In review--Shakuhachi Dreams (traditional Japanese folk songs)
World / Classical Joji Hirota London Metropolitan Orchestra Japanese Folks Songs II Arc Music Over the years I have enjoyed listening to a few Japanese traditional songs which I describe as delicate and flowing. The Japanese folk songs that appear on Joji Hirota’s Japanese Folk Songs II (I liked this CD so much I would like to hear the first volume) remind me of a cultivated garden because the musician methodically arranged each song. Backed by the strings of the London Metropolitan Orchestra, a Japanese children’s choir on a few of the songs, and embellished with shakuhachi (Japanese flute), Taiko drums and percussion and plucked harp, Hirota provides us with a lush musical canvas that dazzles the senses. Included on the recorded are two suites (one of children’s songs and another including a lullaby, girl’s handball game song and a ballad), as well as, work songs, love and dance songs from different pr...