DUO EN: Store
Questions? Contact Duo En at: en (at) duoen.com
Moonviewing - Perfect for the meditative spirit...
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CLICK HERE to buy the CD for just $12.97 at CD Baby! (You can also listen to samples or download the music!) If you've never listened to Japanese music...listen to this. If you've listened to a lot of Japanese music...listen to this. The beauty of cherry blossoms bathed in silver moonlight, lanterns drifting on water and the sounds of nightfall, elegantly evoked by the Japanese shakuhachi bamboo flute and the silken strings of the koto. Duo En takes their music beyond traditional borders without losing sight of its roots, and the listener is richly rewarded with something as intimate and warm as it is ancient and exotic. |
"I am a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar." This quality of Japanese music is on display throughout Moonviewing; the music carries you with it, not by force per se, but by you becoming one with it, if one surrenders to it, the way a leaf surrenders to the wind.
Rating: Very Good + - Bill Binkelman, New Age Reporter
Read the in-depth review by Bill Binkelman, New Age Reporter!
If you buy one album of Japanese music to start your journey into this wonderful medium, I'd recommend this one. Koto and Shakuhachi are beautiful together, these are classic and wonderful songs, and En Duo will transport you to a mystic place in your mind's eye. - Joanna Daneman, Amazon Top 10 Reviewer
Read the in-depth review by this AMAZON TOP TEN REVIEWER!
This atmospheric CD is both haunting and enchanting, like the full moon in a velvet black sky. Of special note are the compositions by Falconer/Falconer; the sound of shakuhachi and koto weave together to make magic. - J. Shontz, CD Baby
This CD is wonderful. Whether you are a fan of tradtional Japanese music or experimental American music, I promise you will be impressed. John and Elizabeth never disappoint." - Roger Shimomura
The CD includes both traditional works and original pieces: Moonlit Garden, Kojo no Tsuki (Moon Over Castle Ruins), Floating Leaves, Ancient Pine, Call of the Cranes, Sakura, Sakura (Cherry Blossom Song), Meditations on Rokudan. Performed by the Duo EN. Total time: 57:37.
- Buy the CD or download it at CD Baby!
- This CD is just $12.97!
Spell of Spring: Selected Works of Sawai Tadao (Volume I) - A Very Special Release!
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CLICK HERE to buy the CD for just $12.97 at CD Baby! (You can also listen to samples or download the music!) "Meditative without being mushy; rhythmic sections as well as slow streams of notes create a calming, otherworldly atmosphere." - The Stranger, Seatte Some of the most dramatic and compelling music of the great composer and koto virtuoso Sawai Tadao. This is a very special release of the the only collection of Sawai's works to be recorded in the U.S. It includes koto and shakuhachi duos and a stunning duet for koto and violin with guest artist Tari Nelson-Zagar as well as solo koto and bass koto works. |
The CD includes: Song of the Wind (Kaze no Uta) for koto and shakuhachi; Like a Bird (Tori No Yo Ni) for solo koto; Singing Sand (Naki Suna Yo) for violin and koto; Spell of Spring (Haru no Gotoku) for koto and shakuhachi; Fireflies (Hotaru) for solo bass koto. Performed by Duo EN with special guest Tari Nelson-Zagar. Total time: 51:12.
- Buy it or download it at CD Baby!
- Just $12.97!
EN: AFFINITY - Duo En's Debut CD!
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CLICK HERE to buy the CD for just $12.97 at CD Baby! (You can also listen to samples or download the music!) EN means "Affinity" and this husband-wife duo have an affinity for Japanese music based on years of study in Japan. Award-winning artist Elizabeth Falconer (koto) and John Falconer (shakuhachi bamboo flute) perform original compositions and well-known pieces from Japan, as well as their own arrangements of American spirituals, a romantic classical work, and a lilting Cuban melody. Reaching beyond the style of "meditation music," this is an utterly refreshing take on the versatile sounds of these traditional Japanese instruments. |
"A subtle, gorgeous album..." Sound Roots
The CD includes: Enigma, Whispering Trees, Silver River, Spring Sea, Danza Lucumi, Sukiyaki Song, Amazing Grace/Swing Low, Lost Lake Reflections, Scarborough Fair, Je Crois Encore Entendre, Nightingale's Return. Performed by Duo En.
「松の木ときらめく星、そして木の葉をゆらすそよ風」−Amazon Top 10
ENは日本の音楽の魅力に引かれ、長く日本で学ん だ夫婦によるデュオ。琴を担当するのは受賞経験もあるエリザベス・ファルコナー。尺八を演奏するジョン・ファルコナーは自作曲のほか、アメリカの霊歌をア レンジしたものやロマンチックなクラシック曲、また軽快なキューバのメロディーをも披露する。
彼らの音楽は、「瞑想音楽」を超え、新しい伝統的な日本の楽器の魅力を映し出す。シアトルを拠点として活動するエリザベスとジョンは日本語を学び始めた1974年に知り合う。お互いに惹かれあうと同時に日本にも傾倒する。ふたりは12年以上を日本で過ごし、日本の音楽を学んだ。
その頃からアメリカと日本でツアーを行い、自作曲やアレンジ曲とともに日本の伝統音楽を演奏する。日本の音楽や文化に対する彼らの愛情は温かでインスピレーションにあふれた演奏にあらわれている。ENは日本、音楽、そして 互いの存在にゆかりを持つデュオである。If you are buying in Japan, you can now purchase EN: AFFINITY at CD Jam!
- Buy the CD or download it at CD Baby!
- This CD is just $12.97!
Winter Cranes - Soothing Solstice Music...
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CLICK HERE to buy the CD for just $12.97 at CD Baby! (You can also listen to samples or download the music!) "A fresh and unusual holiday album rich with quiet beauty." -Spin the Globe Review Tidings of Peace from Duo En. Japanese shakuhachi (bamboo flute) and the 13-string koto (harp) offer acoustic music of replenishing calm and hope. Heartfelt and refreshing arrangements of melodies new and old are presented for listeners of all ages and places in the spirit of peace. Listen to sound samples on our listening page. |
- Buy the CD or download it at CD Baby!
- This CD is just $12.97!
Stirring Autumn- Selected Works of Sawai Tadao, Vol. II
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CLICK HERE to buy the CD for just $12.97 at CD Baby! (You can also listen to samples or download the music!) Elegant and passionate works by the great composer and koto virtuoso Sawai Tadao. This is volume two of a very special release of the the only collection of Sawai's works to be recorded in the U.S. It includes a koto and shakuhachi duo and Elizabeth performing koto with Seattle's goddess of shamisen Marcia Takamura and singer extraordinaire Jessika Kenney. Sixteen-year old kotoist Brian Falconer also plays an energetic solo on this recording. |
The CD includes: Yureru Aki (Stirring Autumn) for voice and koto; Sanka (Song of Praise) for koto solo; Ginga (Milky Way) for shamisen and koto; Manjushaka (Equinox Flowers) for solo koto; and Hana (Floursh) for shakuhachi and koto, performed by Duo En. Total time: 48:26.
- Buy it at CD Baby for $12.97!
- Stirring Autumn Lyrics
- You can find the title song and the translation here.
OTHER KOTO WORLD CDS YOU WILL ENJOY... - Chocolate Suite - Japanese Music for Chocolate Lovers
 | At last....Japanese music for chocolate lovers! Delicious music that melts in your ears...written by Elizabeth, inspired by her son Brian's love of chocolate. Warm, uplifting koto duos performed by Brian and Elizabeth. You don't have to practice Zen meditation - or even be potty-trained - to enjoy this! Winner of an iParenting Media "Hottest Product of 2004" Award and Parents' Choice Recommended Award! |
Isshin: Emerging - Music for Japanese Koto
 | This CD celebrates the emergence of the Japanese koto as an instrument of universal appeal, and features works by much-loved contemporary Japanese composers Sawai Tadao, Miki Minoru, Nagasawa Katsutoshi, and Yuize Shin'ichi. It also includes a work written for bass koto by Robin Williamson, and a work by Elizabeth Falconer. "I simply selected my all-time favorite pieces," says Falconer, who began playing koto in 1979 and studied under Sawai during her 12 years in Japan. "These pieces speak to me - they are very melodic and artful, with a sense of tradition about them that reaches out to us through the ages." This is a re-release of the 1997 Music and Arts recording. |
Deep Pool - Koto Solos Inpsired by an Art Exhibition
 | Meditative Koto Solos. Best Solo Instrumental Album Award from Just Plain Folks Music Awards! "Listening closely brings joy to our own existence." Joe Ross, CD Baby Reviewer |
Island Dreams - songs and lullabies carried on the wind
 | Acoustic music from Japan, Okinawa, Hawai'i, and beyond; as uplifting and nurturing as an ocean breeze. Performed by Dragonfly: Aiko Shimada , vocals and guitars; Elizabeth Falconer, koto; and introducing Mako, Okinawan sanshin, vocals, and ukulele. Winner of a 2004 NAPPA Gold Award, an iParenting Media Award and a Parents' Choice Approved Award! |
Oyasumi - Goodnight: Japanese Lullabies and Restful Melodies
 | Japanese lullabies for all ages, sung by Aiko Shimada, with koto accompaniment by Elizabeth Falconer. "Carries listeners to a place of quiet and enfolding peace." Winner of both Parents' Choice and NAPPA Gold Awards! Recommended by PBS Parents! Nominated for Best Asian Ethnic/Language Album of 2004 by Just Plain Folks Music Award. |
Water Colors - New Music for Koto
 | This collection of pieces by Pacific Northwest composers captures the evocative beauty of the instrument as it celebrates nature, water, and the sound of plucked strings. At once modern and steeped in Japanese tradition, this is the perfect music for a rainy afternoon. |
- Available at Sparkling Beatnik
- (An eclectic site of Japanese music.)