With Sun/Moon, Somei Satoh speaks with the ancient, distinct voice of
Buddha, with enough melodramatic romanticism to stir the emotions of
even the most Western ears. Perhaps less cinematic than his previous
album, Toward the Night, but no less passionate in tone, with gorgeous,
rich dialogue between shakuhachi and koto that circulates between
whispers, cries, gasps, and deep contemplation. The opening piece,
"Kougetsu," is the sound of a rock garden minding its own business, a
dragonfly dreaming restlessly amongst the bamboo. "Sanyou" follows in
much the same way, in an expression of (as the composer puts it) "the
purity of the early morning air." Shin Miyashita plucks his 17-string
koto with patience, reverence, and in perfect symbiosis with Akikazu
Nakamura, a stoic virtuoso on the shakuhachi. Nakamura was the first to
use circular breathing with the instrument, and to great effect on the
dynamic closing solo of "Kaze No Kyoku," where he both prowls within
barely audible harmonics and at once opens the floodgates to the
distressful chills of night. It is often Satoh's generous use of silence
that gives this album such meditative weight -- a sense of patiently
unfolding enlightenment. Consequently, song structure seems less
prominent than the rich, extended phrasings that rise, fall, and rise
again over the course of 44 minutes. The album closes as it began, as
Nakamura once again breathes a pure, almost glass-like vapor of tone
into the silence around it. Sun/Moon is a small treasure from New Albion
Records worth finding. Keir Langley
Tracklist :
1 Kougetsu (Moon) 15:16
2 Sanyo (Sun) 18:11
3 Kaze No Kyoku (Wind) 10:25
Akikazu Nakamura : Shakuhachi
Shin Miyashita : Koto 
