On last Friday night(17th of April,2009), my whole family and I went to the Esplanade for the Singapore Chinese Orchestra's (SCO) concert, 'Treasures of Japan'. This concert had this list of Japanese music composed by both Japanese and Chinese composers.Usuall for Japanese music, is played on type of insultments: Shakuhachi,Koto,Japanese erhu,Wadaiko(it's a kind of drum set used by the Taiko players) and other insultments.
Here were list items for concert:
1)Spring of Japan
2)Dance of the Fimament*
3)Monk Jianzhen Sailing Eastward
4)Hi-Ten-Yu*
*Note: composed by Isao Matsushita
The "Dance of the Firmament" is usuall based on the fundamental Buddhist comcept of the Five Buddhist Aphorisms(known as 'Sanskrit: Panca Skandha') which is fused into both Japanese and Chinese culture. There are shiki(Skt,rupa which is a term for all forms of matter), ju(Vedana for impressions and perceptions derived from the phenomenal world ), so(Samjna for mental conceptions and ideas of the entitles of the world ), gyo(Samskara for mental processes and volition) and shiki(Vijnana, consciousness of mind that inegrates volition). This works for three parts for the human being in Buddhist notion:body,speech and mind(known as Sin-Ku-I).
The "Monk Jianzhen Sailing Eastward" is a story based about a high priest and a teacher of Buddhist in China went down to Japan for teacher without being fuss in 733 B.C. "Hi-Ten-Yu" is a drum performation in a ritual of Japan. It was to be believed to connect heaven with earth. Usuall played by Wadaiko drums traditional. And my favour music, "Spring of Japan" which is played on Dizi together with orchestra for the unique Japanese scale to express the romantic and joyful spirit of Japanese folk and it's indescribable delightfulness. But as the programme came to the end of the concert, there was on called not once, but twice.(if I'm not wrong.....) And that Taiko soloist really know how to play that kind of such a big set of Wadaiko, I guess that not so easy to play the Japanese drum if you want to try it. He got such a big body build but quite short through I never see him for my first time. By end of the concert, it was 9:40 PM and my family wanted to have light dinner somewhere, so I went out with them after concert for dinner that late night!
