This authentic style that Brian Miller writes about....what is it?
Was Yoshida Seifu authentic? Was Shiro Yamaguchi authentic? Was
Watasumi authentic? Is Hozan Yamamoto playing with bass player Gary
Peacock authentic? Is Riley Lee playing australian folk tunes,
authentic? Is Brian Ritchie playing Albert Alyler tunes on
shakuhachi, authentic?
Has each generation sounded just like the one before? Should each
generation sound exactly like the one before it? Is such a thing
possible? Is it desirable?
Now that shakuhachi exists outside of Japan, should non-Japanese
players (and composers!) sound just like Japanese players? Is such a
thing possible? If it is possible, why would such a thing be
desirable?
As European classical music entered other cultures such as Japan, did
Japanese composers find their own voices within the idiom? Or did
they choose to compose like the great dead white composers? Looking
at composers such as Takemitsu, Ichinyanagi, or Hosokawa, it is quite
obvious that these composers created (Hosokawa is still very active)
a uniquely Japanese voice while writing for European (and sometimes
Japanese) instruments.
It only makes sense to me that non-Japanese players come up with
their own styles, approaches and in some cases, repertoires, while
at the same time studying styles of previous generations. Otherwise
we would be awfully boring not to mention dishonest to ourselves
phil
-- xoxoPhilip Gelb Bay Area Shakuhachi School phil@philipgelb.com http://www.philipgelb.com http://www.bayareashakuhachi.com
upcoming concerts: July 1 solo in Freestone, CA http://www.osmosis.com Friday, July 1 solo in San Francisco, CA http://www.meridiangallery.org _____________________________________________
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