Composed in March 2010, electronic demo version. Original for flute, shamisen, biwa, 6 koto, piano and Japanese drums.
chamber work
electronic version
Story behind the song
Ukiyo is a term from Japanese culture which means "floating, fugitive, transient world" (ukiyo-e were woodprint color pictures from Edo period describing daily life in old Japan).
I have selected Japanese folk song "Sakura sakura" and Moravian folk song "Ej lasko lasko" and made structural variations with them, using all possible decomposing, transformations, morphing, combinations and synthesis I could find. I have also tried to find some common melodic and rhythmic elements and patterns in music material.
The reason for selecting exactly those two songs is based on the fact both express the same idea about running time, fugitive and transient character of all - be it beauty of blossoming sakura trees in Japanese song or love relation in Moravian song (compared to running water in the river or falling leaves).
I wrote this composition in the hospital between two surgeries of stomach tumor, rather difficult period in my life...
It was successfully performed at concerts in Japan and Czech Republic, and published on my CD "Japanesque".