"Azayaka na onshoku," meaning vivid tones, is a composition based on the sounds of the Japanese shakuhachi flute.  I incorporated the element of space and time into this work by obscuring the rhythm; in addition, I keep the piece in an asymmetrical meter. I use a combination of scales that are frequently found throughout Koten Honkyoku (Japanese shakuhachi literature), as well as playing techniques that are commonly performed by shakuhachi players.

Shawn Renzoh Head - Azayaka Na Onshoku

Tsutei is a very unique and vivid word in Japanese.  It can be described as, two things that have an unbreakable connection.  This connection can not be seen nor touched, but it can only be felt.  I titled this piece Tsutei because I used two Japanese songs that have this sort of connection. The first being Tamuke 「手向」。Tamuke uses two Chinese characters, the first meaning hand(s) and the second meaning to bring together. Tamuke can also be translated to prayer or requiem. The second work is a folk tune titled "Shimabara no komoriuta" 「島原の子守唄」which translates to "Shimabara's Lullaby." This folk tune is related to the Karayuki-san 「唐行きさん 」 (Ms. Gone Abroad); the Karayuki-san were women who were trafficked throughout East Asia during the second half of the 19th century.  They were forced to work as prostitutes, courtesans and geisha. Many of these women were daughters of poor farming and fishing families, and it was not uncommon for the women to be mothers as well. This song was sung to these motherless children to create both an awareness of their own potential, unpredictable future, and also to evoke the feeling that their mother was still a presence in their lives in some way. These women usually never saw their families again, and many died as a result of harsh punishments inflicted by their "owners."  Thus, I use Shimabara no komoruita as a homage to the women who went through these cruel times, and Tamuke as a prayer for them.

Harp - Rachel Lee Hall

通底 (Tsutei) Shawn Head (2015)

"Love Conquers Death"   (2014)
Words Natsume Soseki
Naomi Duerr, Soprano
Leah Stevens, Flute
Kevin Qian, Oboe
Zac West, Clarinet
Vince Disantis, Bassoon 
Sam Hartman, French Horn
Evan Mitchell, Percussion
Grace Cross, Harp
Thomas Stuart and Winnie Liao, Violins
Andrew Stock, Viola
Even Ma, Cello
Adam Attard, Bass
Shawn Head, Conductor


"Love Conquers Death" 
 Natsume Soseki （夏目 漱石）
こんな夢を見た。
腕組をして枕元に座っていると、仰向きに寝た女が、静かな声でもう死にますという。
到底死にそうには見えない。　
自分は透き徹るほど深く見えるこの黒眼の色沢を眺めて、これでも死ぬのかと思った。それで、ねんごろに枕の傍へ口をつけて、死ぬんじゃなかろうね、大丈夫だろうね、とまた聞き返した。すると女は黒い眼を眠そうにみはったまま、でも、死ぬんですもの、仕方がないわといった。
「私の顔が見えるかい？」
「見えるかいって、そら、そこに、写ってるじゃありませんか？」
「何時逢いに来るかね？」
「日が出るでしょう？それから、日が沈むでしょう？　赤い日が東から西へ、東から西へと落ちて行くうちに、あなた、待っていられますか？」
「百年、私の墓の傍に座って待っていて下さい。きっと逢いに来ますから」
自分はただ待っていると答えた。すると、黒い瞳のなかに鮮やかに見えた自分の姿が、ぼうっと崩れて来た。
女の眼がぱちりと閉じた。長い睫の間から涙が頬へ垂れた。
もう死んでいた。
自分は苔の上に座った。これから百年の間こうして待っているんだなと考えながら、腕組をして、丸い墓石を眺めていた。
しばらくするとまた唐紅の天道がのそりと上って来た。そうして黙って沈んでしまった。二つとまた勘定した。
しまいには、苔の生えた丸い石を眺めて、自分は女に騙されたのではなかろうかと思い出した。

すると石の下から斜に自分の方へ向いて青い茎が伸びて来た。見る間に長くなって丁度自分の胸のあたりまで来て留まった。と思うと、すらりと揺らぐ茎の頂に、心持傾けていた細長い一輪の蕾が、ふっくらと辨を開いた。真白な百合が鼻の先で骨に応えるほど匂った。そこへ遥の上から、ぽたりと露が落ちたので、花は自分の重みでふらふらと動いた。自分は首を前へ出して冷たい露の滴る、白い花弁に接吻した。自分が百合から顔を離す拍子に思わず、遠い空を見たら、暁の星がたった一つ瞬いていた。

「百年はもう来ていたんだな」とこの時始めて気が付いた。」


This was the kind of dream I had... 
I was sitting with my arms crossed by the bedside of a woman. She was lying on her back.  In a soft voice she said that she was about to die. 

Looking into the clear back eyes, I thought, would she really die? With her dark and tired eyes, "I shall die, and there is nothing we can do about it."

"Can you see my face?" 

"See it? It is reflected right here in my eyes, is it not?"

"When will you come back?"

"The sun rises and sets does it not? Once the sun has set, it goes on to rise again, and, after rising, it sets once more.  As the red sun sinks from east to west, and from east to west again, will you wait for me?　

Sit and wait by my grave for one hundred years and I will surely return"  

I will just wait for you. At that moment, I saw her black luscious eyes fade until I could no longer see my reflection. 

Her eyes snapped shut, a tear fell between her lashes and slid down her cheek. 

She was dead. 

I sat on the moss by myself. As I was gazing at her grave stone with my arms crossed, I thought, from now on, I will wait for one hundred years. 

After a while, the crimson sun slowly rose and before I knew it, it had set. I had then counted to two.  Finally, I looked at the round grave stone, and thought that I have been deceived by this woman  

Below the grave, I saw a green stem push out from the earth. I watched it grow longer until it had stopped at my chest.  When I thought this, the slender plant began to wave. The plant made a small curve and at the end of the plant it blossomed. It became more and more plump. The pure, white lily had such a powerful odor. Dew drops began to fall, so the white lily rose to the sky to obtain the water. I went toward the white lily to kiss it. By some chance, the white lily inadvertently moved away from my face. I looked far away in the sky and saw a single red star twinkling.  

A warm feeling had filled my body, because I knew that hundred years has passed. 

Translation by Shawn Head.

Love Conquers Death  -Shawn Head Words By Natsume Soseki

Kyotaku (False Bell) was written from February to September of 2015 and is a piece that is reflective of Japanese musical aesthetic and sensibility.  Its focus is around Ma, Wabi-Sabi, and Mono-no-Aware. Wabi-Sabi represents the rustic and bleak beauty where flaws and imperfections can be found. This is commonly seen in Japanese architecture and pottery.  The listener will hear small gestures that are loosely related to the larger themes in the work.  These small gestures act as the cracks in the cup, which in Japanese traditional culture, are filled with gold. Mono no Aware represents varying beauty marked by sensitive and delicate color changes. The most contemplative aesthetic of them all is Ma: the great void, the nothingness, the empty and formless beauty which serves as the canvas for all works.  

The work should be heard as if you were to walk through a Japanese Zen Garden. In a Zen Garden, your eyes are captured to one single flower, and this flower blocks out everything else until you move on to the next point of interest, going deeper in to the garden.  Seemingly unrelated to each other, Zen Gardens take you on a journey much like this piece aims to do.  As you listen, create a variety of flowers and sculptures in your mind; the grander the musical gesture, the more exquisite the garden becomes. 

The Japanese word "Kyotaku" means False Bell and refers to the instrument known today as the Shakuhachi. The Shakuhachi was originally designed to replicate the sounds of the "taku" bell (a type of Chinese bell).  Bells are of great importance in the Buddhist tradition and are rung before entering temples, before praying, before asking for favors from God, and many other facet of their culture.  In my work, I use bell sounds that function as a prayer.

Conductor - Justin Pambianchi 
Orchestra - Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra

Shawn Renzoh Head - False Bell

This composition focuses on the Japanese concept "ma" (間.) This Chinese character represents time/void/space.  In traditional Japanese music, space, timing, and silence is of key importance. Throughout my work, I incorporate 間 in the phrases and in between sections.  All my material comes from Japanese folk music and 雅楽 (gagaku,) Japanese Imperial Court music.  Also like Japanese music there are many subtle color changes through out the work. 

Commissioned by ChenChen 

Cello - Chenchen 
Piano - Daniel Parvin

Shawn Renzoh Head

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