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I have been hosting ensemble classes for my students recently. Both the students and myself are enjoying this very much. It is also helping the students intonation tremendously!! Hearing harmonies instead of single lines appears to be quite beneficial.
I am seeking more pieces for multiple shakuhachi, particuarly beginning and intermediate level pieces for 2, 3, 4, or more shakuhachi. Preferably using 1.8 although it is quite ok for multiple size flutes as well since some of my students play other sizes.
Any recomendations or advice would be greatly appreciated!
thanks
phil
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James Nyoraku Schlefer has recently written a host of shakuhachi etude duets. They range from beginner to intermediate. He thinks they will fill the niche between learning folk songs and gaikyoku. He also has some compositions for quartet and larger. He has also written some harmonisations on honkyoku. He developed these for much the same reasons you describe. They're fun.
There is also a wonderful duet arrangement of the gagaku piece "Etenraku". I forget the arranger, but you can get that from Kurahashi Sensei. It's intermediate level.
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Jim, do you care to share some of these etude duets you have composed?
phil
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Phil,
Try looking for
A checklist of published instrumental music by Japanese composers
by Hitoshi Matsushita. In English.
ISBN 4870170396, Academia Music 1989
It's out of print but I'll bet that the UCB music library has a copy, Mills will probably get ahold of it for you by InterLibray Loan if you ask them to.
This monograph attempts to be a semi-comprehensive list of music by Japanese composers from 60s to 1989. Of course is not truly comprehensive, but many titles represented, with many different instrument combinations including pieces for multiple shakuhachi, and for shakuhachi with various other forces.
if you can find a title in this index it will give you the contact info for the publisher.
regards,
Joel Taylor
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Who's Jim?
Here's a link to a CD/sheet music set that sounds nice...the clip is short, but the piece sounds really amazing. It's not classical Japanese, however, and I guess it's only like 3.21 minutes long? Maybe I'm not reading it right. I thought it was a longer CD and score. It's about $15 for the CD and score, but I'm not sure about shipping. They're in Australia...I wish they could do a "download" thing instead.
It's the one on the top.
http://www.japanworldmusic.com/cds.htm
-Eddie
Kyorei Flutes
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joel_taylor wrote:
Phil,
Try looking for
A checklist of published instrumental music by Japanese composers
by Hitoshi Matsushita. In English.
ISBN 4870170396, Academia Music 1989
It's out of print but I'll bet that the UCB music library has a copy, Mills will probably get ahold of it for you by InterLibray Loan if you ask them to.
Berkeley and Stanford both have this, but you will probably have to go to the owning library to consult it. Bibliographies and indices like this are almost always part of the reference collection and won't be available for ILL.
Rich
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philipgelb wrote:
I am seeking more pieces for multiple shakuhachi, particuarly beginning and intermediate level pieces for 2, 3, 4, or more shakuhachi.
There are three that come to mind that we've played at the Colorado Shakuhachi Camp.
Two by Fukuda Rando:
Nezumi Guruma (quartet - fast but repetative)
Tone no Funa Uta (duet - pretty)
One by Miyata Kohachiro:
Yamabiko (duet)
None of these are "beginner" (Yamabiko is probably easiest) though at camp they got them to work pretty well with a group of mixed abilities.
There are some other pieces by the same composers which might be fun to try, though they sound trickier to play.
By Fukuda Rando:
Seki no Akikaze (trio)
Watazumi no Iroko no Miya (trio)
By Miyata Kohachiro:
Yama no Asa
Mizu no Hotori ni Aki wo Omou
Satsuki no Uta
Of this second group, I've only played Yama no Asa. It's got some tricky syncopation in the bridge but the rest of it is a good intermediate piece I think.
Yokoyama has an album of Fukuda Rando pieces which includes the above.
<http://www.komuso.com/albums/Fukuda_Rando_Shakuhachi_Meikyoku_Sen.html>
There's also a packet of sheet music available. They're both available from Mejiro-japan.com.
There's Miyata Kohachiro CD that Miyata sells with the above pieces on it, called
Miyata Kohachiro no Shakuhachi (Terra Records, KHR-07)
I'm sure you can get the scores from him too.
James
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