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

This piece was commissioned by Reiko Kimura and Group Yū and was premiered in Saku-City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan on September 27, 2008. Since Saku-City is surrounded by beautiful mountains, in this piece I attempt to musically depict characteristics of living in a mountain area; delicious water, clean air, the sound of a running river, surrounded by magnificent natural beauty, and the energy of Japan in the summer as boisterous festivals liven the mountain town. It is monothematic composition based on a sweet, memorable theme that remains in the heart of the performers and audience, and this theme is passed between the between the 21-string koto soloist and the koto ensemble in various ways as it is developed throughout the composition. 

本作品は、木村玲子氏とぐるーぷ結によって委嘱され、２００８年９月２７日に長野県佐久市で初演された。佐久市は美しい山々に囲まれているので、山のある地域での暮らしの特徴について、音楽的に描いてみようと試みた。おいしい水、きれいな空気、川の流れの音、驚くべき自然の美しさ、エネルギー、そして賑やかな祭り。この曲は、心地良く、覚えやすいテーマをもとに作曲された単主題の作品であり、演奏家や聴衆の心に残る音楽である。テーマは、新箏ソロと箏群の間で、様々な形をとって曲全体にわたって展開される。主題であるメロディーが演奏家や聴衆の心に残ることを確信している。


21-String Koto Concerto No. 1: Spirit of the Mountains (2008)

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



21-String Koto Concerto No. 1: Spirit of the Mountains (2008)

Marty Regan

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