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This is one of the most uplifting of all the chapters in the Heike monogatari. The Heike, defeated on land by the Genji forces, have...

《ラフカディオ組曲》は、偶然と必然が交差する出会いの中から生まれました。アイルランドと日本、二つの文化の響きが、ハーンの物語を通して新たな音楽の旅を紡ぎ出します。

From October 18th to November 3rd, I will be touring Japan with my sister, harpist Tríona Marshall, performing The Lafcadio Suite

....something has shifted. I now understand that tradition is not only a thing to protect—it is something to live, something to offer.

We return once again to the Tale of the Heike ... and a remarkable biwa called Seizan—a mysterious and cherished instrument....

Her portrayal gives a real sense of what people find beautiful about the instrument — its sound, as well as the emotional resonance it holds

General Kamō Hikoshiro, the leader of Saigō Takamori's guard takes cover in a cave. Suddenly, the sound of a biwa is heard from within.

In the heart of the Heike monogatari is a single mention of a particular biwa at a critical moment of the narrative.

Excelling in poetry and music, and a brilliant biwa player, he was granted the use of the famed instrument Seizan by Prince Kakusho.

On March 7th, Triona Marshall and I performed a programme for Satsumabiwa and Irish harp at St Ann's Church.

Clara got in touch with me about two years ago during her research for this book. She had many questions, and I was delighted to talk...

Fumon told me that he was to perform with shakuhachi player Christopher Yohmei Blasdel at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo.

On Friday, March 7, at 1pm, Triona Marshall and I will play a recital titled Celebrating Lafcadio Hearn - Bridging Japan and Ireland.

There needs to be improvisation [or sokkyosei 即興性]. Without this, the music is dead.

Singing Satsumabiwa became an adventure in the completest sense of the word. The first song Fumon began to teach me was Horaisan.

He plays the first phrase on the instrument,  I attempt to follow, gritting my teeth at the pain in my shoulder from holding the instrument

Among the topics that we spoke about were embodied knowledge, information that is preserved in lived experience

For English.... このブログに興味をもって、 ここまで足を運んでくださり、ありがとうございます。 このブログでは、薩摩琵琶のことをお話ししていきたいと思っています。 トーマス　蘭杖　（Photo by Fran Marshall) 薩摩琵琶は、...

The face board was made of mulberry wood. The grain of the wood caught my attention because it had black lines through it.

the person traditionally associated with the creation of the Satsumabiwa in the mid-16th century was a Confucian scholar, Shimadzu Tadayoshi