Malika Kishino – Naki-Ryu (Flutter Echo) (2018) for oboe solo
Peter Veale, oboe
Janet Sinica, video
Daniel Seitz, sound design
I always found Malika Kishino’s sound world to be fascinating and vibrant. We recorded her Rayons Crépusculaires (2007 / 2008) in 2013 at DLF with Ensemble Musikfabrik and I have conducted her chamber piece kaum einen Hauch with Studio Musikfabrik. I was very happy for this piece to be commissioned by Ensemble Musikfabrik in our round of Solo pieces and to have the chance to research a lot of new material in regular work sessions over an extended period with her. The title Naki-ryu refers to an acoustical phenomenon called a flutter echo that some Japanese temples have. It literally translates from the Japanese as “roaring dragon”.
Malika wrote: “When one stands just under the domed ceiling that features a large painting of a dragon in clouds, and you clap your hands or produce any other sharp noise, you hear the sound reverberating between the ceiling and the floor, echoing throughout the hall, as if the dragon were answering the call of the clapping hands with a rattling murmur.”
I find this piece to be absolutely unique amongst the entire oboe repertoire. It has energy and a wonderful way of utilizing both the charged multiphonics sounds and later very soft and delicate double harmonics and timbre fingerings.
Peter Veale, June 2020