Works by Akira Nishimura IV

This fourth collection of the works of Japanese composer Akira NISHIMURA includes his River of Karuna II, performed by ELISION Ensemble, and other works performed by leading Japanese and European musicians Fontec FOCD 2560 Total timing 78:00 Released 1998

Aquatic Aura (1996) 13:26

for clarinet and piano
Yasuaki ITAKURA clarinet
Kaori KIMURA piano

Poem of Water (1996) 23:51

for two pianos
Kaori KIMURA and Aki TAKAHASHI pianos

River of Karuna II (1997) 16:19

for clarinet and nine players
ELISION Ensemble, Christian EGGEN conductor
Yasuaki ITAKURA clarinet

Silence of Light (1997) 10:16

in memory of Kuniharu AKIYAMA
Aki TAKAHASHI piano

Meditation on the melody of Gagaku `Kotoriso´ (1997) 14:52

for two clarinets and accordion
Beate ZELINSKI and David SMEYERS clarinets
Mie MIKI accordion

Akira NISHIMURA was born in 1953 in Osaka, Japan, and studied composition and musical theory at Tokyo University. While at university he also studied Asiatic traditional music, religion, esthetics, cosmology, and the heterophonic concept, all of which has had a lasting influence on his music.

Akira NISHIMURA writes of River of Karuna II:

"Following a commission of the ELISION Ensemble, this piece was composed and dedicated to this excellent Australian chamber ensemble who was organised for the purpose to perform the works of our time, and is actively working internationally.

"The first performance of the piece was made by [ELISION Ensemble] with Christian EGGEN, and a guest clarinet player Yasuaki ITAKURA, on 30th May 1997, at the Brisbane Festival of Music.

"Karuna is a term found in Buddhism and means `compassion for the troubles of life´. It refers to the emancipations of life's troubles and the soothing of trials. Hence the title of the piece, River of Karuna, signifies the spiritual which emancipates a person from troubles of life. This is the river that flows thourgh a person's life and death and guides the spirit in to the next life. The noisily flow of the river emerges from the silence and vanishes beyond to a region of deep stillness and radiance."

Performers and Production

Paula RAE flute, Stephen ROBINSON oboe, Yasuaki ITAKURA clarinet, Andrew EVANS trumpet, Brett KELLY trombone, Susan PIEROTTI violin I, Yasutaka HEMMI violin II, Jennifer CURL viola, Rosanne HUNT violoncello, Joan WRIGHT contrabass, Christian EGGEN conductor

Recorded in Iwaki Auditorium, ABC Southbank Studios, Melbourne, 1 June 1997. Jim ATKINS recording engineer, Daryl BUCKLEY producer

Kohel SUGIURA, Atsushi SATO and Koichi SAKANO design, Takumi YAMAMOTO illustration, ZEN-ON Music Company Limited publisher

Special thanks to the grant of the Nomura Cultural Foundation