- 日本語
- ENGLISH
NISHIMURA, Akira西村 朗（1953.9.8-2023.9.7）
AZURE DRAGON，for String Quartet（2019）
青い龍 弦楽四重奏のための
- Instrumentation
- vn(2)，va，vc
- Duration
- 9’00”
- Category
- Chamber (3+players)
- Commissioned by
- Jasper String Quartet
- Premiere
- 2019. April 4，Washington，D.C. Jasper String Quartet
- Description
-
The theme of this work is “spring”, and the piece is composed as a hymn to spring. The title Azure Dragon is a magical sacred symbol of spring in East Asia. It is also a symbol of the eastward orientation of the rising sun. (The other symbols of the seasons are Vermillion Bird in summer, White Tiger in autumn, and Black Tortoise in winter.) The azure color represents the blue of the sky as well as the greenery of the plants that cover the earth.
Azure Dragon awakens from winter sleep, saturates its vitality, rises to heaven, and dances in the spring sky. Dragon is also a symbol of springs and the powerful flow of water and is said to have the power to evoke spring storms. This song is also a hymn to Azure Dragon, the holy spring beast.
Part of the song depicts a row of cherry blossoms in full bloom, a symbol of Japan's spring, shining in the spring sunlight.
(From the program notes for the work’s première)