My introduction to the delights of Japanese song happened during my first visit to Japan in 1991. I learnt Karatachi no hana (Quince flower) by Kohsaku Yamada as an encore piece, after I was invited to give a couple of small concerts in Kyushu and Tokyo. The delighted reaction that I got from the audience, because I had gone to the trouble of learning one of their best-known songs in their language, was heart-warming. As such it led me to undertake further exploration of this repertoire, which comprises songs set in a Western-style manner using their most famous poems. This meant I discovered the joys of kakyoku – their version of art song and of dou-you – a kind of traditional song. I know that the wonderful orchestration created for these songs, which were originally written with piano accompaniment, lifts them to a whole new level and as such, I hope that they will appeal to a much wider audience. – Charlotte de Rothschild

Track listing:
1. Akatonbo (Red dragonfly)
Rofu Miki/Kohsaku Yamada
2. Kirito hanashita (Talking with the mist)
Tadayoshi Kamata/Yoshinao Nakada
3. Narayama (Nara mountain)
Shihoko Kitami/Kozaburo Hirai
4. Awate toko ya (The barber shop)
Hakushu Kitahara/Kohsaku Yamada (arr. Tomoko Iwakawa)
5. Haru (Spring)
Shuntaro Tanikawa/Ikuma Dan
6-9. Kaze ni yosete utaeru haru no uta (Four spring wind songs)
Rofu Miki/Kohsaku Yamada
10. Chin chin chidori (When little plovers sing at night)
Hakushu Kitahara/Hidemaro Konoe
11. Sakura yoko cho (Cherry alley)
Shuichi Katoh/Yoshinao Nakada
12. Hana wa saku (Flowers will bloom)
Shunji Iwai/Yoko Kanno
13. Natsu no omoide (When summer comes)
Shohko Ema/Yoshinao Nakada
14. Karatachi no hana (Quince flower)
Hakushu Kitahara/Kohsaku Yamada
15. Tampopo (Dandelions)
Tatsuji Miyoshi/Yoshinao Nakada
16. Jogashima no ame (Rain in Jogashima)
Hakushu Kitahara/Kohsaku Yamada
17. Ta-anki po-onki (Pond snail)
Bochoh Yamamura/Yoshinao Nakada
18. Akikaze yo (My autumn wind)
Sachie Horiuchi/Yoshinao Nakada
19. Karamatsu (A deciduous pine)
Akira Nogami/Hideo Kobayashi