Nº 20 Hikari – haruka nakamura PIANO ENSEMBLE

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

Hikari is the final set of the trilogy of albums (Ongaku No Aru Fuukei and CURTAIN CALL) before the haruka nakamura PIANO ENSEMBLE go on a indefinite hiatus after their last show at the grand St Mary’s Cathedral in Tokyo on July 2017. Since the release of Ongaku No Aru Fuukei in 2014, haruka nakamura PIANO ENSEMBLE has held a tour with 17 concerts in Japan and 4 around Asia, with high profile and sold-out concerts at venues such at Memorial Cathedral of World Peace in Hiroshima, Meguro Persimmon Hall in Tokyo and Hyogo Performing Arts Center in Kobe among others. Recorded in late 2016 and early 2017, Hikari includes a new suite of pieces from evolved and fully-formed versions of the group’s favourites and also previously unrecorded items from its concert programs. The album’s repertoire is the ensemble’s most complete yet and documented at the peak of the ensemble’s form.

Part one of Hikari begins with music recorded once again at the acoustically profound sonorium hall in Tokyo. As ever, haruka nakamura’s attention to the purity and precision of each and every note is matched by counterparts ARAKI Shin (Saxophone and Flute), Akira Uchida (Saxophone), Rie Nemoto (Violin) and Isao Saito (Drums). haruka nakamura’s piano melodies might appear uncomplicated, but this transparency of sound creates a mesmerising cumulative effect with SIN representing the ensemble at its most buoyant.

Part two and the centrepiece of the album features 3 extended tracks recorded at Meguro Persimmon Hall (Tokyo), Waseda Scott Hall (Tokyo) and Lutheran Church (Fukuoka). 9-piece female choir group CANTUS, baobab and 14 year old vocalist Urara all took part in these recordings where the pieces CURTAIN CALL and title-track Hikari showcase the album’s collection of sacred hymns and spiritual high points. The ensemble is also joined by long time associate AOKI,Hayoto (guitar & harmonica) along with Hiroki Chiba (contrabass), Sakanoshita Norimasa (guitar) and Ami Misawa (cello). The album ender and new piece Todai, thereby closing a divine circuit with its concluding distances.

If music is meant to be a transporting experience, then the album Hikari is haruka nakamura PIANO ENSEMBLE at their transcendent and luminescent best.

TRACKLIST

1-1 nowhere (sonorium – Mar 11, 2017)
1-2 SIN (sonorium – Mar 11, 2017)
1-3 四月の装丁 (sonorium – Mar 11, 2017)
1-4 音楽のある風景 (sonorium – Mar 11, 2017)
2-1 光 (Meguro Persimmon Hall – Dec 11, 2016)
2-2 CURTAIN CALL (Waseda Scott Hall – Dec 23, 2016)
2-3 灯台 (Lutheran Church – Jun 18, 2016)
Bonus Track 1 – はじまりの賛美歌 (Waseda Scott Hall – Dec 23, 2016)
Bonus Track 2 – 夕べの祈り (sonorium – Mar 11, 2017)

CREDIT

haruka nakamura – Piano
ARAKI Shin – Saxophone & Flute
Akira Uchida – Soprano Saxophone
Rie Nemoto – Violin
Isao Saito – Drums
CANTUS – Chrous
Urara – Vocals
baobab – Vocals
AOKI,Hayato – Guitar & Harmonica
Hiroki Chiba – Contrabass
Sakanoshita Norimasa – Guitar
Ami Misawa – Cello