O Hototogisu!

Fragment of a Japonisme
This exquisite “fragment of a Japonisme”—premiered in 2017 and conceived as a kind of double concerto for soprano, flute, and ensemble of 23 players—O Hototogisu! has proven to be Oliver Knussen’s final work. The eight-minute piece couches seven exquisite haiku settings in richly evocative music, which incorporates signals from Japanese theater (particularly Kabuki). It concerns the Hototogisu (or Lesser Cuckoo), a bird widely invoked in Japanese haiku poetry of the 17th to 19th centuries, in which the poet listens for its arrival from the mountains both as a harbinger of summer and a voice from the land of the dead. Composed for soprano, flute, and full orchestra.

Additional Information

SKU#: 12-0571541119
UPC: 9780571541119
ISBN-10: 0571541119
ISBN-13: 9780571541119
Series: Faber Edition
Secondary Category: Full Orchestra
Format: Score
Contributors: By Oliver Knussen
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