Chikumeisha workshop with Gunnar Jinmei Linder

Contents

The 23rd Chikumeisha France Shakuhachi Workshop

April 6, 7, and 8, 2024

Shinan: Gunnar Jinmei Linder

with Christophe Kazan Gaston (shakuhachi)
Akari Sagara (koto, vocals) and Guillaume Fiat (shamisen, vocals)


Organized by Chikumeisha France Lesson Center        フランス竹盟社教場



Venue

Workshop venue

Conservatoire de Massy
8 rue des États-Unis
91300 Massy
Map

Main concert venue (Saturday at 7 pm)

Auditorium de l'opéra de Massy
1 place de France
91300 Massy


The auditorium is on the left down the stairs in front of the opéra: Have a look in Street view (the opéra is in your back)


Student Concert (Sunday) venue

Same as workshop venue, for participants only.

Fees

Full participation (intermediate/advanced)160 €
Beginners80 €
Pure beginners and audit only30 € (possible to borrow an instrument)


All participants can audit all parts of the workshop and listen to the concerts. The level indication is an indication of teaching level. Intermediate-advanced means that the instruction will be based on the assumption that the participants are acquainted with basic and most of the more advanced techniques. For beginner level, the assumption is that the participants can make a stable sound in at least the two basic registers, and are acquainted with basic techniques. The “pure beginners” participation is for total beginners who have not even held a shakuhachi, or those who have just begun trying to make a stable sound. It is also possible to audit all other parts of the workshop.

To register, please send an e-mail to registration@chikumeisha.net indicating the category (level) you choose as per above (full, beginner, pure beginner/audit).

Pieces taught at this workshop Pieces

Honkyoku (kinko-ryū fundamental pieces)

  • Intermediate-Advanced: “Sōkaku Reibo” 6 hours Workshop
  • Beginners: “Sanya Sugagaki” 2 hours Workshop

“Sōkaku Reibo” is a major honkyoku of approximately 25 minutes duration, and probably the most widely known honkyoku in the universe. It depicts the livelihood of a crane family, sometimes with a dramatic onomatopoetic mode of expression. We go through special techniques, and finally play the parts of or the whole piece together.

“Sanya Sugagaki” is an important honkyoku that is usually not taught until towards the end of the repertoire. It does however contain fairly straight-forward techniques, but is by no means easy to express in a musical way. Technically, if one learns the first two or three sections of the piece, the rest is more or less repetition and some variation on these techniques. This piece can also be played as a duet (renkan) version.

Gaikyoku

Gaikyoku is the repertoire of sankyoku ensemble pieces, with strings and vocals:

  • Intermediate-Advanced: “Mama no Kawa” 4 hours Master Class
  • Intermediate-Advanced: “Kurokami” 2 hours Master Class
  • Intermediate-Advanced: “Noki no Shizuku” 6 hours Workshop
  • Beginners: “Kurokami” 3 hours Workshop

“Mama no Kawa” is an intermediate ikuta-ryū jiuta-sōkyoku piece, composed for shamisen by Kikuoka Kengyō (1792–1847). It was first published in 1814.

“Noki no Shizuku” is a piece composed for koto, shamisen, shakuhachi and voice by Miyagi Michio (1894–1956) in 1926. This piece is composed structurally following a traditional pattern, but the interaction between the three instruments was something new at the time.

“Kurokami” is a well-known jiuta-sōkyoku piece that is taught in the beginning for koto, shamisen and shakuhachi alike. It was composed by Koide Ichijūrō (d. 1800), and an older version seems to have been performed in 1784. This version we know today was published in 1801.

Total beginners Saturday, 10 am to 12

Even total beginners are welcome for separate instruction. Instruments will be available to borrow for the workshop. Instruction in French, or English if required.

Total beginners are also welcome to audit other parts of the workshop.  

Program

Saturday, April 6

Sunday, April 7

Monday, April 8