Joji Hirota

Adding his voice to the overwhelming global response to the devastating earthquake/tsunami that hit the Tohoku region of Japan in 2011, Joji Hirota has assembled this collection of folk songs to provide strength and hope to those affected. In addition to seven well-known traditional tunes, Hirota includes five children's songs, performed by a choir composed of primary school students from Tohoku, some of whom had their school destroyed in the tsunami. Accompanying the vocals is the string section of the London Metropolitan Orchestra, lending an Occidental touch to these otherwise traditionally arranged pieces and serving to bridge the division between East and West. Hirota also proves an adept musician, incorporating Japanese percussion and the shakuhachi flute. His composition, "Through the Hourglass," closes out the set; it's a delicate instrumental passage with an optimistic air that contrasts the sheer destruction wrought upon his country.