Customer Reviews

Buddhist Drums, Bells and Chants

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Back in the day when I lived in Japan, I used to love going to Kyoto on the week-ends and visiting the many great temples there. And this CD does a wonderful job of taking me back there in spirit. Recorded live on location in Kyoto, this is the real thing.

Overall, there is a good mix of different types of Japanese Buddhist music among the CD's tracks. The Zen and Pure Land (Jodo and Jodo Shinshu) schools are very well represented, along with a selection of Shingon chant. From austere temple services by the monks to devotional songs by lay pilgrims (these latter may sound a bit abrasive to the American ear at first, but eventually the shining faith within them grows on you), the range of representation is fair and avoids monotony. My only nitpick is this, that there are a great number of Shingon and Tendai temples in Kyoto (In fact, their head temples--Toji and Mount Hiei's Enryakuji--are situated there) and yet Tendai is ignored completely and Shingon gets only one track. A few more tracks from these Buddhist schools may have rounded out the CD a little better.

As for sound quality, this CD is a re-release from an old LP; nowhere on the CD does it say this but I know because I used to check the LP out from my local public library all the time back in college when I was first discovering Japan and Buddhism. Still, it's been digitally re-mastered well enough I think. So while the sound quality may not be up to today's high standards of digital refinement perhaps, still it's good enough to get the job done. So listen and be transported.

I agree that this CD conjures up memories of services one may have heard when travelling and that is why I bought it. It perfectly captures the service I attended in Kyoto. I can't comment on whether it helps with Buddhist practice since I don't practice. BUT people who haven't been to temples/don't admire Buddha might find some of it grating/annoying to Western ears.

Instrumentation in the many recordings of Buddhist chant from Japan and Korea are usually limited to a small bell or hollow, wooden, gourd-shaped percussion instruments (moktak [Korea] or mukugyoto [Japan] of various size to keep rhythm or mark divisions of chant. This CD presents are far wider assortment of instruments found among various Japanese sects: wooden clappers, serial chimes, gongs, shakuhachi flute, cymbals, and a medium drum. The great drum is absent, but the album does close with a large temple bell. I particular enjoyed track 6, Chos, with its shakuhachi, gong, and bass mukugyoto. The album is unique but very old; the digital format does not much improve the poor sound quality of the original 1970s vinyl field recordings. Hearing the instruments in person is visceral. Until a survey is produced with modern technology, this album remains the our best example of the use of percussion in Japanese Buddhist rites.

This is a fantastic CD that ought to be re-released. It's recorded live at temples in Kyoto and brings a freshness and a clarity of mind. Absolutely one of my favorite to meditate with and practice kata!