Customer Reviews

The Gate

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"The Gate" is simply extraordinary. Hirota is equally at home with flutes, strings, and drums, and it shows. Intoxicating, powerful drumming fills the spaces between the orchestral string and flute pieces, and his plaintive, lonely voice can be heard atop a several of the tracks.

A spirit of tradition and an ancient feel persists throughout the disc, despite the modern arrangements and high-quality production.

A definite highlight is "Komori Uta," a old lullaby sung as a duet with Joji and an 8-year-old child. Beautiful.

Highly recommended.

"The Gate" is an unique and beautiful tapestry. Peaceful but melancholic flutes & strings balance against powerful, intoxicating drums of celebration. On some tacks, Hirota's plaintive voice lifts the music to another level.

The lullaby Komori Uta (Track #4) is a duet with Hirota himself and an 8-year-old child, with awesomely beautiful results.

Highly recommended.

Beautiful Japanese melodies for flute and orchestra. The vocal and flute pieces are very emotional.

- It is Zamfir done right?

Well, its definitely more than that. I could imagine this gracing the aural side of an Akira Kurosawa film. Too bad we're not going to see that. :(

I have to admit that it was "Reminiscences II" that initially grabbed my attention and shut my eyes in tranquility when I first previewed this cd at a local Borders bookstore. (after a tedious search of cd misses)

There's something so beautiful about coupling traditional Asian music with lush orchestration and strings and this is done well on "The Gate".

Check out the Three Seasons soundtrack or David Parsons' Ngaio Gamelan cd for more of this sort of bliss. Maybe you'd get into Putomayo's "Music from the Tea Lands" as well.

I rated this cd 3 stars because contrary to the publicist's opinion, I feel that the drum tracks in the middle break the trance. They would have sounded better near the end.

But considering how penetrating the other tracks are, the flow of the journey would have been most tranquil without them.

After getting beyond the first track, I found the real gem to be "Esashi Oiwake". I say this because it touches me in the same way that vocals on the Three Seasons soundtrack manage to command humility and serenity.

Overall, this is a very nice addition to my collection of alleviating music.

"The Gate" by Joji Hirota has recently become one of my most favorite works. The tempo is storied; just as one finds bits of sound, notes, a respite to linger upon, perhaps a rest. Perhaps likeable, enjoyable. I look forward to seeing the inspiration, and very soon!

The Gate bridges Japanese traditional forms with a Romantic classical vision, most obviously in the pieces where a string quartet is enlisted to play folkloric melodies. For the most part, the album beautifully unfolds Hirota's view of nature as being the cradle of humans (rather than our enemy), but on the last half of the disc, synthetic keyboard strings mar the overall sound. But Hirota's percussion workouts help balance this clumsiness with what is ultimately the most subtle manifestation of his philosophy.