Tsuki no Shirabe for flute and koto

Abstract

Title from PDF of title page, viewed on March 23, 2016Thesis advisor: James MobberleyVitaIncludes bibliographical references (page 34)Thesis (M.M.)--Conservatory of Music And Dance. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2015Tsuki no Shirabe was composed at the request of Jun Aita-san to commemorate her 60th birthday of her mother, Michiko Saito-san. I asked to compose music that is both reminiscent of Japanese music and aesthetics, and also sounds like my own. The challenge was to strike a balance that respects the rich musical tradition of Japan, while never resorting to mere exoticism. The piece consists of six parts all performed without pause, forming a large, musical narrative. The themes are cyclical, and are developed in ways biographical to the life of Saito-san. In the kumiuta tradition of art song with koto, the performer both sings and accompanies herself. In keeping with this, texts were carefully selected to reflect periods of her life.Abstract -- Text and translations -- Performance notes -- Score -- Vita -- Bibliograph