Thought Distillery

Continuing on my recent interest in worldly music, I ventured across the Pacific on Sunday to land my ears upon the island of Japan. Playing at the Indiana University Mathers Museum was Master Baisho Matsumoto and Molly Adkins Jeon, a Japanese folksinger and ethnomusicologist. Master Matsumoto enthralled the small audience with his jovial personality and mostly with his amazing shamisen and shakuhachi playing. For the uninitiated, these instruments are a 3-stringed lute and a bamboo flute respectively. Now I must say that I had heard recordings of the shamisen plenty of times before (especially in my ethnomusicology course), and the instrument’s sound just didn’t do much for me. However, to hear and see this instrument played live completely rattled my ears and sent delightful tingles up my spine! The harsh tones of the strings and rhythmic slapping of the plectrum upon the shamisen body filled the small room and danced around everyone like playful ghosts of ancient times past. It was impossible not to be absorbed by these foreign yet inviting sounds!

The performance itself was but 45 minutes and was just a mere teaser for the official shows playing this weekend at the Waldron Arts Center. If you are in the area, check it out - you won’t be disappointed!