As an experiment, Tufts University’s Music Department will have an all-night round of concerts on Friday, March 28th, and this is one. In Japan, Sokaku Reibo, or Nesting Cranes, is usually played in ten to twelve minute excerpts culled from the main piece, as it lasts 45 minutes when played in its entirety.  Multiple repetitions are skipped, as well as major parts of the composition, and the whole nature of the original is essentially unknown. Tufts’ Elizabeth Reian Bennett, shakuhachi Grand Master, will present a first full performance of this piece since the 19^th century.

The sacred crane, symbol of happiness, vocalizes and dances throughout the day, and both sexes rear their young. In feudal times, only one crane a year was allowed to be killed, as a gift for a special feast for the emperor. This piece is a description in sound of the calls between the parent cranes and their nestlings, set among the leaping and prancing of the flock, and the lisp and suck of the marsh mud.

To see the cranes go to:

http://www.arkive.org/japanese-crane/grus-japonensis/video-09f.html

Distler Hall, Tufts University.
Perry and Marty Granoff Music Center,
20 Talbot Avenue,
Medford, MA 02155
Directions, PDFs & more:  http://campusmaps.tufts.edu/medford/
Information: 617.627.3679