Aoba's Flute Fantasy [Flute Quartet]

　This arrangement was commissioned by the Kumagaya Flute Quintet "L'Avenir," active primarily in Kumagaya City, Saitama Prefecture.
　The original song, "Aoba no Fue" (lyrics by Takeki Owada, music by Torazo Tamura), is a primary school song published in 1906 (Meiji 39). It depicts an anecdote from the Battle of Ichi-no-Tani, a Genpei War battle at the end of the Heian period, involving the great figure of Kumagaya City, Jiro Naozane Kumagaya, and the young Taira no Atsumori. The flute Atsumori, a master of the transverse flute, carried with him on the battlefield is known as the "Aoba no Fue."
　The opening flute solo and the short cadenza at the end are meant to evoke the image of a transverse flute resounding on the battlefield.
　The quintet version was first performed by the Kumagaya Flute Quintet "L'Avenir" (Seiji Suzuki, Junshin Kujumi, Shinji Hamakawa, Yasuko Mukoda, Yui Itami) at the "L'Avenir First Concert" on October 6, 2012. It was subsequently revised and a quartet version was created for publication. (Toru Kanayama)