Why is there a harmonium (reed organ) at Ftarri? It all goes back to the Ftarri Festival held in Tokyo in November 2019. A quartet made up of Klaus Lang (harmonium), Johnny Chang (violin), Samuel Dunscombe (bass clarinet) and Michiko Ogawa (clarinet) was planned for the festival’s final day, so Ogawa quickly purchased a used harmonium for Lang. As she lives in Berlin, Ogawa and Ftarri decided that the harmonium would be housed there temporarily and used in Ftarri concerts.
Composer Masamichi Kinoshita, who often performs at Ftarri, was interested in holding concerts featuring the harmonium. He planned the series “Ftarri’s Harmonium,” the first concert of which took place in February 2020. The second concert, on March 14, was performed by Kinoshita and three other musicians, and it was decided that three pieces composed for the concert by Kinoshita would be released on an album. Composer Masamichi Kinoshita was born in Fukui Prefecture in 1969. He has long been known for his diverse and fascinating musical activities–in addition to composing many pieces each year, with a particular focus on chamber music, he plans concerts and performs improvisation using junk electronics.
Ftarri’s Harmonium by Masamichi Kinoshita, 2020, Meenna on #neuguitars #blog #GakuYamada #MasamichiKinoshita
Ftarri’s Harmonium | Masamichi Kinoshita | Meenna (bandcamp.com)
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Track notes by Masamichi Kinoshita (translation by Cathy Fishman)
1. 47/19=2 . 9/19
I prepare a grid of 49 squares (7 x 7). I black out two of the squares to make a grid of 47, and fill in the grid with a previously created random sequence made up of numbers from 1 to 19. I apply each of 19 prearranged sound fragments to the corresponding numbers. The resulting score is played first in the usual way, and after that with the musicians looking at the score in a spiral-like pattern. For each musician I determine a different method for creating a spiral.
７x７= 49のマスを用意し、そのうちふたつをつぶして47マスにする。あらかじめ作っておいた１から19までの数を含むランダムな 数列でマスを埋める。19種類の音の断片を用意しそれぞれ当てはめる。こうしてできた楽譜を、最初は普通に、次からは渦を巻くように見ながら演奏する。渦の巻き方は各奏者違うように設定する。
2. Count to 11!!
While individually counting to 11, each musician sets down sounds in such a way that the sounds gradually increase.
各自11を数えながら、次第に音が増えていくように音を置いていく。
3. 17 Melodies, 13 Sustained Sounds, 1 Silence
I create a rather long original melody. I break this melody…
credits
released September 6, 2020
All compositions by Masamichi Kinoshita
Hanako Nakamura: sho
Yumiko Kiyota: gaku-biwa
Gaku Yamada: guitar
Masamichi Kinoshita: harmonium
Recorded live at Ftarri, Tokyo, March 14, 2020
Recorded and mastered by Masamichi Kinoshita
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