Japanische Gesänge
World Classical Music
As a Buddhist nun and a master of her instrument, Kyokuyo Okada is one of the outstanding lute priestesses (»biwa hôshi«) of our time. She performs the »Heikyoku«, a form of musical narrative popular in Japan from the 12th to the 19th century, which is based on different sections of the medieval »Heike« epic.
The instrument that accompanies Okada’s impressive singing is the biwa, a five-stringed, short-necked lute that derives from the Chinese pipa. The extracts from the epic poem tell of a great war between two rival clans, of the lives of famous Samurai, and of the conflict between Shingon Buddhism and the animistic Shintoism. Buddhist rituals attribute to this music, which sounds so alien and at the same time so fascinating to Western ears, healing powers that can appease bothersome spirits.
Performers
Kyokuyo Okada biwa
Programme
Story-Telling mit der japanischen Biwa
Subscription
World Classical Music