Shakuhachi and Koto Duos

Solo Shakuhachi

Original music with mixed ensembles

Seven Reflections - Warp Stride

Seven Reflections - Unfettered - Gliding

Seven Reflections - Space And Silence

Seven Reflections - Slow Vibe

Seven Reflections - Cavorting With Swallows

A three minutes sampler of SEVEN REFLECTIONS

Seven Reflections SAMPLER

"Walking In Love" is the last section of "Moonwalking" for Shakuhachi and bass Koto. Live performance from June 14, 2013 with Yumi Kurosawa, 20-sting koto and James Nyoraku Schlefer, Shakuhachi

"Walking In Love"

Live recording from April 13, 2023 in BELGRADE, Zadužbina Ilije Kolarca. Simfonijski orkestar Akademije umetnostiSolisti:
James Nyoraku Schlefer (SAD), šakuhači 
Yoko Reikano Kimura (SAD/Japan), koto
Aleksandra Krčmar Ćulibrk, violina
Christoph Jahn, violončelo

CONCERTANTE, composed by James Nyoraku Schlefer, for Shakuhachi, Koto, Violin, Cello and Orchestra

Live recording March 9, 2024, Tlouhill PAC, St. Louis, MO. Yoko Reikano Kimura, Koto and Voice Sumie Kaneko, Shamisen and Voice, James Nyoraku Schlefer, Shakuhachi, and The Arianna String Quartet

Tommy – a musical fantasy based on a true story is a musical interpretation of a real historical event. It brings together two of my worlds; that of a native New Yorker and of someone who has a deep interest in Japanese music and history. The true story goes like this…

Beginning in January 1860, a group of 77 samurai sailed 37 days across the Pacific as part of the first Japanese Diplomatic Mission to the United States. They came as ambassadors, to secure the Treaty of Kanagawa which was signed on March 31, 1854 as facilitated by Commodore Matthew Perry. After a stop in San Francisco, the group sailed on to Panama, crossed the isthmus by railroad, and sailed to Washington DC. Official business concluded, they stayed to sightsee and visited Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York. It was a remarkable first encounter between two peoples and two cultures.

As the samurai’s journey progressed, one of the translators-in-training – a very handsome young man with a witty and cheerful nature by the name of Tateishi Onojiro – became a celebrity. Nicknamed “Tommy,” his fame preceded him and by the time the mission arrived in New York, he was avidly sought after for autographs, photographs, and bragging rights. This was especially the case with the women of New York, who pestered him relentlessly. (Noted in newspapers of the time as “the crinoline crush.”) When not fending off the fairer sex, Tommy and the others attended an opera, a minstrel show and a parade with hundreds of marching bands. They visited Central Park, a school, a rich person’s mansion, did a great deal of shopping, and were fêted with a grand ball at the long-gone Metropolitan Hotel, where they were lodged. 

Tommy’s fame became so great that the prolific American composer Charles Grobe even composed the popular Tommy Polka in his honor. (Yes, I have included a musical quote in this piece.) The polka’s lyrics pretty much summed up the local adulation: "Wives and maids by scores are flocking; Round that charming, little man; Known as Tommy, witty Tommy; from Japan."

Tommy’s adventures inspired my composition. While not literal depictions, the movements are musical imaginings of his experiences and emotions. Tommy is represented musically with an idée fixe – a recurring melody that is heard at the opening of the piece and throughout the work. There are three vocal sections with poetic Japanese lyrics: preparing for the journey; being the object of relentless attention; looking forward to the familiarity of home. 

In reading the many accounts of this history in the NYC newspapers of the time, one gets the impression that there was a significant amount of culture shock. My juxtaposition of Japanese instruments with string quartet highlights this reality. At times the music attempts to represent the homesickness that Tommy no doubt would have felt, using classic Japanese pentatonic scales and heterophonic textures, comingled with Western harmonies and homophonic textures. Overall, Tommy is my musical response to the complexities inherent in such a seminal cross-cultural exchange.

Tommy

Live performance of the world premiere. Kyo-Shin-An Arts at the Tenri Cultural Institute in N ew York City, March 22, 2025. James Nyoraku Schlefer - Shakuhachi with the Arianna String Quartet.

BAMBOO DANCES - composed by James Nyoraku Schlefer
All is not right with the world. There lurks a dark and anxious fear
invading our daily reality, and it will not be denied. The dissonances
and off-kilter rhythms in Bamboo Dances reflect my sense of this
reality in the context of the complacency that cocoons us and allows
us to function as usual. Bamboo Dances is loosely based on the form
of a Baroque Suite. Each dance-related movement draws from the
knowledge I have gathered over 40 years of teaching Classical,
Japanese, and World Music. The names have been changed to
protect the originals. – James Nyoraku Schlefer

Moveoverture – Get ready to move and shake.

Jubislidy (aka Slickback) – The smooth, gliding feeling of hip-hop
dance with an easygoing compound meter that soon becomes
unsettled.

Valse Macabre - Grab your partner and waltz the night away while
darkness invades with its intoxicating allure.

Chacachacarera – Vaguely reminiscent of the polyrhythmic
Argentinian chacarera with its choreography and lyrics that sing of
the forced migration of the rural gaucho population.

Bugakuraku – The ancient bugaku dance of the Japanese imperial
court rendered quite uncomfortably in this Western classical
rendition.

Jiggy Gigue – Ach aye laddie; a palate cleanser before the storm.

Galoopy – A bow to a 19th century galop named for fastest gait of a
horse.

Interludy – Leads to…

Racherachenitsa – The Bulgarian rachenitsa is a lively dance with a
traditional time signature of 7 beats per measure. In this version,
with its frequent meter changes, the Shostakovich-ian darkness can
feel overwhelming as it struggles with compassion, love, caring and
the light. The light eventually wins out.

Bamboo Dances

Broadcast on the radio show "Performance Today" of the live performance (U.S. Premiere) of "Concertante" for shakuhachi, koto, cello violin and orchestra.

Performance Today  "Concertante"

A brief improvisation on my 2.4 to explore and enjoy the wonderful acoustics of the Stadtkirche in Bad Cannstatt, Germany.

Stadtkirche Improvisation

Composed by James Nyoraku Schlefer
Performed by Yoko Reikano Kimura, Shamisen/Voice; Sumie Kaneko, Koto; James Nyoraku Schlefer, Shakuhachi  10/27/2019
We Shall (Surely) Meet Again is my first composition for the classic sankyoku ensemble of shamisen, koto and shakuhachi with voice. I modeled it after the traditional pieces with an opening song in slow tempo, followed by a brief interlude, in this case a short fugue. The next section is quite fast and offers each instrument numerous solos and some syncopated ensemble rhythms. A return to the song leads to the coda, which ends the piece in a calm and gentle manner. The poem is one of the Hundred poems by one hundred poets (Ogura Hyakunin Isshu). I was drawn to its optimistic character.
"Because the current is swift / even though the rapids / blocked by a boulder / are divided, in the end / we shall (surely) meet again."
c. 1150, The Emperor Sutoku

Tenri 10/27/2019

We Shall (Surely) Meet Again

"SLOW" and DAWN HUNTER" are two back-to-back movements from my extended work DREAM CORNER.  Live Performance by the Arianna String Quartet, Yumi Kurosawa, Koto, Yoko Reikano Kimura, Shamisen, James Nyoraku Schlefer, Shakuhachi. 

DREAM CORNER is the result of my longtime desire to write a work that would unite my two favorite chamber music ensembles: the European String Quartet and the Japanese Sankyoku. Each ensemble has its own vast repertoire, spanning several centuries, offering audiences a composer’s most personal and inventive work in an intimate listening experience. Yet the timbral, textural, structural, melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic elements between these two traditions are hugely different. Dream Corner recognizes these two, distinct musical worlds, but the fusion is uniquely mine. The story is of two people who live far apart, never knowing one another in the “awake” world. They meet as lovers only when they sleep and dream at the same time. 
Dream Corner is in eleven sections. The poetry for the two songs is from Ono no Komachi (c.825 - c.900). 
1. OVERTURE 
In a corner of the universe of dreams, a couple is very much in love. They meet in slumber to sing, dance and make love, knowing that they will part at the waking hour. 
2. COUPLE IN LOVE 
3. SONG 
"Thinking about you, I slept, Only to have you appear before me. Had I known it was a dream, I would never have awakened." 
4. DANCE
 5. AWAKE AND ALONE
 6. DOWN AND DIRTY 
7. REFLECTION ON LOVE
8. SONG 
"Since encountering  My beloved as I dozed, I have come to know; Only in the Dream Corner Can we be together." 
9. SLOW
 10. DAWN HUNTER
 11. THE DREAM CORNER

Slow and Dawn Hunter from DREAM CORNER

Concertante, by James Nyoraku Schlefer 
 
Concertante mirrors the basic structure of a Baroque era Concerto Grosso, with a small solo group and accompanying chamber orchestra. The rhythmically complex 3rd movement, Rondo Impulsivo, also begins with the solo group – this time in a joyous romp, with each of the soloists taking a virtuosic turn. When the orchestra enters, the music devolves into a pounding rhythmic drive, with utterances from the soloists. It concludes in an impulsive frenzy.

"Rondo Impulsivo" from Concertante

Composed by James Nyoraku Schlefer © 1996
Performed by the composer

Brooklyn San’ya 三谷
As with so many honkyoku, there are numerous versions of San'ya “Three Valleys.” The 'Three Valleys' may allude to a semi-mythical abode of enlightened beings, or to the 'three jewels' of Buddhism; the Buddha, the Teachings, and the Community, or as a free-floating, boundary-less Zen state in which there is no up or down, left or right; a state in which one is capable of pure, unified action. Brooklyn San’ya is an original piece strongly rooted in the Honkyoku tradition yet with sections of undeniable modern sounds. Several versions or San’ya exist, distinguished by the temple or city where they were played. (Futaiken San’ya, Echigo San’ya, etc.) Brooklyn San’ya is from the composer’s hometown.

Flare Up

(Brooklyn) Sanya

My version of the national anthem, homage to Hendrix. How I'm feeling about the USA these days but also my belief we can be a much better country.

Breathing Peace 7/17/2020

Star Spangled Banner

The classic koto piece from the 19th Century. "Chidoiri', (Plovers) performed by James Nyoraku Schlefer and Masayo Ishigure.

EE demo

Chidori

Composed by James Nyoraku Schlefer. Masayo Ishigure on koto, the composer on shakuhachi.

Duo - Schlefer

Duo No. 1

This piece has traditionally been attributed to the Muromachi Period Zen priest Ikkyu (1394-1481), who was himself a master of the shakuhachi and is considered to have laid the foundations for the subsequent development of the komusu and their music. As well as performing and composing for the instrument, Ikkyu also wrote several verses extolling the merits of the shakuhachi such as the following:

This shakuhachi of mine
May well bear the name
'Single Night'
But now that many nights have passed
It has become the companion of my old age

IN THE MOMENT

Murasaki Reibo

This second variant of Sashi came to the Meian ItchoKen Temple after its discovery in Hakata, on the island of Kyushu. It is a more complex version of the basic Sashi form, expressing the emotions of love, affection and piety which are felt when contemplating Buddha's death. It is played as a kind of offering or prayer for peace, calling for all to follow along in the path of Buddha.

Ifu Sashi

Composed by James Nyoraku Schlefer. Live performance by Adrian Durov and the composer. 

Sidewalk Dances contrasts my lifelong urban existence with a deep love of venturing to the countryside. I travel to be in a quiet place and slow things down a bit. In this composition, rhythmic, jaunty, fast sections contrast with actively sought after passages of great calmness.

Tenri 5/17/2015

Sidewalk Dances

Shakuhachi teacher, performer, composer.

“James Nyoraku Schlefer occupies a special place in [New York City’s] cultural life, composing and performing music that bridges Western and Japanese styles.” The New Yorker

James Nyoraku Schlefer received the Dai-Shi-Han (Grand Master) certificate in 2001, one of only a handful of non-Japanese to receive this high level award. In 2008, he received his second Shi-Han certificate from Mujuan Dojo, in Kyoto. In Japan, Schlefer has worked with Reibo Aoki, Katsuya Yokoyama, Yoshio Kurahashi, Yoshinobu Taniguchi, and Kifu Mitsuhashi. His first teacher was Ronnie Nyogetsu Seldin. He holds a Master's degree in Western flute and musicology from Queens College and currently teaches shakuhachi class at Columbia University and music history courses at the City University of New York. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Tanglewood, BAM, the Metropolitan Museum, at colleges and universities throughout the US and has toured in Japan, Indonesia, Brazil and counties in Europe. Schlefer has four solo recordings, Wind Heart (which travelled 120,000,000 miles aboard the Space Station MIR) Solstice Spirit (1998), Flare Up (2002), and In The Moment (2008). His music has been featured on NPR’s All Things Considered. Schlefer’s latest recording Spring Sounds, Spring Seas was released in June 2012 and features his original music for shakuhachi and orchestra.

Schlefer is a member of the Japanese music group Ensemble East, which performs traditional and modern music for Japanese instruments, including the shamisen and the koto. An exceptional solo artist, his appearances include lectures about the origin, history, and development of Japanese music. Schlefer has been a soloist in several orchestral settings including the New York City Opera, Karl Jenkins’ Requiem, and others. He has performed and lectured at Duke University (in two, week-long artist residencies), and at the Juilliard School, Manhattan and Eastman Schools of Music, Vassar, Haverford, Brown, Moravian, Colby, Colby-Sawyer, Williams and Hunter Colleges, and at music festivals in the US, South America, Asia and Europe.

Nyoraku Sensei is head of the Kyo-Shin-An teaching studio in New York City. He has published books of traditional notation and written two etude books for shakuhachi technical development. As a composer, Schlefer has written many pieces for Japanese instruments including a shakuhachi concerto, a quintet for shakuhachi and string quartet, and numerous pieces for traditional Japanese instruments.

nyoraku

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