琴音
The sound of strings
Court orchestras, temple flutes, zithers and opera from Japan and China: 41 historic and field recordings, all public domain or Creative Commons, each with its source and licence. Press play and keep browsing — the music follows you.
Today's piece
A different recording each day, chosen from the whole catalog.
Editors' picks
- 箏曲演奏会（1966年）第一部Sōkyoku ensōkai, 1966 — side A — A concert of Japanese koto music, 1966 — side A26:20
- 平沙落雁Píng shā luò yàn — Wild Geese Descending on the Sandbank4:45
- 賣馬Mài mǎ — Selling the Horse4:32
- 太食調調子Taishikichō chōshi — Prelude in the taishiki mode3:11
- 岩清水Iwashimizu — Water Welling from the Rock6:04
- 贵妃醉酒：海岛冰轮初转腾Guìfēi zuì jiǔ: Hǎidǎo bīnglún chū zhuǎn téng — The Drunken Concubine: “The icy moon rises over the sea”3:25
- 流水樂團音樂會（1972年）The Flowing Stream Ensemble in concert, 19721:11:21
- 思川Omoigawa — River of Memory14:35
Collections
箏と尺八Strings and Bamboo: Japanese Chamber Music
Koto and shakuhachi are the two voices most people now associate with Japanese traditional music, and they began in very different places. The koto was the domain of the blind musicians' guilds of the Edo period, who taught it as a refined chamber art for the parlour. The shakuhachi belonged to wandering Fuke Zen monks, who played it as a breathing discipline. By the Meiji era the two had met, with the shamisen, in the ensemble music called sankyoku.
梨園之聲Voices of the Pear Garden: Peking Opera on Early Records
The 'Pear Garden' is the old name for the Chinese theatre world, after the troupe kept by the Tang emperor Xuanzong. Peking opera came of age at the same moment as the gramophone, and its stars were recorded almost as soon as discs reached Shanghai. Collectors still argue over these sides line by line.
絲竹Silk and Bamboo: Chinese Instrumental Music
'Silk and bamboo' is the old Chinese shorthand for music: silk for strings, bamboo for flutes. This collection follows Chinese instruments from the scholar's study to the concert hall.