder. Thanks to the organisers, performers, teachers and fellow students for an unimaginably great experience at Barcelona 2013.

Trev Tibbits

27

REPORT / ESS BARCELONA SUMMER SCHOOL

Qu’est-ce qui fait qu’un morceau de bambou percé de cinq trous captive les gens depuis des siècles ? Pourquoi essayer sans fin d’en perfectionner le son ou traverser

la planète pour rencontrer d’autres personnes qui partagent cette recherche, ainsi que pour apprendre de ceux qui en maîtrise le jeu ?

Les éminents professeurs de cet instrument prennent un plaisir évident à partager ce qu’ils ont eux-même appris de maîtres aussi passionnés qu’exigeants, et sans conteste, affables. Bien que cet instrument d’aspect si simple soit difficile à apprendre, on est récompensé des efforts dépensés à son apprentissage et le sentiment de communauté entre les apprenants et leurs professeurs ne ressemble à rien d’autre que j’aie pu connaître auparavant. Si vous pouvez venir à la prochaine Académie d’été de l’ESS, n’hésitez pas, venez !

L’Académie d’été de l’ESS attire des gens des quatre coins du monde - venant d’aussi loin que de Russie, des USA, d’Europe, du Japon et d’Australie. C’est une incroyable rencontre de concertistes, compositeurs, chercheurs et maîtres, aussi bien que d’étudiants de tous niveaux, débutants compris, ce que je suis. En tant que débutant, j’avais déjà dépassé le stade de la surprise initiale de constater que cet instrument simple d’aspect se révélait vraiment difficile à apprendre, et j’étais heureux de me retrouver parmi d’autres débutants. Nous avons tellement été encouragés à apprendre lors de cours d’une grande qualité que nous avons beaucoup travaillé pour progresser. Depuis que je suis de retour chez moi, je ne compte plus les fois où des choses que je n’avais pas trop comprises en cours ont commencé à se mettre en place, la clef étant, comme nous l’avions appris là-bas, application et pratique, pratique et encore pratique.

Jim Franklin a vraiment été très proche de sa classe de débutants. Il doit être plus gratifiant d’enseigner à des étudiants de niveau intermédiaire ou avancé ; donc, se préparer à aider des débutants en prise avec leur instrument doit être une tâche redoutable. Ceci dit, Jim n’a pas du tout donné l’impression que cela lui était pénible. Il était gentil et patient, il nous a donné des conseils très pertinents sur toute la gamme de difficultés qu’ont à faire face les débutants et a réussi à nous hisser tous à un niveau suffisant pour pouvoir jouer

28

une version simplifiée d’une pièce traditionnelle. Une sacrée performance en seulement quelques jours ! J’ai tellement appris avec Jim que c’est grâce à lui que je veux continuer l’apprentissage de cet instrument.

Kiku Day nous a aussi fait travailler et nous a donné de précieux cours sur la relaxation et la concentration - connaissance empirique essentielle pour n’importe qui cherchant à aller plus loin que la frustration première ou juste infructueuse de souffler dans un tube creux avec l’intention d’en tirer de la musique. En tant qu’instrumentiste à cordes, j’ai été surpris de voir à combien de paramètres différents un joueur de shakuhachi est confronté simultanément, et combien, à chaque fois qu’on prend l’instrument, même à différent moments d’une même journée, combien ces paramètres semblent changer, apparemment d’eux-mêmes. Cela peut générer des tensions. Au contraire, plus on se détend, plus il est possible de se concentrer sur l’embouchure et sur la quantité de souffle à utiliser dans l’instrument - incroyable. Les cours de Vika Kleineman sur les techniques de respiration ont encore renforcé cette impression. Elle a une façon très efficace de nous montrer comment respirer, se concentrer et se détendre. Avant Barcelona 2013, j’avais du mal à tenir les trois heures habituelles de service d’orchestre, pendant lesquelles j’avais tendance à me «raidir». J’ai vraiment pratiqué les techniques de relaxation et je peux dire franchement que ces répétitions ne sont maintenant plus un problème et que j’ai réellement pris plaisir à notre concert de septembre grâce à ça. Je continue à pratiquer ces techniques et je remarque que le shakuhachi est un instrument vraiment relaxant - avez-vous remarqué comme il est typique chez les joueurs de shakuhachi de jouer avec une expression de paix sur le visage, les yeux fermés, donnant l’impression qu’ils pourraient entrer en lévitation à tout moment ? Le shakuhachi est bon pour la psyché ! J’ai assisté quelques heures au cours de shinkyoku de Véronique Piron et j’ai pu entendre une des plus belles musiques que j’aie entendu dans ma vie. Les étudiants, sous la conduite experte de Véronique, «tissaient» ensemble la musique de Hideaki Kuribayashi’s "Emu" (絵夢) or “Picture Dream”. C’était une des plus belles musiques que j’aie entendu depuis longtemps et la passion que Véronique y mettait pour en guider la réalisation était extraordinaire. En tant que musicien d’orchestre occidental, j’ai joué sous la direction de différents chefs d’orchestre et avec différents solistes et on finit par pouvoir évaluer très vite les artistes talentueux et les facteurs propre à produire un bon concert. Plus tard, durant de la prestation en concert des étudiants de Véronique, chacun a pu s’en rendre compte et l’interprétation qu’ils ont faite de "Emu" accompagné au koto par Fumie Hihara a été très réussie ! Les soirées nous ont permis d’assister une grande variété de concerts exceptionnels donnés par les professeurs et des artistes invités.

L’une des expériences que j’ai le plus appréciée a été l’apprentissage des bases du shamisen. Notre professeur, Fumie Hihara, m’a prêté son propre shamisen pour que je puisse participer !!! Ça a été vraiment génial, même si au début nous avons eu du mal à trouver un langage commun. Parmi le choix entre l’espagnol, le japonais, l’anglais et le français, la «lingua franca» a été, littéralement le français, et Fumie, nous enseignant en français, a

29

réussi à nous faire jouer au concert des étudiants. J’ai vraiment eu beaucoup de plaisir à apprendre et répéter avec Rafael et Hawwa au shamisen et Fumie au koto.

En parlant des concerts, celui de Jean-François Lagrost et Mieko Miyazaki m’a époustouflé. Leur interprétation de Haru no umi (春の海, “The Sea in Spring”) était magnifique et envoûtante. J’ai dû écouter au moins cent fois leur CD depuis, et à chaque fois, l’expérience est toujours aussi exaltante. C’est de la musique EXTRÊMEMENT belle dont l’esprit est merveilleusement rendu par la beauté de leur interprétation.

Maintenant je dois parler de Kaoru Kakizakai sensei. Quand j’ai regardé le programme, je me suis vraiment demandé ce en quoi consistait le "robuki". J’ai cherché mais je n’ai pas réussi à trouver une explication qui fasse sens. C’est parce qu’il faut expérimenter le «robuki» pour le comprendre. Jouer la note fondamentale, Ro, tous ensemble, d’une façon prolongée, est très important pour les joueurs de shakuhachi, non seulement pour trouver la bonne justesse, mais aussi pour s’accorder eux-mêmes à leur instrument. Cela va bien

au-delà de l’accord sur le "la" dans les orchestres occidentaux. Cela m’a permis de souffler plus longtemps en gardant la bonne hauteur, et, avec l’enseignement de Kaoru, de créer des textures sonores différentes. En effet, nous devons nous accorder nous-mêmes comme musiciens pour pouvoir accéder aux ressources du shakuhachi. Alors merci, Kaoru, de nous avoir appris le robuki - en cela, vous nous avez communiqué l’un des enseignements les plus importants que votre maître vous a transmis. Un autre cours avait pour sujet le "souffle chaud" et le "souffle froid". Je dois avouer que je n’avais aucune idée de la différence à ce moment-là, mais cela a commencé à prendre un sens pendant les heures de pratique où il est possible d’essayer toutes les

techniques apprises lors de l’Académie d’été. Ce que j’ai appris durant ces sessions est inestimable, et je suis bien conscient que différentes couches de savoir ont été partagées, pas uniquement avec moi en tant que débutant, mais aussi avec les étudiants les plus avancés.

John Neptune est un personnage exceptionnel, un interprète extraordinaire et un facteur d’instruments remarquable. Le novice que je suis n’a pas eu le temps à la fois d’apprendre le shakuhachi et de participer aux cours de lutherie, mais j’aurais bien voulu faire les deux ! John nous a offert un concert mémorable avec la participation de tous les apprentis-luthiers. Utilisant après concertation des instruments de différentes tailles, John a mêlé

30

tous ces instruments dans une divertissante mais harmonieuse symphonie composée pour la circonstance. L’un des ingrédients les plus importants était son sens de l’humour et son habileté à entrer en contact aussi bien avec les musiciens en train de jouer qu’avec le public, et le summum a été atteint lorsque John s’est mis à souffler dans son instrument d’une façon non-orthodoxe, c’est-à-dire à travers les trous pour les doigts ! Amplifié par ses plaisanteries, cela a créé l’effet amusant et quasi-percussif d’un "off-beat" qui contrastait avec la toile de fond créée par l’ensemble de shakuhachis. Une organisation exceptionnelle était nécessaire pour qu’un tel évènement se déroule sans heurts et cela a été fait avec expertise et gentillesse par Horacio Curti et Michael Soumei Coxall, entouré d’une équipe de personnes chargées de différents rôles. Un grand merci à ces acteurs de l’ombre d’avoir travaillé d’arrache-pied pour permettre que cette manifestation se déroule de la manière la plus agréable possible du début à la fin.

A Perth, il n’est pas possible d’obtenir une synergie au niveau du shakuhachi semblable à ce qui se passe en Europe, donc des rassemblements comme celui de l’Académie d’été de l’ESS valent vraiment la peine d’y aller. Je pense que cela devrait être une leçon importante pour tous ceux qui sont intéressés par la musique traditionnelle japonaise - nous devons vraiment profiter au maximum de chaque occasion que nous avons de partager cette musique et cela marche d’autant mieux en travaillant tous ensemble. Aujourd’hui, nous pouvons profiter d’une partie de cet enseignement personnel seulement accessible à travers un long apprentissage en nous retrouvant pour participer à des Académies d’été et festivals où maîtres et étudiants partageant les mêmes aspirations viennent des quatre coins du monde, passant par-dessus les différences culturelles et linguistiques, pour apprendre et partager de bons moments ensemble. C’est aussi une excellente occasion d’en apprendre plus sur l’histoire et les traditions de cette musique. Notre travail pratique a été enrichi par les présentations et discussions publiques exceptionnelles de compositeurs tels que Marty Regan et Jim Franklin, ainsi que par de très intéressantes présentations de leurs recherches effectuées par Kiku Day et Gunnar Jinmei Linder. Merci à tous les organisateurs, artistes, professeurs et compères étudiants pour cette expérience inimaginable et sensationnelle à Barcelone 2013.

Trev Tibbits

31

REPORT / ESS BARCELONA SUMMER SCHOOL

Qué es lo que hace que una corta pieza de bambú con cinco agujeros perforados

en ella haya cautivado el interés de la gente durante siglos? ¿Por qué ese interminable intento de conseguir la perfección del sonido realizado con este instrumento, o viajar a través del mundo, para encontrar otros con quienes compartir este empeño y aprender de aquellos que han conseguido realmente dominarlo? Reconocidos maestros del instrumento muestran un

obvio placer al compartir lo que han aprendido de su linaje de otros amables maestros, sin duda igualmente dedicados y exigentes. Aunque este instrumento de apariencia simple sea difícil de aprender, también recompensa el esfuerzo puesto en ello, y el sentido de comunidad entre los practicantes y sus maestros no tiene parecido a nada de lo que haya podido experimentar anteriormente. Si pueden participar en la próxima escuela del ESS, ¡no duden en hacerlo!

La escuela de verano de la ESS atrajo gente de todo el mundo — desde países tan lejanos como Rusia, los EEUU, Europa, Japón y Australia. Este ha sido un sorprendente fórum de consumados intérpretes, compositores, investigadores y maestros así como de estudiantes de todos los niveles, incluyendo principiantes como en mi caso. Como principiante, ya había pasado por la sorpresa inicial de descubrir que este instrumento de tan simple apariencia es realmente difícil de aprender y fue de agradecer que hubiese en el encuentro una sarta de principiantes como yo. Había tanto por aprender y tanta buena enseñanza y estímulo que todos trabajamos realmente duro para mejorar. Hubo incontables veces desde que llegué a casa, que las cosas que no terminaba de comprender en la escuela de verano, cayeron en su lugar y la clave fue, como aprendimos allí, una práctica cuidadosa, práctica y más práctica.

Jim Franklin sin duda alguna conectó con su clase de principiantes. Ha de ser más gratificante enseñar a alumnos de nivel medio o avanzado, por lo que estar preparado para ayudar a principiantes en apuros debe ser una tarea de enormes proporciones. Dicho esto, Jim consiguió que todo ello no pareciera en absoluto una tarea onerosa. Fue paciente y amable con todas las distintas dificultades con las que cada principiante se enfrentaba y fue capaz de tirar de todos nosotros juntos lo suficiente como para conseguir que tocáramos

32

una versión simplificada de una de las clásicas. ¡Todo un logro en solo unos pocos días¡ Aprendí mucho de Jim y es por él por lo que quiero continuar con este instrumento.

Kiku Day también trabajó con nosotros y nos enseñó valiosas lecciones sobre relajación y concentración —un conocimiento experiencial crítico para todo aquel que desee ir mas allá de la frustración inicial de soplar aire sin fruto alguno a través de un tubo hueco para hacer intencionadamente música con él. Como intérprete de cuerda, me sorprendieron las diferentes variables que un intérprete de shakuhachi tiene que manejar simultáneamente y cómo se aproxima al instrumento cada vez, incluso en diferentes momentos del mismo día, las variables parecen cambiar aparentemente por sí mismas. Ello puede ser resultado de la tensión. En contra de toda intuición, cuanto más se relaja uno, es más posible concentrarse en la embocadura y en la correcta cantidad de soplo a través del instrumento —sorprendente. Las clases de Vika Kleiman sobre técnica de respiración lo reforzaron. Tenía una manera muy práctica de mostrarnos como la respiración, concentración y relajación trabajan. Antes de Barcelona 2013 me encontraba enfrentado con ensayos orquestales regulares de tres horas donde estaba comenzando a «bloquearme». En verdad he trabajado con las técnicas de relajación enseñadas y puedo decir con honestidad que los ensayos, finalmente, ahora ya no son un problema y de que debido a ello he disfrutado realmente de nuestro concierto de septiembre. Continúo practicando las técnicas y noto que el shakuhachi es también un instrumento reconfortante —¿os habéis dado cuenta de lo característico que resulta en los intérpretes de música, tocar con una expresión de paz en sus rostros, ojos cerrados, dando la sensación de que fueran a comenzar a levitar? ¡El Shakuhachi es bueno para la psyche!

Observé la clase de Shinkyouku de Véronique Piron durante unas pocas horas y escuché la música más bella que había escuchado en mi vida. Los alumnos, bajo el experto tutelaje de Véronique entretejían juntos "Emu" (絵夢) o "Sueño de una imágen" de Hideaki Kuribayashi. Esta ha sido una de las músicas más bellas que he oído en mucho tiempo y la pasión de Véronique dirigiendo su realización fue impresionante de ver. Como músico occidental, he trabajado en una orquesta ajustándome a varios directores y solistas y existe la opinión de que los músicos con ello alcanzan a identificar rápidamente a los líderes musicales con talento y los factores que resultarán en una buena ejecución. Más tarde, durante las interpretaciones realizadas por la misma Véronique en los conciertos, todos los asistentes pudieron ver exactamente eso ¡y la interpretación de Emu de los estudiantes acompañados por el koto por Fumie Hihara fue realmente buena! También nos ofrecieron por las noches una amplia gama de excepcionales interpretaciones públicas por todos los profesores y muchos otros intérpretes.

Una de las experiencias más agradables para mí fue aprender los fundamentos del shamisen. ¡Nuestra maestra, Fumie Hihara, cedió su propio shamisen para que pudiera unirme!!! Fue tan divertido a pesar de que inicialmente tuvimos problemas en buscar un idioma común. Desde la gama de español, japonés, inglés y francés, la lingua franca, literalmente, fue el

33

francés y Fumie, enseñándonos en francés, fue capaz de guiarnos hasta el concierto de estudiantes. Disfruté realmente aprendiendo y ensayando con Rafael y Hawwa en el shamisen y con Fumie en el koto. Hablando de interpretaciones, me sorprendió la de Jean-François Lagrost y Mieko Miyazaki durante el “open mic night”. Su interpretación de Haru no umi (春の海, «El Mar en Primavera») fue inolvidable. Debo haber escuchado su CD después de ello un centenar de veces y cada vez que lo hago, la experiencia es tan gratificante como lo fue la primera vez. Es una música EXTREMADAMENTE bella, además de que la acompaña un bello espíritu en los músicos.

Ahora, necesito hablar de Kaoru Kakizakai sensei. Cuando vi el programa me pregunté de qué iba aquello del "robuki". Estuve investigando, pero no encontré ninguna explicación que me lo aclarara. Esto es porque se debe experimentar el robuki para comprenderlo. Tocar la nota fundamental, Ro, de manera prolongada durante largo tiempo, es realmente importante para los intérpretes de shakuhachi, no solo para seleccionar el correcto tono de comienzo sino para que puedan afinarse ellos mismos con el instrumento. Va más allá de cómo nos afinamos en un «concierto X» en la orquesta occidental, me ayudó a ser capaz de soplar durante más tiempo y más afinado y crear diferentes texturas con las enseñanzas de Kaoru. Efectivamente, teníamos que afinarnos a nosotros mismos como músicos para acceder a los recursos del shakuhachi. Así pues, gracias Kaoru, por enseñarnos todo

esto sobre el robuki —al hacerlo, nos ha transmitido una de las enseñanzas más importantes que su profesor le enseñó. Otra lección fue sobre "respiración cálida" y "respiración fría". Debo confesar que no tenía ni idea para entonces sobre la diferencia, pero esta es una de las lecciones que durante el tiempo de práctica, comenzó a dar sentido donde es posible experimentar con todas las técnicas enseñadas en la escuela de verano. Lo que aprendí en mi nivel durante estas sesiones fue inestimable y también soy consciente de que se compartieron múltiples capas de conocimiento, no solo a mí como principiante sino a alumnos más avanzados.

John Neptune es una persona excepcional, un fantástico intérprete y espectacular fabricante del instrumento. El tiempo no me permitió, como "novato", aprender el shakuhachi y participar a las clases de fabricación de shakuhachi a la vez, pero ¡me hubiese gustado haber podido hacer ambas! John nos obsequió a todos con una sobresaliente interpretación realizada por todos los participantes en el taller de construcción de shakuhachi. ¡En una coordinada interpretación con instrumentos de distintos largos, John combinó todos estos diversos instrumentos en una entretenida pero armoniosa "sinfonía", en una composición especialmente elaborada! Uno de los ingredientes más importantes fue el sentido de humor de John y su habilidad para conectar con músicos y audiencia de la

34

misma manera —conseguido a través de John tocando su propio instrumento en una manera nada clásica, soplando a través de los agujeros de digitación! Ampliada por las travesuras de John, tuvo un efecto entretenido y casi percusivo sonando fantásticamente en el contexto del conjunto de shakuhachi.

Para que un esfuerzo organizativo pudiera transcurrir con tanta fluidez tenía que haber una dirección de evento excepcional detrás de todo y ello fue realizado de manera experta y afable por Horacio Curti y Michael Soumei Coxall junto con otros ayudando en distintas funciones. Muchas gracias a toda esa gente por trabajar tan duro entre bastidores permitiendo que el evento transcurriera tan tranquilamente desde el principio hasta el final. En Perth no es posible conseguir la misma sinergia del shakuhachi que en el continente, por lo que vale la pena hacer el esfuerzo de asistir a encuentros, como el de la escuela de verano de la ESS. Creo que esto debería ser una lección importante para todos aquellos interesados en la música tradicional japonesa —realmente necesitamos aprovechar al máximo cada oportunidad que tengamos para compartir esta música y se hace mejor trabajando juntos. Actualmente, podemos disfrutar algo de este entrenamiento personal disponible a través de largos aprendizajes reuniéndonos en las escuelas de verano y festivales donde maestros y alumnos con ideas afines de todo el mundo, nos reunamos, sobrellevando diferentes culturales y lingüísticas para aprender a disfrutar juntos. También es una excelente oportunidad para aprender más sobre el contexto y tradiciones de esta música. Nuestro entreno práctico aumentado por las excepcionales presentaciones y debates públicos por compositores como Marty Regan y Jim Franklin así como por las interesantes presentaciones de las investigaciones de Kiku Day y Gunnar Jinmei Linder. Gracias a los organizadores, intérpretes, maestros y compañeros de estudio por una inimaginable gran experiencia en Barcelona 2013. –

Trev Tibbits

35

REPORT / JOHN KAIZAN NEPTUNE´S SHAKUHACHI MAKING WORKSHOP IN BARCELONA

How many times over the years, usually following a concert, have I been asked the question, “Do you make these flutes yourself ?” And how many times have I answered

“No, I don’t…its way too difficult…I wouldn’t know where to start etc.”Well those days are over. I am now the proud owner of a 2.6 jinashi flute that plays with excellent tuning, tone and response, and all made by my own hands within a period of 2 days. You could knock me down with a feather.

When I first saw the information about the up-coming Summer School in Barcelona my curiosity was aroused by the news that John Kaizan Neptune would be coming to give a shakuhachi-making workshop for beginners. After 25 years of playing this instrument, I instinctively felt the time had come to learn something concrete about the making of it.

I have known several professional shakuhachi makers over the years, both Japanese and non-Japanese, and have always been impressed by the long-term dedication and the array of specific skills and tools needed to produce a quality finished flute. I also am aware that the best instrument makers have a touch, a gift, that cannot be bottled, and that most professional instrumentalists do not make their own instruments, just as the best makers seldom are professional players themselves.

Actually, I did not imagine that in Barcelona I might make a functioning flute. Rather I imagined a sort of introduction to some of the makers’ techniques, and that I might come away with a deeper understanding of how these deceptively simple-looking instruments are made, and perhaps some kind of rudimentary instrument on a par with a child’s first wonky efforts at making a clay teacup.

I was rather late and lacking in sleep on the morning of the first day, having given a concert in London the night before and driven straight to the airport for an early morning flight to Barcelona. When I arrived I was greeted by Michael and Horacio, two of the festival organisers, and was directed to a small basement room in a building across the way that was to become my home for the next two days.

The initial scene that met my eyes was of an excited group of about a dozen men and women brandishing raw bamboo stalks of various lengths…mostly 2.3 or longer. John had brought these from Japan from his own stock of bamboo and he was there in the thick of the throng, answering anxious questions, and helping each one of us to choose the individual piece of bamboo that was to become our closest companion

over the next couple of days, hopefully to be transformed into a workable instrument.

36

In addition to the bamboo stalks, John had brought a lot of specialized tools with him and these were complemented by those provided by José Vargas, an instrument maker from Madrid who had come to assist. Most importantly, each participant needed their own small, sharp Japanese knife called a kuri, which we had purchased in advance from José when signing up for the workshop. The other tools consisted mainly of a series of different sized rasps attached to long metal rods, and some very fine-toothed saws. There were also several wooden work boxes with V-shaped notches cut into the sides that were essential for stabilizing the bamboo while we worked on it.

The flutes that John was going to help us to make would of course be simple jinashi flutes, without the inlaid utaguchi, urushi, rattan binding or any other of the finer details. Still to me, in those early moments of the workshop, finding myself in an environment where everything was new, in cramped conditions, feeling slightly woozy from lack of sleep, and surrounded by eager voices in multiple languages…I would not have imagined that three days later I would be on stage playing a sweet rendition of Auld Lang Syne (in the rather unusual key of A flat) on a newly-fashioned but perfectly playable flute.

This brief article is not the place to give an in-depth description of the various stages necessary to make a shakuhachi, although I will attempt to sketch them out.

We needed initially to open the top and bottom ends of the bamboo stalk and knock out the nodes (fushi) to give a roughly uniform diameter to the bore. We needed to take a lot of care in opening the top, not to remove too much material so as not to have the diameter of the opening too large; John gave us specific dimensions to aim for here.

We then needed to create the mouthpiece. Here we used an extremely sharp hacksaw to cut across the top at 45 degrees, and then a special cylindrical file to create the half-moon shape that would form the all-important blowing edge. This was a rather nerve-racking stage as I knew just how crucial the shape and angle of the blowing edge would be to the eventual tone and response of the instrument. And so it was, with slightly sweaty palms, I lifted the bamboo to my lips and ….to my great surprise….I played my first ro. That was a pretty thrilling, primal moment. And although each participant was working at a different rate and tools were needing to be shared, within a relatively short time the room was filled with the earnest, breathy, other-worldly sound of a dozen rustic jinashi flutes all playing ro at varying pitches.

The next thing we needed to do was to decide whether we were happy with the basic pitch of the flute. Largely this was predetermined by the length of the bamboo, and could be tested by playing ro into an electronic tuner, however at this stage we could still adjust the pitch by shortening the length in one of two ways - either cutting a slice from the root end, or removing a section from the top, the second option being more time-consuming and rather more complicated. We also could open up the bore at the bottom and adjust the

37

pitch in that way. Some of the participants were keen to ensure that they could adjust the pitch of their flute to conform to a recognisable pitch within the realm of A=440. Others (myself included) were content to let the natural pitch of the bamboo speak for itself in true jinashi style.

On to the other holes, and here we needed a buddy to hold the flute securely for us while we used a drill press to cut into the bamboo …slightly smaller sized drill bit for the 3rd hole than the other four.

I should say that each stage of the practical side of the making process was preceded by explanations and illustrated examples given by John. So, for example, before we began to actually drill the holes, he had given us a rather detailed exposition on the various theories concerning the placement of the holes and their relative position, proportional to the length of bamboo. I won’t go into those here, just to say that the experience of learning with John was fascinating as much for the breadth of information he imparted as it was for the practical results we managed to achieve.

Once the holes had been drilled we began the process of balancing the sound, both in terms of the tonal response and the pitch. If one or more of the notes was tonally weak or flat/sharp compared to the others, adjustments needed to be made. This was achieved by a combination of making the holes bigger or smaller, filing down the inside walls and edges of the holes, and other means of subtly modifying the sound. This task was to take up the bulk of the remainder of our time in the shakuhachi-making workshop, and in fact it became clear that these subtle skills lie at the heart of what it takes to be a good shakuhachi maker. Although we could only go so far down this road within the time available, we did have the opportunity to learn first-hand something of just what is required in terms of patience and judgement in this trial-and–error process.

In fact, John told us that he can often spend half a day working on just one note, and he also commented that he had known shakuhachi makers who had gone crazy trying to make a instrument that would meet the approval of their sensei…..endless hours of mind-clenching anticipation with each new attempt to get a particular note to come into focus with clear tone and pitch…only to have sensei dismiss the maker’s efforts with a shrug and shake of the head…. The main problem being that as one particular note comes into focus, so one or more of the other notes can slide into fuzzy, ill-defined, ambiguous husks of sound.

Perhaps within the larger world of shakuhachi makers/teachers/performers there are those who would say that such natural imperfections in sound should not be tampered with, especially with a jinashi flute…they are part and parcel of the natural order of an infinite universe and as such there lies a "zen-like" purity of spirit in the asymmetry of sound. However, John Kaizan Neptune is not of this school. He began working on the

38

acoustics of the shakuhachi thirty years ago, as he was unable to find an instrument with the kind of balance he was looking for no matter how much he paid for a flute, and so he began making his own shakuhachi.

In fact, John has developed his own theory of ‘pressure points’ within the flute. He explained to us how this came to him as a kind of epiphany one day when he realized that the naturally occurring points of the harmonic waveforms within the bore of the bamboo stalk were at different locations from the position of the actual holes. He, therefore, experimented with adding minute amounts of resin to the inside of the bore at these ‘pressure points’, and discovered that, in so doing, he was able to affect the tone quality and pitch of the notes. He subsequently developed this theory into a system of precise measurements that he has refined into a ‘pressure point chart’.

He then illustrated to us how he would use pieces of damp paper inserted into the bore to experiment with the effect of narrowing the bore at certain specific points. All of this seemed pretty sophisticated to us novice instrument makers, nonetheless we experimented, with varying results. Personally, I was quite taken aback to hear the effect upon the tone that these minute adjustments to the bore would create, and also it was rather overwhelming to realize that each adjustment to one particular note would affect the other notes, such that it was not so difficult to imagine how one could indeed lose one’s mind if one were to sit there day-in day-out engaged in such a process without correspondingly successful results.

Once I had done as much as I felt I could on perfecting the tone and tuning of my flute, there remained a few details to do with the finish….adding a thin layer of superglue to the blowing edge to make it more durable, using extremely fine sandpaper around the mouthpiece where I had filled in and leveled off the surface using a mixture of bamboo sawdust and resin, polishing the inside of the bore at the bell end, and subtly smoothing off the edges of the finger holes.

The following day, the last day of the summer school, John asked us all to come together with our new flutes to create an ensemble piece for the students’ concert later that day. It was a joyous experience for all…firstly for the participants, many of whom were quietly astonished at what they had managed to produce within two days, and secondly for John, who clearly has an undiminished enthusiasm for the shakuhachi and for his capacity to empower players like myself who sign up for a workshop never imagining they will come away with a treasured instrument.

Actually, I first met John when we both performed at the inaugural conference of the Green Cross International hosted by Mikhail Gorbachev in Kyoto in 1992. I met him again a couple of years later in 1994 at the first International Shakuhachi Festival in Okayama, but I had not seen him since then, a period of nearly twenty years. On those previous

39

occasions, I had only had the briefest of encounters with John and therefore it was a great pleasure to spend more quality time with him in Barcelona.

As a workshop leader John made a deep impression on me through his generosity of spirit. When he was not demonstrating a particular technique to the group there was an endless stream of students queuing up before him for advice and guidance, and he seemed to have limitless patience for each one of us, working throughout the day without even a pause to stretch his limbs or have glass of water. He was always authentically positive in his comments and had a great sense of humour, balancing the time he gave demonstrating to the group with the individual support he gave to each student. I would like to extend to my gratitude to John, as well as to José and to the festival organisers who had the foresight to arrange this workshop as part of the Summer School.

When I came home from Barcelona I took my new flute to a local chapel and, in the stillness of the night, far from the cramped and noisy confines of that basement room, I recorded a piece which you can listen to here:https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ohnhqtjvhwcxiep/En1FCaqZ4-

Adrian Freedman

40

REPORT / FUKUDA TERUHISA MASTERCLASS

Every two or three years since 2006, Fukuda Teruhisa has come from Japan to give a week of masterclasses organised by Daniel Lifermann, founder of the French

association "La Voie du Bambou". For the third time consecutively, the event was held in the beautiful and quiet castle of Ratilly, Burgundy. Thirteen participants came from France, Italy and the Netherlands to join Daniel for this exceptional week with Fukuda sensei. This year for the first time, a shamisen student joined the group to follow the shamisen class of Kineya Shiho.

The mornings were dedicated to group practice, the afternoons to small groups and

individual classes, with a varied musical program: honkyoku, sankyoku and contemporary music. For each masterclass, "La Voie du Bambou" receives a new piece which is especially composed for the group; this year, the composer Sumi Atsuki wrote "Fureki", a composition exploring the process of writing.

In the middle of the week, like a breathmark in the daily schedule, the doors from the old church of Moutiers opened once again for the concert given by Fukuda

sensei and Kineya sensei; a nice opportunity for the tourists visiting the area to join the students and discover the unusual sounds of the shakuhachi and the shamisen, in a musical journey beyond hilly Burgundy. The culmination of this busy week was the final concert, held in the courtyard of the castle. The wind and the crickets accompanied the great performance of students and masters, in a warm and attentive atmosphere.

Fukuda Teruhisa Shakuhachi Masterclass.Organized by: «La Voie du Bambou»27 July - 3 August 2013 - Castel of Ratilly (Burgundy)

Hélène Codjo

41

REPORT / FUKUDA TERUHISA MASTERCLASSE

Tous les deux ou trois ans depuis 2006, Fukuda Teruhisa vient donner une masterclasse d’une semaine, organisée par Daniel Lifermann, fondateur de

l’association "La Voie du Bambou". Pour la troisième fois de suite, celle-ci se déroulait dans le cadre idéal du Château de Ratilly en Bourgogne. 13 stagiaires, venant de France, mais aussi d’Italie et des Pays-Bas, ont rejoint Daniel pour cette rencontre exceptionnelle avec Fukuda sensei. Pour la première fois, un stagiaire en shamisen participait également à la masterclasse en suivant les cours de Kineya Shiho.

Travail collectif le matin, travail personnel et en petits groupes l’après-midi, le

programme était varié : honkyoku, sankyoku et musique contemporaine. A chaque masterclasse, "La Voie du Bambou" bénéficie d’une composition écrite spécialement à l’intention du groupe : cette année, il s’agissait de "Fureki" de Sumi Atsuki, une pièce explorant le processus d’écriture...

En milieu de parcours, comme une respiration dans le rythme du travail quotidien, les portes de l’église de Moutiers se sont à nouveau ouvertes pour accueillir un concert de Fukuda sensei et Kineya sensei ; aux stagiaires se sont joints des touristes visitant la région, qui ont pu

ainsi découvrir les sonorités inhabituelles du shakuhachi et du shamisen : un voyage musical au-delà des vallons bourguignons...Enfin, en aboutissement de cette intensive semaine, le concert de fin de stage s’est déroulé dans la cour du château le 2 août au soir. Le vent et les cigales ont accompagné la très belle prestation des stagiaires et des maîtres, dans une ambiance attentive et chaleureuse.

Masterclasse de Fukuda Teruhisa.La Voie du Bambou27 juillet au 3 août 2013 - Château de Ratilly (Bourgogne)

Hélène Codjo

42

REPORT / PRAGUE SHAKUHACHI FESTIVAL I

For the last seven years, for four days and an opening night, around the last weekend of August, the Prague Shakuhachi Festival has been taking place and has really acquired

a distinct identity since its inception. This is the event that has been working towards creating a bridge between the more or less traditional Japanese shakuhachi culture and other artistic expressions. As early as 2008, a dancer and an Indian percussionist were part of the program and subsequent festivals have included a graphics/multimedia presentation, calligraphy exposition, film and the use of electronics in shakuhachi music.

In 2013, the organisers succeeded in creating a truly varied multicultural event, presented however within a coherent framework of concerts, each of which had their own theme, together with workshops and lectures. There has been a continuity over the years regarding the evening concert themes. The free opening night’s open-air concert as usual was a mix of traditional and contemporary, including electronics while the main evening concerts comprised of an Avant Garde/Experimental/Improvisation evening, a Japanese Music concert ranging from classics to contemporary compositions, and a “Zen, Sound and Silence” honkyoku evening.

The concerts also acted in parallel with the workshops and the lectures; for example the use of computer electronics as heard in one concert was taught in the workshops, and honkyoku and jiuta-sokyoku pieces, similar to or in some cases the same as those performed in the concerts, were studied in the daily classes.

This year the concert themes were: “The voice in Japanese Music”, “Inner landscapes – Contemporary Music” and “Zen: Sound and Silence”. The first of these evenings had both traditional Japanese and contemporary western pieces and all featured vocal performances. The second evening was a festival mainstay, a honkyoku night, and the third evening concert, living up to its name, featured a premiere piece composed by Jacub Rataj, especially commissioned for the festival and the premiere of a composition by Alexis Leonidou played by Jim Franklin. The last evening saw the festival’s students performing the music they had learned in the workshops and an occasional other favourite piece.

Some highlights of these evening concerts, in my own opinion and those of the audience given the reception they received, were the vocal-shamisen-shakuhachi jiuta piece “Tamagawa” performed by Yuji Kikuo and Gunnar Jinmei Linder, “Echigo Sanya” by Kifu Mitsuhashi, who combined technical perfection with musical sensitivity, and the large group piece “Book of Principles” by Czech composer Zbynek Vostrák, to name just a few.

43

Shakuhachi concerts and workshops were not all the festival had to offer. Koto and shamisen lessons were also on the program, and the theremin player Pamelia Kurstin, who performed one of the premiere pieces with Kifu Mitsuhashi, gave introductory theremin classes. Then, there were lectures by Gunnar Jinmei Linder on rhythm and structure in Japanese traditional music as well as a presentation providing a very interesting historical background. There were also music listening sessions with the founder/editor of Japan’s most important publication on traditional music "Hogaku Journal", Takafumi Tanaka. And after the three main evening concerts, informal gatherings over a buffet with a jazz jam session, improvisation, and the big beat "rock" band Mama Bubo. One might think that an amplified band with bass-drums-guitar-keyboards would be out of place at a shakuhachi festival, but it wasn’t…. everyone enjoying a good time with a glass in hand after all that serious sit-down-and-listen to music J.

For more information on the players and the festival’s content, the event’s website is still up: www.komuso.cz

In late August 2014, there will no doubt be another very fine, different but familiar, high quality Prague Shakuhachi Festival.

Kees de Fouw

44

REPORT / PRAGUE SHAKUHACHI FESTIVAL - ANOTHER VIEW

The Prague Experiment

The Prague festival occupies a unique niche in the rarefied world of shakuhachi enthusiasts. Students still traipse to class, blowing ro and studying their honkyoku. But the concert programming is where the action is.

Traditional repertoire is the touchstone for an exciting mix of contemporary musical experiments, often featuring live electronics, and this year daring audience members to close their eyes and attempt to distinguish between the blending sounds of amplified shakuhachi, human voice and theremin. The best thing is, should you miss one of the concerts due to jet lag or an afternoon nap, have no fear. There will be at least two more concerts before the evening is over! Don’t bother practicing; there’s time for that when the festival is over.

To illustrate my point, let us look no further than the inaugural concert. Friday night on a cool summer evening in August, audience members and festival participants gather on the wide cobblestone terrace of the courtyard at HAMU, sipping wine and making introductions. Little do they know, the music is a fine foie gras and they are the goose.

Kiku Day sets the stage with her jinashi, delivering a rendition of Shin’ya which is peaceful and poised, lending an aura to the evening air before a swirl of ornamented phrases moves us forward. Kiku’s sound is synonymous with the voice, and remarkable is her ability to hold a tuneful tension – intimate and personal with flashes of brilliance in a moment of flutter tongue or an explosion of air to punctuate time – without losing her balance or center of gravity.

Step Two is the clear juxtaposition of themes, with our introduction to Pamelia Kurstin's theremin. This is not the old Soviet contraption akin to Frankenstein's laboratory, but a sleek instrument sporting the Moog moniker with a 21st century body and the curves of a sports car. With a beautiful cantabile she winds her way through modal melodies and shifting tonal centers with a jazzwoman's love for the blue note, a spontaneous whole tone stretch, and a nod to Japanese fourths and half steps. Progressing through an attractive array of micro-polyphonic loops and symphonic layers by way of a small armada of pedals, knobs and gadgets at her feet, Pamelia displays a keen awareness for timbral variety and – thankfully – a coy sense of humor.

Then Vlastislav Matoušek and Michal Rataj on laptop: this is groovy free jazz with singing shakuhachi and shakuhachi singing, or should I say a sexy Tuvan growl through the tube of a didgeridoo. The sounds of air, the sounds of bamboo, the sound of Vlastislav’s

45

voice in so many permutations, sculpted by the computer but never overwhelmed, the duo builds a bridge back from the world of theremin, where the only noticeable change in palette is the reintroduction – and the beautiful necessity – of human breath.

Jim Franklin then ups the ante, incorporating both flute and laptop in a windblown melancholy which inhabits, paradoxically, both the worlds of pure shakuhachi tone and wholly synthesized ambience. His performance drives home the thematic punch of the program, for if anyone doubted the existence of a common thread linking shakuhachi, theremin and voice, it surely is the fact that in front of a microphone, all three become a unified timbre with malleable swooping pitch and aching melodic prowess. Enchanting is the digital magic with which Jim achieves a change-ringing of empty bells, the sounds emerging directly from his single tone at different intervals and phases, echoing across the courtyard from all directions while the stillness of the shakuhachi wanders through.

Finally Christopher Blasdel's improvisation with partner Mika Kimula, whose vocal range encompasses the sultry bass of a Harlem gospel singer up through the soaring coloratura heights and flights of fancy of a Queen of the Night... not to mention the flirtatious vocal antics of an anime cute girl, or the frightening glottal groan of the Ju-On ghost! What a pleasure to witness these two artists improvise their dialogue on stage: one's accompaniment to the other's melody, a provocation and a riposte. Their role as anchor to the program brings us full circle, paring down the sonic elements to pure and unadulterated shakuhachi

and voice, yet encompassing the textural spectra heard thus far with playful grace. Christopher's improvisation displays, as always, a beautiful sense of ease and humility with his instrument, a terrible thing to behold for those of us who still struggle to keep our meri in tune.The fact that their collaboration is the only one to include live dance does provide food for thought, as the digital performers preceding them have all had to contend with the technical burden of

buttons and knobs, laptops and mysterious electric boxes. Not that the fruit of these

46

technical manipulations goes unappreciated, but considering the inherent drama of a stage performance – where the experience is not just acoustic, but visual – one must acknowledge a certain dissipation of dramatic intent each time the musician turns away from the instrument in hand, busying instead with technology and buttons as if stymied by glitches in a Powerpoint presentation, or checking email.

Anyone who has attended a concert of eclectic electronica may well have remarked upon the consummate master of The Mixing Board, who attends his knobs and sliders with the balletic verve of a megalomaniac conductor. While comical at times, such visual cues are vital to the concert experience, as they beckon the audience member’s eye towards that most intriguing musical phenomenon: the connection between a musician’s physical efforts and the resulting sound. Witnessing musical creation is at its most pleasurable when we understand what’s going on, and no doubt this is one area where the electronic medium has room to grow. In the meantime, why not collaborate with dancers?

In any event, it is a genuine pleasure to enjoy intelligent concert programming, and such intelligence is on display throughout this marathon of music. Subsequent highlights include tours de force by the formidable Kifu Mitsuhashi, who contrasts the virtuosity of 20th century masterpieces and new music premieres with the equally stunning virtuosity of 18th century classics. And not to forget Gunnar Linder’s polished collaborations with singer and sangen master Yuji Kikuo, followed by a standout rendition of Tsuki no Kyoku.

But, in the end, Prague’s underlying premise seems to be all creative license and experimentation, by way of expanding the repertoire in many directions simultaneously. In doing, so they call our attention to the bizarre and unconventional “modernity” of the shakuhachi itself, which is alive and well in – of all places – the Czech Republic.

Chris Molina

47

REPORT / PRAGUE SHAKUHACHI FESTIVAL - ANOTHER VIEW

L’expérience tchèque

Le festival de Prague occupe une niche unique dans le monde rare des enthousiastes du shakuhachi. Certes les participants se dirigent chaque matin vers leurs cours, sifflant le ro et préparant leurs honkyoku. Mais le coeur du festival se trouve dans la programmation des concerts.

Ici le répertoire traditionel est un point de départ vers un mélange fulgurant d’expérimentations dans la musique contemporaine, se caractérisant souvent par des live electronics, et cette année en invitant les spectateurs à fermer les yeux pour tenter de distinguer les différents sons amplifiés du shakuhachi, du thérémine et de la voix humaine. Rassurez-vous si vous avez raté un concert à cause du décalage horaire ou d’une petite sieste, il reste encore deux concerts au moins avant la fin de la journée! Pas besoin de répéter, on aura bien le temps lorsque le festival sera terminé.

Pour avoir une idée de la programmation, il suffit d’assister au concert d’ouverture. Il fait frais en ce vendredi soir de fin août, et les participants se rassemblent sur les pavés ronds de la cour massive de l’HAMU, en sirotant de petites gorgées de vin tout en faisant les présentations. Ils ne le savent pas encore mais la musique à venir est un bon foie gras, dont ils constituent l’oie.

Kiku Day inaugure avec son jinashi en interprétant le Shin’ya, une musique à la fois tranquille et concentrée, fournissant cette atmosphère à la nuit avant qu’un tourbillon de paroles ornementées ne nous emmènent plus en avant. Le son de Kiku s’apparente à la voix, et remarquable est sa capacité à tenir une tension mélodique très intime, entrecoupée d’éclats de brilliance dans un moment de flutter-tongue ou d’une explosion d’air ponctuant le passage du temps, le tout sans jamais perdre son équilibre.

Par la suite vient la juxtaposition de thèmes présentant le thérémine de Pamelia Kurstin. Il ne s’agit plus du vieil appareil soviétique sorti du laboratoire de Frankenstein, mais d’un reluisant instrument du 21ème siècle avec les lignes pures d’une voiture de sport et la marque Moog au centre de la grille. Pamelia trace une route lyrique entre mélodies modales et déplacements de tonalité, évoquant son amour pour la blue note, pour les étirements spontanés en tons entiers, ainsi que les quarts et demi-tons de la tradition japonaise. Déployant une séquence captivante de loops micro-

polyphoniques et de couches symphoniques, elle fait preuve d’une sensibilité vive au niveau de la variété des timbres et – ce qui fait vraiment plaisir – d’un solide sens de l’humour.

48

Ensuite viennent Vlastislav Matoušek et Michal Rataj au laptop: voici du free-jazz où le chant de l’interprète s’accorde au chant du shakuhachi avec un growl sexy dans le

style touvain au travers de ce pseudo-didgeridoo. Les sons de l’air, les sons du bamboo et ceux de la voix de Vlastislav se réunissent dans une multitude de permutations, sculptés à l’ordinateur mais jamais submergés. Le duo crée un pont nous ramenant du monde du thérémine, où le seul changement perceptible de palette réside dans la réintroduction – belle et nécessaire – du souffle humain.

Puis Jim Franklin fait monter les enjeux, combinant shakuhachi et laptop à lui seul dans une mélancolie venteuse qui habite, paradoxalement, le monde du ton pur du shakuhachi ainsi qu’une ambiance entièrement synthétisée. Cette représentation nous ramène à la thématique du concert, car si l’on doutait encore de l’existence d’un fil reliant le shakuhachi au thérémine et à la voix, c’est devant un microphone qu’on le découvre, où les trois instruments fusionnent alors dans un seul timbre unifié, avec la capricieuse malléabilité des tons et de grandes prouesses pour la mélodie élégiaque. L’aspect ensorcelant de cette composition se trouve dans la magie numérique par laquelle Jim réalise une sorte de carillon de cloches vides: ces sonorités issues du seul ton de sa flûte se répercutent dans la cour dans toutes les directions – en intervalles et phases variées – tandis que le son vagabond du shakuhachi s’avance en toute tranquillité.

Enfin l’improvisation de Christopher Blasdel en compagnie de Mika Kimula, chanteuse dotée des basses profondes et sensuelles d’un Harlem gospel jusqu’aux altitudes coloratura d’une vraie Reine de la Nuit... incluant aussi bien les bouffonneries vocales d’une coquette de l’animation japonaise autant que les gémissements glottiques sinistres du fantôme de Ju-On. Quel plaisir d’être témoin du dialogue entre ces deux artistes sur scène: mélodie et accompagnement s’entrecroisent tour à tour, chaque provocation suivie d’une riposte. La boucle est bouclée du fait de leur position à la fin du programme, les éléments sonores réduits aux sons purs et inaltérés de la flûte et de la voix, embrassant néanmoins toute la

49

gamme des textures entendues jusque-là avec une grâce espiègle. L’improvisation de Christopher s’avère d’une fluidité prodigieuse, phénomène terrible à considérer pour ceux qui s’efforcent toujours d’obtenir la justesse des meri.

Le fait que leur collaboration soit la seule comportant une danseuse donne aussi à réfléchir, puisque les musiciens numériques précédents étaient tous confrontés à une série de boutons, sélecteurs, portables et autres boîtes noires mystérieuses. Bien que l’on apprécie les fruits inattendus de ces manipulations techniques, il faut aussi reconnaître, vu le drame inhérent d’une performance sur scène où l’expérience n’est pas seulement acoustique mais aussi visuelle, une certaine dissipation de l’intention dramatique à chaque fois que le musicien se détourne de l’instrument pour s’occuper de ses machines – comme contrarié par un bug dans sa présentation Powerpoint, ou vérifiant ses emails.

Ceux qui ont déjà assisté à un concert éclectique de musique électronique auront peut-être déjà remarqué le maître hors pair de la table de mixage, réglant ses boutons et égaliseurs avec une verve chorégraphique, tel un chef d’orchestre mégalomane. Comique par moments, ce genre de signal visuel s’avère cependant efficace pour attirer l’oeil du spectateur vers cet élément essentiel du phénomène musical: le rapport entre les efforts physiques du musicien et le resultat sonore. Le plaisir d’être témoin de la création musicale trouve alors son point culminant dans la compréhension de ce qui se produit devant nos yeux. Voilà sans aucun doute un domaine où le médium électronique garde tout son potentiel d’évolution continue. En attendant, pourquoi ne pas joindre nos forces avec des danseurs?

En tout cas, c’est un vrai plaisir de témoigner de ce niveau de créativité dans la programmation des concerts à Prague. En mettant l’accent sur le tout premier concert, nous n’avons même pas encore mentionné deux des grands maîtres qui accompliront leurs exploits dans les concerts suivants – le japonais Kifu Mitsuhashi et le suédois Gunnar Linder.

Quoi qu’il en soit, le principe sous-jacent du festival – ouvert à toute licence créative pour l’expérimentation musicale, étendant le repertoire dans diverses directions et révélant surtout la modernité bizarre et non conventionnelle du shakuhachi – constitue un fait de bon augure pour l’avenir de l’instrument en République Tchèque comme dans toute l’Europe.

Chris Molina

50

REPORT / PRAGUE SHAKUHACHI FESTIVAL - ANOTHER VIEW

Das Tschechische Experiment

Das Prager Festival besetzt eine einzigartige Nische in der abgesonderten Welt der Shakuhachi-Enthusiasten. Zwar gehen die Teilnehmer jeden Morgen zum Unterricht, um zehn Minuten Ro zu blasen und ihre Honkyoku zu lernen, aber das eigentliche Geschehen spielt sich beim Konzert ab.

Das traditionelle Repertoire bildet den Ausgangspunkt für eine spannende Mischung aus zeitgenössischen musikalischen Experimenten – oft mit Live-Elektronik und, wie in diesem Jahr, Leuten aus dem Publikum, die es wagen, einmal ihre Augen zu schließen und versuchen, zwischen den sich vermischenden Klängen von Shakuhachi, Theremin und menschlicher Stimme zu unterscheiden. Das Beste daran ist: Falls Sie eins der Konzerte wegen Jetlag oder eines nachmittägigen Schläfchens verpassen sollten, ist das kein Problem... meist gibt es zwei weitere Konzerte bis zum Ende des Tages! Machen Sie sich keine Gedanken über Ihre eigene Übung; die werden Sie zu Hause erledigen können, wenn das Festival vorbei ist.

Für einen Vorgeschmack auf das Programm werfen wir einen Blick auf das Eröffnungskonzert am Freitag: Es ist ein kühler Sommerabend, die Zuschauer und Teilnehmer versammeln sich auf der mit Kopfstein gepflasterten Terrasse der HAMU, nippen an ihrem Wein und machen neue Bekanntschaften. Nur wenige wissen: die Musik ist ein feines Foie gras und die Zuschauer sind die Gans.

Kiku Day betritt die Bühne mit ihrer Jinashi für einen Vortrag des Shin’ya. Mit seiner selbstsicheren Ruhe verleiht das Stück der Abendluft eine besondere Aura; dann treibt uns ein Wirbel von ornamentierten Phrasen nach vorn. Der Klang, den Kiku auf ihrer Flöte erzeugt, ist synonym für die menschliche Stimme. Beachtlich ist ihre Fähigkeit, eine melodische Spannung zu halten – intim und persönlich mit brillanten Geistesblitzen in einer Flatterzunge oder einer Luftexplosion, die die dahin fließende Zeit unterstreichen – ohne dabei das Gleichgewicht zu verlieren.

Als nächstes folgt Pamelia Kurstins Improvisation auf dem Theremin. Es handelt sich hierbei nicht mehr um das alte sowjetische Gerät, das so aussieht, als käme es aus Frankensteins Labor, sondern um ein schnittiges Instrument des 21. Jahrhunderts. Mit einem schönen Cantabile bewegt Pamelia sich leichtfüßig durch verschiedene modale Melodien und wandelnde Grundtöne. Hier ist eine echte Jazzwoman am Werk, was mit jeder Blue Note zu merken ist. Schritt für Schritt baut sie, mithilfe der kleinen Armada von Pedalen und Knöpfen zu ihren Füßen, faszinierende Sequenzen von mikropolyphonischen Schleifen und symphonischen Schichten auf. Dabei beweist sie ein waches Gespür für den Wechsel der Klangfarbe und es zeigt sich glücklicherweise auch ihr musikalischer Sinn für Humor.

51

Danach Vlastislav Matoušek und Michal Rataj mit Laptop: Das ist verwegener Free Jazz mit singendem Shakuhachi und Shakuhachi-Singen, was man eher als aufreizendes tuwinisches Knurren durch das Rohr eines Pseudo-Didgeridoos beschreiben könnte. Das Geräusch von Luft, der Klang des Bambus und die Stimme Vlastislavs sind in mehrfachen Permutationen zu hören, von dem Computer verfeinert aber niemals überwältigt. Das Duo baut eine Brücke zurück aus der Welt des Theremins, wobei die einzig spürbare Veränderung

der musikalischen Palette das Wiedereinsetzen des menschlichen Atems ist – in seiner wunderschönen Notwendigkeit.

Dann erhöht Jim Franklin den Einsatz, indem er Shakuhachi und Laptop zusammenführt und beide in eine windzerzauste Melancholie einbaut, die paradoxerweise die Welt des puren Shakuhachi-Tons mit einem rein synthetisierten Background vereint. Seine Leistung fasst die konzeptuelle Botschaft des Konzerts zusammen. Denn wenn einer die Existenz eines roten Fadens bezweifelte, der die Shakuhachi mit Theremin und Stimme verbindet, dann kann er entdecken, wie sich vor dem Mikrofon alle drei zu einer einheitlichen Klangfarbe vermischen – mit elastischer Geschmeidigkeit der Tonhöhe und einer kraftvollen elegischen Melodie. Besonders zauberhaft ist die digitale Magie, mit der Jim das Wechselläuten von leeren Glocken erreicht: Die Klänge tauchen direkt aus seinem Einzelton in verschiedenen Intervallen und Phasen auf und hallen aus allen Richtungen über den Hof wider, während der ruhige Klang seiner Shakuhachi durch die Stille wandert.

Schließlich folgt die Improvisation von Christopher Blasdel mit der Sängerin Mika Kimula, deren Stimmumfang sich vom heißblütigen Bass eines Gospel Singers in Harlem bis hin zu den aufsteigenden Höhenflügen der Koloratur in einer Königin der Nacht bewegt. Es ist ein Vergnügen, diesen Dialog zwischen den beiden Künstlern zu erleben: abwechselnde Melodien und Begleitungen, eine ständige Provokation und Antwort. Der Kreis schließt sich am Ende des Konzerts, denn die Sound-Elemente werden auf den reinen

52

Klang von Flöte und Stimme reduziert, umfassen aber dennoch das gesamte Spektrum der bisher gehörten Texturen. Christophers Improvisationen rufen ein wunderbares Gefühl von Leichtigkeit hervor – schrecklich zu sehen für all die, die noch Schwierigkeiten haben, ein richtiges Meri zu treffen.

Diese Performance hat aber noch eine weitere Besonderheit: die bisher noch nicht erwähnte Dritte im Bunde ist nämlich Tänzerin. Durch ihren Beitrag wird die Aufführung zusätzlich zu einem spannenden visuellen Geschehen.

Die Tatsache, dass ihre Zusammenarbeit die einzige ist, bei der eine Tänzerin mitspielt, gibt Anlass zum Nachdenken. Die vorigen Künstler mussten sich mit einer ganzen Reihe von Tasten, Schaltern, Laptops und geheimnisvollen elektrischen Gegenständen beschäftigen. Nicht dass die Früchte dieser technischen Manipulationen klein wären, aber angesichts des inhärenten Dramas einer Aufführung auf der Bühne – bei der das Erlebnis nicht nur akustisch sondern auch visuell ist – spürt man doch ein deutliches Nachlassen der Spannung. Jedes Mal, wenn der Künstler sich von dem eigentlichen Instrument abwendet und sich stattdessen um seine Maschinen kümmert, sieht es so aus, als ob technische Probleme ihn von der Musik ablenkt.

Wer schon einmal ein eklektisches Konzert mit elektronischer Musik besucht hat, hat vielleicht auch den vollkommenen Meister des Mischpults bemerkt, der seine Knöpfe und Fader mit dem tänzerischen Schwung eines größenwahnsinnigen Dirigents bedient. Solche Bewegungen können manchmal komisch aussehen, sind aber trotzdem essentiell für das Konzerterlebnis, weil sie das Auge der Zuschauer in Richtung auf ein wesentliches musikalisches Phänomen leiten: das Verhältnis zwischen der körperlichen Anstrengung des Musikers und dem Klangergebnis. Die Freude, ein derartiges musikalisches Schaffen zu erleben, ist am größten, wenn wir verstehen was vor unseren Augen passiert. Hierin liegt gewiss ein Bereich, in dem die Musiker, die mit elektronischen Medien arbeiten, noch Potenzial zur Weiterentwicklung haben. In der Zwischenzeit könnte man sich mit Tänzern zusammentun.

Auf jeden Fall ist es ein großes Vergnügen, über das hohe Niveau von intelligentem Konzertprogrammieren zu berichten – und diese Intelligenz findet man immer wieder während des Prager Musikmarathons. Unter den Highlights sind auch die Glanzleistungen von Kifu Mitsuhashi, der die Virtuosität von Meisterwerken des 20. und 21. Jahrhunderts mit der atemberaubenden Virtuosität klassischer Stücke verbindet. Ein weiteres Highlight finden wir in der ausgezeichneten Zusammenarbeit Gunnar Linders mit dem Sänger und

53

Sangen-Meister Yuji Kikuo, gefolgt von einem herausragenden Vortrag von Tsuki no Kyoku.

Insgesamt ist aber die zugrunde liegende Prämisse des Prager Festivals vor allem die künstlerische Freiheit und das Experimentieren. Dadurch besteht die Möglichkeit, das Repertoire gleichzeitig in mehrere Richtungen auszubauen, wobei unsere Aufmerksamkeit auf die bizarre und unkonventionelle “Modernität” der Shakuhachi selbst gelenkt wird. Dies ist ein vielversprechendes Zeichen für die Zukunft des Instruments in der Tschechischen Republik, wie in ganz Europa.

Chris Molina

54

REVIEW / BOOK

Documenting Perfection A Review of Notes on Kinko-Ryu Honkyoku: Performance Techniques by Gunnar Jinmei Linder.

The name of Yamaguchi Goro is likely to be more or less

a household name even to students of other schools of shakuhachi than Kinko-ryu as along with masters like Aoki Reibo and Yokoyama Katsuya, he ushered in a golden age of shakuhachi during the second half on the 20th century. His many renderings of Shika no Tone in duet with Aoki and others are the stuff of legends. His 1969 recording of the notoriously demanding Kinko-ryu mainstay Sōkaku Reibo (billed as Tsuru no Sugomori) recently took its leave of our solar system as a part of the Voyager Golden Record, containing samples of many different forms of human aural culture, from the beating of hearts to Chuck Berry and Bach via African folk songs. Yamaguchi came to be renowned for his consistency. His meticulous technique was developed under the initially reluctant tutelage of his father Shiro, the iemoto of their Kinko guild, Chikumeisha, which maintains a special flavor within the world of shakuhachi. It is strict, severe and highly disciplined. The sound of Watazumi Doso and the part of his repertoire that is maintained in the KSK tradition of Dokyoku under Yokoyama Katsuya may bring to the listener’s mind a wilder side of shakuhachi, the emulation of thunder, waves and wind, rich with an abundance of emotion and expression. Conversely, the music of Chikumeisha Kinko-ryu is less temperamental, and subscribes to different ideals. It adheres to self-administered limitations. It could often be described as minimalist, austere. It shies away from grand gestures and concerns itself with refined restriction. It also takes its good time; while even a quite hurried performance of a piece like the infamous Sakai Jishi takes an hour (and is rarely performed, by popular demand), shorter pieces will effortlessly pass the twenty- or thirty minute mark. To maintain the listener’s attention for that kind of duration makes exceptional demands on the player: on his or her energy, stamina, conditioning, control, tone and timbre, the elasticity and dynamics of the rhythm, the building of juxtapositions between repeated phrases. Knowledge of the piece needs to be profound, attention to detail enormous, the performer’s relation to the music heartfelt and confident. In his lifetime, Yamaguchi Goro became a paragon of all these things. In his interpretation of the music, as humble as it was impeccable, an otherwise difficult

Notes on

Kinko-ryū

ShakuhachiHonkyoku

Performance TechniquesAnalysis • Classification • Explanation

by

Gunnar Jinmei Linder

55

tradition was rendered enjoyable to the layman. In 1992, his contribution to the world of classical Japanese culture was recognized in the form of his appointment as Ningen Kokuho, a Living National Treasure. To the regret of the entire shakuhachi community, he passed away in 1999, at the age of 65. Arguably, the situation for students of shakuhachi outside of Japan has never been better than it is today as, with phenomena like Skype, it has become possible to interact in real-time with a distant teacher regardless of time zones and continents. Still, the medium has limitations. Due to lag, playing in unison or to the sound of your teacher’s voice is seldom possible, thus necessitating compromise in the classic form of the lesson, and all things are subject to the status of the capricious internet connection. There are other solutions, or, if you will, complements. Gunnar Jinmei Linder’s book Notes on Kinko-Ryu Honkyoku: Performance Techniques provides one. Gunnar Jinmei Linder studied with Yamaguchi Goro in Japan from 1985 to 1999, and was the last of his students to receive a shihan (Master’s) certification. He has taught and performed ever since, first as the head of a local Chikumeisha dojo in Tokyo, and, since his return to Sweden in 2005, from Stockholm, by Skype and by traveling in Scandinavia and Europe. In the interest of transparency, the reader should be aware that I have myself been one of his students since 2008. While Yamaguchi Goro standardized his brand of Kinko-ryu to a high degree, the teaching remained an oral tradition. While Chikumeisha uses the Miura Kindo notation for the honkyoku pieces, it serves more as a reminder, a scaffolding, a support, than anything else. The countless additions and deviations that make Yamaguchi’s style unique remains subject to the disclosure by the teacher to the student, and can be described as an intricate system of ornamentation of the notated phrases. Many phrases recur throughout the repertoire, and have identical or similar conventions about ornamentation, only to be subverted during a crucial passage of a specific piece, this being a precise decision of Yamaguchi’s as a means of complimenting the dynamic of that piece. Prefaced by the illustrious Christopher Yohmei Blasdel, the introductory part of Gunnar Jinmei Linder’s Notes on Kinko-Ryu Honkyoku is the first great effort to define, explain and catalogue the ornaments, a labour of sisyphean proportions, along with in-depth explanations on how the concept of rhythm is handled in honkyoku. The second and more practically oriented part of the book consists of the application of these ornaments to ten selected pieces of Kinko-ryu honkyoku; Hi Fu Mi Hachigaeshi no Shirabe, Taki-otoshi no Kyoku, Akita Sugagaki, Koro Sugagaki, Kyushu Reibo, Shizu no Kyoku, Kyo Reibo, Sanya Sugagaki, Sagari-ha no Kyoku and Akebono Sugagaki.

56

The notation of the pieces, calligraphed exclusively for the book by Ryoko Linder with cues from Miura Kindo, numbers each and every phrase, and the corresponding annotation describes in detail the way that particular phrase should be played; why a tsu-re should be played as a tsu no meri-tsu-re, when an apparently straight ro becomes a nayashi, why a transition from ro to tsu to re is made by way of a suriage and not an attack, when and why apparently identical phrases are varied within the same piece, or why, occasionally, a different fingering for an otherwise straight-forward note will be used to change the timbre of the sound, subtly affecting the mood of the piece. These annotations provide the reader with a substantial insight into Yamaguchi Goro’s world of shakuhachi. The origin of this way of describing the music came, as far as I know, from Gunnar’s work with a group of students in neighboring Finland. At intensive bi-annual workshops, Gunnar would prepare compendiums on the pieces taught in order to facilitate practice in private between the sessions. Should confusion regarding the ornamentation of a phrase arise, the answer would be right there. An academic at heart, recently with a doctorate in Japanology from the Department of Oriental Languages at Stockholm University, where he also teaches, a more ambitious documentation of the Kinko-ryu style of Yamaguchi Goro became a natural conclusion, and this generous volume, abundant in explanation and instruction, is the result. To students of this tradition, it should prove invaluable. Along with the definitions of the ornaments, the notation itself and the meticulous annotations to the notation, the book also includes three CDs with recordings of the ten pieces. The recordings were made in a studio at Sveriges Radio, the Swedish tax-funded public service radio, and consequently, the quality is quite amazing. After I had used the book and the music for copious referencing between lessons myself, it dawned on me that the recordings themselves should be destined for more than mere study aids as they are, in their own right, excellent recordings of Kinko-ryu honkyoku by a highly accomplished master of the art, and deserve full recognition as such. When I asked Gunnar why the recordings were not released separately, as a legitimate album, he simply said that it hadn’t really occurred to him! Nevertheless, they make for sublime listening.

Niklas Natt och Dag

57

RELEASES / DVD

On the use of DVD’s for learningThere has been much discussion on what constitutes authenticity of different shakuhachi lineages and how far students should follow the exact style of their teachers and how far they should make changes in expression and modulation to make the music their own. Analyzing recordings of leading teachers and performers has been one of the ways in which students both in and outside of Japan have tried to

define the stylistic boundaries of different repertoire and schools and to learn to follow them in their own playing. There are clearly advantages as well as dangers in this process as music and lineages are constantly evolving.

One of the leading shakuhachi performers and teachers was the late Yokoyama Katsuya who believed in the importance of "teaching" as a way of keeping a great shakuhachi music lineage alive and through his teaching and travelling outside Japan he, along with other prominent performers, was responsible for stimulating an interest in shakuhachi and inspired many to learn to play the shakuhachi all over the world.

As part of his teaching activities, he produced a collection of educational videos presenting his understanding of koten honkyoku and demonstrating the range of different techniques involved for students who were unable to take lessons from him directly. In keeping with the spirit of Yokoyama-sensei´s efforts to transmit and keep shakuhachi music alive throughout the world, the Kokusai Shakuhachi Kenshukan (KSK), which is the institution Yokoyama-sensei founded, is re-releasing these video teaching materials in DVD format with the significant improvement of adding English, French, German and Spanish subtitles to make an understanding more accessible. One of the main challenges in learning shakuhachi is finding our own "voice" in expressing the tradition which keeps both the tradition and the lineage alive.Video is a static source unlike a lesson which is an interactive process and through face to face lessons the student is able to learn a variety of approaches to understanding and performing the pieces being studied. Clearly, video does not provide this and indeed Yokoyama’s own performances of pieces were very rarely ever the same.

58

However, one very important aspect - of - transmission in - traditional Japanese arts is - imitation of the teacher. I understand that in the KSK, it is common for the last part of every lesson to be dedicated to playing the piece that is being worked on alongside the teacher. This video collection will give those interested in the KSK honkyoku the unique opportunity of being able to play each piece alongside Yokoyama-sensei (not only in audio but also in video) on - a 1.8 instrument and at the same time- provides -the opportunity - of listening to him talking about the pieces and the techniques involved.

The collection includes all the honkyoku played at the KSK and comprises of several volumes, the first of which is already available and includes - Tamuke, Sagariha, Koden sugomori and Sanya (3 valleys). The second volume is already on its way with the remainder - coming out in the near future.

I am from the Chikumeisha school so cannot comment on the effectiveness of these DVDs as a tool for learning but it would be very interesting if, at some point in the future, someone who does use them would write an evaluative review for ESS members. They look very interesting!

Title: Yokoyama Katsuya Video Collection. DVD 1. Published by Bamboo. 2011. English, German, French & Spanish subtitles.

Michael Soumei Coxall

59

ESS MEMBERSHIP

The European Shakuhachi Society is a non-profit organization and a registered UK charity devoted to the dissemination of the shakuhachi in all its different aspects throughout Europe through a wide variety of events, publications and other activities.

All board members and helpers work on a volunteer basis and receive no financial benefit but the Society needs money for organizing a range of events, such as the annual Summer Schools, and that comes from the membership fees.

Membership of the ESS is open to any person, both players or non-players, interested in the music of the shakuhachi in all its forms. Since the ESS is not affiliated with any particular school or aesthetic direction, its members represent a broad cross-section of styles and genres of shakuhachi. Supporting the ESS through joining is a means of helping maintain a coordinating resource of the shakuhachi in Europe.

The benefits of membership include access to information about shakuhachi events and tuition throughout Europe and beyond, as well as discounts at www.shakuhachi.com and also fee reductions for the annual European Shakuhachi Summer Schools (discounts that are generally greater than the cost of the membership fee itself). The annual membership fee is €20.

To join the ESS:

• Please send an email to info@shakuhachisociety.eu, giving your name and contact details, and if you wish, a little information about your interest in and experience with the shakuhachi. • Pay the membership fee via Pay-Pal. If you cannot make payment using this method, please send an email to info@shakuhachisociety.eu and we will find a way to help you

We look forward to welcoming you into the European Shakuhachi Society!

Join the ESS Shakuhachi Forum at http://www.shakuhachiforum.eu/index.php

Visit our “yahoo mailing group” at http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/Euroshak/

Learn about upcoming events on our website at http://www.shakuhachisociety.eu/

Check our Newsletter at http://www.shakuhachisociety.eu/publications.html

Join our Facebook group.

The European Shakuhachi Society is a registered charity. Registered charity no. 1123060.