tracks

Moon Viewing Music: I. Living alone in the woods...
Moon Viewing Music: II. Even more so...
Moon Viewing Music: III. Only the moon...
Moon Viewing Music: IV. As I look at the moon...
Moon Viewing Music: V. When I die...
Moon Viewing Music: Vi. I cleansed the mirror...

notes

“For me moon viewing is a year-round activity, though I’m aware that it is associated with autumn in the Japanese literary tradition. This cycle was composed in the winter. There is a unique light and intensity in a winter moon, as it rises in the darkest days (nights) of the year, and shines on a landscape of trees stripped of their leaves and of white snow that amplifies and reflects the moonlight, often creating an eerie sense of daylight—further reinforced by the shadows cast on the snow. There is also a special silence because of the extreme cold, and the absence of animal, bird, and insect sounds. If autumn is the moonlight of nostalgia, winter is the moonlight of loneliness, an inscrutable stillness.” (Peter Garland)

1. “Living alone in the woods…” (after Ryōkan)
Living alone in the woods
few visitors cast shadows.
How clean the moon
gleaming in the sky.
Ryōkan Taigu (1758-1831)

2. “Even more so…” (after Buson)
Even more so
because of being alone
the moon is a friend.
Yosa Buson (1716-84; trans. Yuki Sawa and Edith Marcombe Shiffert)

3. “Only the moon…” (after Saigyō)
Only the moon
high in the sky
as an empty reminder-
but if looking at it, we just remember,
our two hearts may meet.
Saigyō (1118-90; trans. Burton Watson)

4. “As I look at the moon…” (after Saigyō)
As I look at the moon
my mind goes roaming,
till I live again
the autumn that I
knew long ago.
Saigyō (1118-90; from Japanese Tanka Poetry)

5. “When I die…” (after Hyakuri)
When I die
what I shall see will be
the lustrous moon.
Hyakuri (?-1727; from Japanese Death Poems, Charles E. Tuttle Co.)

6. “I cleansed the mirror…” (after Renseki)
I cleansed the mirror
of my heart-now it reflects
the moon.
Renseki (n.d.; from Japanese Death Poems, Charles E. Tuttle Co.)

credits

Co-producer, Design – Jim Fox (4)
Composed By – Peter Garland
Percussion, Co-producer – William Winant
Photography – Andy Futreal
Recorded By, Mastered By, Co-producer – Scott Fraser

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