Moon Viewing Music (Inscrutable Stillness Studies #1)

“For me moon viewing is a year-round activity, though I’m aware that it is associated with autumn in the Japanese literary tradition. This cycle was composed in the winter. There is a unique light and intensity in a winter moon, as it rises in the darkest days (nights) of the year, and shines on a landscape of trees stripped of their leaves and of white snow that amplifies and reflects the moonlight, often creating an eerie sense of daylight—further reinforced by the shadows cast on the snow. There is also a special silence because of the extreme cold, and the absence of animal, bird, and insect sounds. If autumn is the moonlight of nostalgia, winter is the moonlight of loneliness, an inscrutable stillness.” (Peter Garland) 1. “Living alone in the woods…” (after Ryōkan) Living alone in the woods few visitors cast shadows. How clean the moon gleaming in the sky. Ryōkan Taigu (1758-1831) 2. “Even more so…” (after Buson) Even more so because of being alone the moon is a friend. Yosa Buson (1716-84; trans. Yuki Sawa and Edith Marcombe Shiffert) 3. “Only the moon…” (after Saigyō) Only the moon high in the sky as an empty reminder- but if looking at it, we just remember, our two hearts may meet. Saigyō (1118-90; trans. Burton Watson) 4. “As I look at the moon…” (after Saigyō) As I look at the moon my mind goes roaming, till I live again the autumn that I knew long ago. Saigyō (1118-90; from Japanese Tanka Poetry) 5. “When I die…” (after Hyakuri) When I die what I shall see will be the lustrous moon. Hyakuri (?-1727; from Japanese Death Poems, Charles E. Tuttle Co.) 6. “I cleansed the mirror…” (after Renseki) I cleansed the mirror of my heart-now it reflects the moon. Renseki (n.d.; from Japanese Death Poems, Charles E. Tuttle Co.)