Four Haiku (1976)
for violoncello and piano
Four Haiku was written as a Christmas gift for my youngest sister, Sally, who was a young cellist at the time. The piece was revised in 1992 to refine my original ideas and to reflect my sister’s standing as an accomplished professional performer. The desire for a musical parallel to haiku was based on my admiration of the rich imagery which can be expressed in such a short form. Since each of the pieces is an impression of one of the seasons, the four taken together comprise a miniature cycle which was inspired by the haiku below:
I
Maple Leaves
Envied by us all,
turning to such loveliness—
red leaves that fall.
Shiko
II
Winter
Mountains and plains,
all are captured by the snow—
nothing remains.
Joso
III
The Sound
Here...there...
the sound of waterfalls is heard—
young leaves everywhere.
Buson
IV
Summer Night
Summer night:
from cloud to cloud the moon
is swift in flight.
Ranko
Excerpts from An Introduction to Haiku by Harold G. Henderson, copyright © 1958 by Harold G. Henderson.
Used by permission of Doubleday, a division of Bantam, Doubleday, Dell Publishing Group, Inc.
—Robert Gibson
duration: ca. 7:00