Palais Royal

This is the counterpart of our piece Last Paddle.  More introspective, and moving in nature.

LAST PADDLE (unplugged)

Up-tempo alt rock piece with growling vocals and equally growling guitar.

THE LAST PADDLE

Shinjitsu [excerpt]

Olden is Golden

A new track by Vektur looking at taking a positive view of life.

Good With It

What does a cat sitting motionless in light rain think? A musical story.

DRIZZLE CAT

The term “Devil’s Bridge” refers to ancient bridges found in Europe that have myths or legends relating to the devil. These legends often involve a bridge builder who makes a pact stipulating that the Devil will build a bridge in return for the soul of the first person to cross it. Musically speaking, this composition is based on idiomatic gestures, driving rhythms, and aggressive playing techniques found in biwa repertoire such as Byakkotai and battle episodes from the Heike monogatari. Using these elements as a basis, in this composition I attempted to portray the darkness of the underworld, full of blazing fire, evil, and fear. 

Devil’s Bridgeとは、ヨーロッパに存在する、悪魔に関する神話や伝説にちなんだ古い橋の事である。これらの伝説には、しばしば、悪魔との契約を取り決める橋の建築家が登場する。橋を作るかわりに、悪魔は、橋を最初に渡る命ある者の魂を奪う事を要求するのだ。音楽的には、この曲は、楽器の特性を生かした動き、躍動的なリズム、そして琵琶の伝統音楽「白虎隊」や「平家物語」等の戦場場面などで使われる激しい技巧がベースとなっている。これらの要素を曲の基盤として使う事により、暗黒世界の闇、赤々と燃える炎、邪悪や恐れを描こうと試みた。

魔橋 / Devil's Bridge (2010)

Marty Regan (b. 1972) has composed over 75 works for traditional Japanese instruments and since 2002 has been affiliated with AURA-J, one of Japan's premiere performance ensembles of contemporary-traditional Japanese music. He graduated from Oberlin College in 1995 with a B.M. in Composition and a B.A. in English and East Asian Studies. From 2000 to 2002 he studied composition and took applied lessons on traditional Japanese instruments as a Japanese government-sponsored research student at Tokyo College of Music. In 2002, his composition Song-Poem of the Eastern Clouds (2001) for shakuhachi and 21-string koto was premiered at the 5th Annual Composition Competition for Traditional Japanese Instruments at the National Theatre of Japan. He completed his Ph.D. in Music with an emphasis in Composition at the University of Hawai‘i, Manoa in 2006. His works for Japanese instruments riverrun (2003), Light of the Rainbow (2003), dragoneyes (2004), wildfire (2005), Maqam (2008), Evanescent Yearning...(2008), Shadows of the Moon, (2008), 21-String Koto Concerto No. 2: “Love” (2009), In the Night Sky (2010), and Shadows of the Flames (2011) have been recorded and released on various record labels in Japan. His English translation of Minoru Miki’s orchestration manual, Composing for Japanese Instruments was published in 2008 by the University of Rochester Press. In 2010, Navona Records released a compact disc of his works entitled "Marty Regan's Selected Works for Japanese Instruments, Vol. 1: Forest Whispers..." The second volume in the Selected Works for Japanese Instruments series, subtitled Magic Mirror, was released in 2012 by the same label. In 2011 he was affiliated as a research scholar at Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where he took applied lessons on traditional Chinese instruments. His newest work, a chamber opera entitled "The Memory Stone," was commissioned by the Houston Grand Opera and was premiered in April 2013 at the Asia Society Texas Center. He is an Associate Professor of Music at Texas A&M University. For more information, visit www.martyregan.com

今までに60曲を超える邦楽作品を作曲している。'02年以降は、現代邦楽を演奏する主要グループの一つであるオーラJに所属。 '95年オハイオ州オバーリン大学作曲科及び東アジア研究科卒。国費研究留学生として、東京音楽大学院作曲専攻に在籍していた。'02年文化庁舞台芸術創作奨励国立劇場作曲コンクールに尺八と二十絃箏のための「東雲の詩」(2001) で入賞。'06年ハワイ大学作曲科博士課程修了。「riverrun」(2003)「虹の光」(2003)「dragoneyes」(2004)「wildfire」(2005)「マカーム」(2008)「細雪を想い...」(2008)「月影幻想曲」(2008) 「二十絃協奏曲第二番：愛」(2009)「夜空にて」(2010) 「炎影」(2011) 等の邦楽作品がCD化されている。三木稔著「日本楽器法」（音楽之友社）の英語版翻訳を'08年版。'10年ナボーナレコードによって、自作品CD「マーティン・リーガンの和楽器による作品集第一番：森が囁いて...」がリリースされた。そして和楽器の為の作品第II集となるCD「魔鏡」は、同レーベルより2012年にリリースされた。'11年研究員として上海音楽院作曲専攻に在籍し、中国伝統的楽器の個人レッスンを受けた。ヒュストングランドオペラによって委嘱された「メモリー・ストーン」という新作室内オペラはテキサスセンターのアジアソサイティにて２０１３年４月に初演。現在、アメリカのテキサス州、A＆M大学にて教授として後進の指導にあたる。ウエブサイト参照：www.martyregan.com

