Ukiyo

John Psathas' duo for marimba, vibraphone, and CD. MIDI rendition. Available on Rattle Records in late 2009. Score published by Promethean Editions (www.promethean-editions.co.nz). Originally written for Double Lateral (Jeremy Fitzsimons and Kristy Ibrahim), commissioned with funding from Creative New Zealand.

Originally, a Buddhist term indicating the ephemeral nature of life. Zen monks and haiku poets spoke of this life in terms of a transient floating world (ukiyo), or of a dream that vanishes. In the traditional view, this world is one in which happening gives way to happening, illusion follows illusion, and all of it is nothing but a phantasm void of substance.

Written by Haiku poet Saikaku on the verge of his death - the eighth day of the eighth month, 1730, at the age of seventy.

I borrow moonlight (Tsukikage o)
for this journey of a (katte ima iku)
million miles (juman-ri)


For all of John Psathas's music videos online,
visit http://www.youtube.com/johnpsathas
Subscribe!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Psathas
• Ukiyo
• Marimba
• Vibraphone
• Karaoke
• Logic
• Haiku
• Saikaku
• Fitzsimons
• Ibrahim
• Rattle
• Promethean
• MIDI
• Death
• Poem

[jfyre]

Lovely! Is this the Japanese "floating world"?