Three Basho Haiku (SATB)
PDF score of Three Basho Haiku for unaccompanied SATB choir.
Price: $2.00/print ($2.00 per singer in your choir)
Individual movements also available for purchase
Length: 6 minutes
Difficulty: Medium Advanced
Program Note:
When I was growing up, my uncles John and Ken made constant trips back and forth to Japan. One trained in Zen Buddhism while the other studied Chinese Philosophy, married my Aunt Yoko, and began their family in Toyohashi. This was before the email age so we wrote letters back and forth and it was always an exciting day when an envelope arrived with an international stamp on it. When they returned to the states, they taught us Japanese phrases, played VHS recordings of their favorite Japanese movies and TV shows, and my Aunt dressed us up in her kimonos and taught us how to make sushi, fold origami, and eat with chopsticks. This introduction to Japanese culture led me to explore the great haiku writers such as Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson, and Chiyo-ni
I was drawn to these three haiku by their emotional content and striking natural imagery. "harvest moon" conjures the image of a large, orange moon rising in the autumn sky. "first winter rain" gently likens the ending of the year with the waning of life, prompting the search for the comfort of companionship. "this fragrance" relates the experience of a particular scent awakening emotions and memories. Thanks to my Uncle Ken and Aunt Yoko for helping me with the translations.
Three Basho Haiku is the winner of the 2021 Iowa Composers Forum/Iowa Choral Director's Association Composition Competition
Texts by Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), English translations by Lisa Neher with the assistance of Ken Harvey and Yoko Yamada
I. harvest moon
harvest moon
rising to my gate
the cresting tide
II. first winter rain
just for today
let's grow old together
first winter rain
III. this fragrance
i don't know
which tree's blossom it comes from
this fragrance