Hanami Festival

I went to the Hanami Cherry Blossom Festival at Dallas Arboretum on Sunday. Under the blooming cherry blossoms the two performers played the koto and shakuhachi (floor harp and Japanese lute). Everybody brought their picnic blankets and sat around the performers and enjoy the music.
The performance started with a shakuhachi performance, it was played by a male performer. Shakuhachi is the vertical bamboo flute that the performer blows from one side to the other and makes a very soft windy sound. The tone of shakuhachi song was soft, each note flew slowly one to the other and became louder then it dropped to a silence note. The sound was almost like meditation music. The performer also made shakuhachi notes vibrate and repeated the pattern over and over again with different pitches. After he performed two songs, the female woman started to join in the third song. The two performers played with a chasing style, shakuhachi played first and koto played exactly the same notes but one or two beats later. Only at the chorus, the floor harp became background for the lute; it made the lute sound distinct from every other sound around. Several solo koto songs were performed after that; Japanese koto has thirteen strings stretched over the curved board. The female performer usually puts the rings on her first three fingers and plucks the string to make its sound. Koto songs had faster tempre than shakuhachi and more vibratos with bending pitch. The song went on continuously without a stop or silence note. The male performer wore Hakama pants with a black Haori and the female wore a Yukata which is cloth for summer. By wearing Japanese traditional clothing performers had created the mood for their audience, and helped the audience feel relaxed and like they were in Japan enjoying the music. The performance was at noon on a windy day, the air was clean with a few breezes from the lake chilling the air. The musicians chose to perform in the middle of the blooming cherry blossom space and with the audience gathering around them to listen to the music and enjoy their picnic lunch. When the wind blew, a thousand cherry blossom petals fell down on the grass and made the place become unforgettable. With the beauty of area also came some obstacles, the performers told me “The wind blowing makes it hard for us to play, because it affects and bends the sound of the instrument.” (interview). To be able to play outside, they had to watch out for the weather and decided on the best time to perform. He also told me “I have to stay very focus to play, but this is the first time for my partner to play outside like this, it is very hard for her.”(Interview). The male performer is a white dentist professor, he grew up and lives here so he knew the weather and chose to memorize the songs to make it easier. Most of the audiences were families, couples and friends; they either sat under the cherry blossom trees or in front of the performers to hear it more clearly. They also prepared Japanese food for lunch such as sushi, rice cake, and some other foods. Looking around the audience and listening to them I noticed that quite a bit of them are Asian and Japanese or they are American but had lived in Japan and love to go back to visit. The audience shared their experiences with each other and talked freely.
The music performance at the Hanami Cherry Blossom Festival was performed by a Japanese female koto player and a white male shakuhachi player. They had created a Japanese festival moment for the audience in the Dallas arboretum. The blossom trees blowing and swaying in the wind while the performers played soft and gentle notes created the perfect Japanese atmosphere which everyone was swept in. It was a scene that could be enjoyed by a single person or with the whole family.
Work Cited
"Hanami Festival." Personal interview. 28 Mar. 2010.
Pham, Anh. Program notes. Hanami Cherry Blossom Festival. 28 Mar 2010. Dallas.