Sacred Song Book II

Five songs for voice and piano, c.13'00.  Advanced level of difficulty.

This second book of “sacred songs” focuses on the poetry of Ryōkan Taigu (1758-1831). Ryōkan was a Japanese Soto Zen Buddhist monk, calligrapher, and poet who lived much of his adult life as a wandering hermit. From 1804-1816 he lived in a small, one-room abandoned hut on Mt. Kugami where he wrote some of his most well known poetry.
Although a Zen poet, his poetry deviates from the forms and style of classical Zen poetry through its more freely structured verses and its profoundly personal tone. These poems are filled with laughter, fun, and friendship as much as they are the serene beauty of nature and the profound tenants of Zen philosophy thus embodying precisely the precepts of Zen. His informal nature, fondness of the village children with whom he frequently played, and general lack of seriousness one might expect from a Zen Buddhist monk, earned him the nickname “Great Fool,” a nickname he wore proudly.

Butterflies and Flowers 
Where I live 
What I offer you 
In the cool depths of night 
Snowfall 

Composed 2025

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• Sacred Song Book II - sheet music

ISMN 9790673148109

$25.00 for instant digital download of score.