Ensemble Nipponia ‎- Japan: kabuki & other traditional music (1980)

This CD from the well-known Japanese ensemble Ensemble Nipponia is the reissue of an LP released in 1980 by Nonesuch in their collection on Japanese music. In the first half of this CD, we hear songs and songs from the famous Japanese Kabuki theater, in the style called nagauta (which means "long song"). Nagauta is not the only style used in kabuki, but is the most important and best suited for scenic action, providing dance accompaniment, songs and background music. The ensemble usually includes singers, shamisen musicians, percussionists and a shinobue player (a small bamboo flute). In the second half of the CD, we can find here other traditional pieces of the classical repertoire, like a piece for two shakuhachi, an episode of the famous Japanese epic "Tale of Heike", the singer accompanying on the biwa (the Japanese four-stringed lute), and ending with two modern compositions, one for a 20-string koto and one for shinobue and percussion. A well deserved reissue of certainly the best Japanese set.