“Another Side of Mystery: Kusa-wake” by Yuta Sumiyoshi

Kusa-wake

I composed this piece for the “Amaterasu” encore performances in 2013.
According to Japanese legend, once upon a time when Amaterasu, the sun goddess, hid away in a cave, the world was plunged into darkness. Greatly troubled by this situation, all the other gods & goddesses came together to discuss what could be done. Kuwa-wake depicts this scene from the famous tale.

To express that conversation between the gods, I focused on incorporating elements such as combinations of rambling changes of rhythm and pianissimo sounds. Kusa-wake differs from other Kodo compositions to date in that it makes the most of hollow sounds as well as hearty sounds. This piece incorporates a wide, dynamic range of volume from really tiny sounds to huge, strong sounds.

There are theatrical elements to our performance of this piece in “Amaterasu,” so when we perform this piece in “Kodo One Earth Tour: Mystery,” we put those theatrical elements into our musical expression instead. However, we are very careful to maintain that feeling of having a conversation with each other while we perform it.

When we perform it on stage, we let ourselves go with the flow as the rhythms push, pull, and repeat. I hope you’ll enjoy the unique vibes and groove created by our “conversation.”

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