Burning House

Liza LIM
Born 1966, Perth, Australia

Burning House (1995)

koto/voice solo
Published by Ricordi, catalogue 138635

A work in three parts setting poems by Izumi SHIKIBU (974?-1034?) and written for Satsuki ODAMURA. Composed while artist-in-residence at the Peggy Glanville-Hicks House, Sydney.

I.

Ume ga ka ni odorokare tsutsu haru no yo no yami koso hito wa akogareshi kere

Wakened by the scent of flowering plum The darkness of the spring night fills me with longing

II.

To o koyo-saku to minu ma ni chirinu beshi tsuyu to hana to no naka zo yo no naka

Come quickly--as soon as these blossoms open, they fall. This world exists as a sheen of dew on flowers

III.

Izumi Shikibu's diary entry: On the night of the sixth, the sound of the night monk's voice reciting the Sutras mingled with the sound of the incessant rain, and this truly seemed to be the world of dreams.

Mono o nomi omoi no ie o idete huru ichimi no ame ni nure ya shina mashi	Should I leave this burning house of ceaseless thought and taste the pure rain's single truth falling upon my skin
Izumi SHIKIBU (974?-1034?)

From Jane Hirshfield with Mariko Aratani (translators), The Ink Dark Moon: Love poems by Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, Vintage Books, New York, 1990

Programme note © 1995 Liza LIM