Life in a Day
for shakuhachi and harp
(2007)
duration: 8’
GRT • 132
score available from
Australian Music
Centre
program note
Life in a
Day was
commissioned by Riley Lee for the 2008 World Shakuhachi
Festival (Sydney) with assistance from the Music Board of
the Australia Council for the Arts. It exploits the natural
tuning of the shakuhachi but also seeks to re–contextualise
its cultural association through the influence of
contemporary jazz and lounge styles. The piece is a true
duet, both shakuhachi and harp featuring separately but
often closely interwoven. The music is at turns elated and
introspective but ultimately assumes a sense of urgency as
the end nears.
review
“Renown harpist Marshall
McGuire and shakuhachi grandmaster, Riley Lee took to the
stage performing Life in a Day by Stuart Greenbaum. A contemporary
approach to a traditional instrument, Riley Lee transported
the shakuhachi into a world of jazz nuances and lounge
influences.”
Allison Gumbleton, Aprap, December 2009