F. Hayasaka: "Uguisu"

Fumio Hayasaka (1914-1955)

Four Unaccompanied Songs on Poems by Haruo (1944): 1. Uguisu

Emily Hamilton, soprano

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Uguisu is commonly translated as "nightingale," but its actual English name is "Japanese bush warbler." This small bird is often heard, and sometimes seen, in bamboo thickets surrounding Buddhist temples. Its song is described as "Hō, hokekyo, kekyo, kekyo," which sounds like saying Hokekyō (Lotus sutra), a Buddhist prayer. In traditional Japanese music, the shakuhachi (bamboo flute) often imitates the call of the uguisu. This song is a marvelous rendition imitating a shakuhachi imitating an uguisu.

Recorded on April 27, 2022 in Tanna Schulich Hall at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec during Emily's Semi-Final Bachelor's Recital

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君を見ぬ日のうぐいす

海近き宿のうぐいす

波の音にまじりなくよ うぐいす

ひねもす聴くよ うぐいす

うぐいす うぐいす うぐいす

- Haruo Satō (1892-1964)