THE SACRED TREE, for Shakuhachi and Violoncello（2025）

Trees have traditionally been regarded as sacred, hence the universal archetype of the ‘cosmic tree’. Both the shakuhachi and the cello are essentially wooden instruments and convey a sense of being invested with a soul. The interplay between the wooden souls of the shakuhachi and the cello are sublimated onto the level of the play of the gods, in the sense of play as being an activity representing absolute freedom and creativity in which, through divine benevolence, human beings are also free to participate. Underlying the piece is also my own prayer for peace and a stop to the killing of our fellow human beings.
The piece as a whole is divided into nine continuous section. The shakuhachi player alternates between three instruments, the lower pitched instruments in G and A and the standard D instrument.
The main foundation for this piece was my memory of the sound worlds generated by the two brilliant musicians Reison Kuroda and Kei Yamazawa. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to them for their work in preparing for the first performance of this work and to everyone else who assisted in this regard.