Sanctuary

Sanctuary

Claudio Jacomucci, accordion Japanese-born composer Akemi Naito claims that her initial attraction to the accordion was its timbral similarity to the traditional Japanese sho. But the sho, a mouth organ related to similar instruments in China, Laos and northern Thailand, goes back centuries before free reed instruments were developed in the West. So don’t expect… Read more »

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NewMusicBox Staff

Claudio Jacomucci, accordion

Japanese-born composer Akemi Naito claims that her initial attraction to the accordion was its timbral similarity to the traditional Japanese sho. But the sho, a mouth organ related to similar instruments in China, Laos and northern Thailand, goes back centuries before free reed instruments were developed in the West. So don’t expect a polka or a tarantella here. Instead, Naito takes advantage of the accordion’s power to sustain pitches to create an ethereal web of harmonies.

—FJO