裏を見せ
表を見せて
散る紅葉
ura wo mise
omote wo misete
chiru momiji
showing its back
showing its front
maple leaf falls
about
These songs were composed for a recital that also included Samuel Barber’s famous Hermit Songs. Since the Barber texts were written by medieval Irish hermits, I chose to set texts that were also written by a hermit, but in a different part of the world.
The hermit whose texts I used here was Ryōkan Taigu (良寛大愚, 1758–1831), a Japanese monk who was also a well-known haiku poet. Following Japanese tradition, I set the poems in seasonal order, ending with Ryōkan’s death poem, as follows:
Winter: 1 and 2
Spring: 3 and 4
Summer: 5 and 6
Autumn: 7–9
Somber, beautiful string meditations abound on the debut album by Oxford cellist and composer Lou Lyne and her ensemble. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 30, 2024
Gabriel Kahane is often compared to Sufjan Stevens and Rufus Wainwright (both of whom he’s collaborated with in the past). It’s a lot to live up to, but to that already high bar I’ll add Ben Folds and Randy Newman, if only for Kahane’s similar sense of musical theatre, playful storytelling and ability to set … Continue reading Album of the Week: Where are the Arms → Bandcamp Album of the Day Dec 19, 2011