Hōfu Odori Paraphrase [Clarinet Trio]

The "Hofu Odori" (commonly known as "Hofu Ondo"), a song danced during the Bon Festival in Hofu City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, was arranged for clarinet trio at the request of the 35th Clarinet Festival in Yamaguchi Executive Committee. The composer, Atsushi Suzuki, also from Hofu City, has many hit songs including "Koyubi no Omoide" and "Yottsu no Onegai." While the original song is in the Ondo style, I attempted an arrangement and composition using only the melody. The middle section was newly created from the initial melodic sequence. Although this song is largely unknown outside of Hofu citizens within Yamaguchi Prefecture, I hope it will be widely performed as a new chamber music piece with a Japanese-style melody. It was premiered in December 2018 at the 35th Clarinet Festival in Yamaguchi by Mieko Harada, Erina Honma, and Toru Kanayama.