#4573, Zen Music, Zen Words

New Sounds | Dec 30, 2023

“What is the sound of one hand clapping?” is a well-known koan in Zen Buddhism. A koan is often a paradoxical riddle or story, a dialogue, a question, or statement used to provoke the novice into new ways of thinking or looking at something. The effort to “solve” a koan is supposed to exhaust the mind and will, and opens both the questioner and the questioned to the possibility of possibility.

For this New Sounds, hear music inspired by Zen Buddhism, and inspired by the koan themselves, from Japan, Germany, England, China, the US. Also, listen to some of these kōan read aloud, as scored by music made by Tosha Suiho in a Zen garden in Kyoto.

There’s music for shakuhachi flute by the American master, James Nyoraku Schlefer, along with music by German multi-instrumentalist Stephan Micus from his ritualistic album, Koan. Then, hear a contempletive drone from a one-stringed instrument called the Monolin by London-based Mexican composer Andrew Crossley. The work, called “Koan #2,” consists of a score with the text instruction: “Play a single note. Stop when you have heard all that it contains.”

Also, listen to music from the New York jazz clarinetist Tony Scott, who was able to play clarinet in a style reminiscent of a shakuhachi flute. Hear selections from his 1964 record, Music for Zen Meditation, a collaboration made with two Japanese master musicians: Hozan Yamamoto on the shakuhachi and Shinichi Yuize on koto, (13-string zither.) (Sourced from Dan Ouellette, uDiscoverMusic.com.) That, and more. - Caryn Havlik

Program #4573, Zen music, Zen words (First Aired 12/17/2021)

ARTIST: James Nyoraku Schlefer
WORK: Miyami [1:45]
RECORDING: Live, 3/28/02
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available.
INFO: "Miyami" is on the album Solstice Spirit, Available via Amazon.com, AppleMusic, Spotify

ARTIST: Tôsha Suihô
WORK: Spring_ I. Miyama No Sato [1:23]
RECORDING: 四季の笛 (Die Vier Jahreszeiten In Kyoto / the Four Seasons in Kyoto)
SOURCE: Teldec
INFO: Out of print, but try Discogs.com

ARTIST: Stephan Micus
WORK: Koan, Part 2 [4:01]
RECORDING: Koan
SOURCE: ECM Records
INFO: ecmrecords.com

ARTIST: Tôsha Suihô
WORK: Spring_ I. Miyama No Sato [:55]
RECORDING: 四季の笛 (Die Vier Jahreszeiten In Kyoto / the Four Seasons in Kyoto)
SOURCE: Teldec
INFO: Out of print, but try Discogs.com

ARTIST: James Nyoraku Schlefer
WORK: Solstice Spirit, part 4 [1:21]
RECORDING: Solstice Spirit
SOURCE: James Nyoraku Schlefer
INFO: Available via Amazon.com, AppleMusic, Spotify

ARTIST: James Nyoraku Schlefer
WORK: Solstice Spirit, part 5 [1:14]
RECORDING: Solstice Spirit
SOURCE: James Nyoraku Schlefer
INFO: Available via Amazon.com, AppleMusic, Spotify

ARTIST: James Nyoraku Schlefer
WORK: Solstice Spirit, part 6 [:55]
RECORDING: Solstice Spirit
SOURCE: James Nyoraku Schlefer
INFO: Available via Amazon.com, AppleMusic, Spotify

ARTIST: James Nyoraku Schlefer and Steve Gorn
WORK: Kumoijishi/Lion's Dance variations [6:45]
RECORDING: Live, 3/28/02
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available.
INFO: The work appears on the album, Wind Heart, Available via Amazon.com, AppleMusic, Spotify

ARTIST: Tony Scott/Shinichi Yuize/Hozan Yamamoto
WORK: Za Zen [2:02]
RECORDING: Music For Zen Meditation And Other Joys
SOURCE: Verve
INFO: Try Discogs.com or Amazon.com

ARTIST: Tôsha Suihô
WORK: Autumn_ I. Kiyotaki [1:51]
RECORDING: 四季の笛 (Die Vier Jahreszeiten In Kyoto / the Four Seasons in Kyoto)
SOURCE: Teldec
INFO: Out of print, but try Discogs.com

ARTIST: Tony Scott/Shinichi Yuize/Hozan Yamamoto
WORK: Is Not All One [3:12]
RECORDING: Music For Zen Meditation And Other Joys
SOURCE: Verve
INFO: Try Discogs.com or Amazon.com

ARTIST: Andrew Crossley, Monolin
WORK: Andrew Crossley: Koan #2, excerpt [7:58]
RECORDING: Live, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, 2016
SOURCE/INFO: andrewcrossley.com

ARTIST: Tôsha Suihô
WORK: Winter_ I. Sanzenin No Asa [1:301]
RECORDING: 四季の笛 (Die Vier Jahreszeiten In Kyoto / the Four Seasons in Kyoto)
SOURCE: Teldec
INFO: Out of print, but try Discogs.com

ARTIST: Stephan Micus
WORK: Koan, Part 3 [6:19]
RECORDING: Koan
SOURCE: ECM Records
INFO: ecmrecords.com

ARTIST: Tôsha Suihô
WORK: Summer_ II. Hieizan Myooudo[1:30]
RECORDING: 四季の笛 (Die Vier Jahreszeiten In Kyoto / the Four Seasons in Kyoto)
SOURCE: Teldec
INFO: Out of print, but try Discogs.com

ARTIST: David Mingyue Liang
WORK: Zen (Ch'an) Of Water [1:30]
RECORDING: In C, Works by David Mingyue Liang - Shanghai Film Orchestra
SOURCE: Celestial Harmonies
INFO: https://harmonies.com

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