Shingetsu
Koten Honkyoku
Shingetsu is one of the quietest and most serene Koten Honkyoku pieces for shakuhachi. The first ideogram (心) means mind, heart, and spirit at the same time. The second one (月), the moon, has a special significance in Buddhism related to enlightenment. We shot the footage at sunset in the stunning bamboo forest of Konsenji Zen Temple, surrounded by the mountains of Chichibu National Park (Saitama). Ramon plays Shingetsu according to the KSK lineage founded by Katsuya Yokoyama.
Ramon Humet: 2.4 shakuhachi
Yamagoe
Koten Honkyoku
Yamagoe is one of the most energetic pieces in the Koten Honkyoku repertoire for shakuhachi. The title can be translated as ‘Crossing the Mountain’ and it is meant to encourage the overcoming of difficulties.
In the caves of Farlete, natural elements fill the landscape: the blue sky, the ocher tones of the mountains, the vastness of the desert landscape, the solitude of the caves, the deep silence, … The Zen bamboo flute traverses the desert space with this melody that the Komuso monks played as sound meditation to achieve enlightenment, following the path of Buddha.
Ramon Humet: 1.8 shakuhachi
Hon Shirabe
Koten Honkyoku
Hon Shirabe literally means “basic melody”. It originates in Hamamatsu district (Japan). According to Katsuya Yokoyama, it has “a melody of pure simplicity and intuitive power”. The austerity of this melody calls for a stable, rooted and deep sound.
Ramon Humet: 2.4 shakuhachi
Tamuke
Koten Honkyoku
Tamuke literally means “hands folded together in prayer” and it is a piece dedicated to the departed souls. This melody of deep sorrow originated in the Fusai Temple, Ise district (Japan), and it was played in the rituals for the deceased at the zen temples.
Ramon Humet: 2.4 shakuhachi
Autumn Inside
Improvisation
The Zen flute and crystal singing bowls are deeply twinned with each other in meditation at this beautiful forest in the Catalan Pyrenees, where the golden colours invite introspection and inner silence. The harmonies of the singing bowls surround the descending melody of the shakuhachi, while the beech leaves fall gently around us.
Ramon Humet: 1.8 shakuhachi
Sílvia Vidal: crystal singing bowls, tingshas, Dharma bell, wind chimes, rainstick
