Stream of Life

ソプラノサックス、ヴァイオリン、ピアノ (Soprano Saxophone, Violin, Piano)

クリーヴランドオーケストラメンバーによるトリオ、The Cleveland Duo & James Umble の委嘱作品。風によって宙を舞う桜の花びら、そして水面に浮かんだ花びらがゆっくりと川の流れと共に消え去っていく、美しくも儚い桜の命を表現している。曲の終結部分には、古謡「さくらさくら」のメロディーの一部を引用している。

During the spring, the cherry blossom or sakura season in Japan, I was unexpectedly given an opportunity to stay at a place where I could appreciate a beautiful cherry tree. It was just beyond full bloom. Every time the wind blew, countless beautiful petals drifted up lazily into the air and the surrounding space was filled with petals like a snowstorm. The surface of the river flowing behind the tree was covered with countless petals. They decorated the surface of water and glittered gracefully while reflecting the sunshine. Afterwards, they slowly moved into the sea and drifted away with the current.

The life of a cherry blossom is a very short. In Japan, however, it is customary to appreciate this evanescent beauty because it lives such a short life. In this piece, I attempted to musically portrait the appearance of cherry blossoms that reflect secondary, or rather transfigured beauty. At the end of the piece, an excerpt from the well-known Japanese folk tune Sakura Sakura is used.

Recorded by the faculty members of the University of Hawaii at Manoa Music Department: Ignace Jang (Violin), Todd Yukumoto (Saxophone), Jonathan Korth (Piano) ハワイ大学音楽学部教員による録音。

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