Kokiriko alla Marcia

Kokiriko alla Marcia was composed for the national sports competition in Toyama (Japan) in 2000. It contains elements of Toyama's folk music. Kokiriko is a traditional Japanese percussion instrument. It consists of two about 25 cm long bamboo sticks with a diameter of 2 to 3 cm, which are played like the western claves. Since cociricos are difficult to obtain even in Japan, claves are an ideal replacement. In KOKIRIKO ALLA MARCIA two more traditional percussion instruments are used: Bohzasara and Zasara. Bohzasara is also called Surizasara: Of two pieces of wood about 30 cm long, one is notched and the other is split into thinner tips at the top. Now scrape the split piece along the one with the notches. There is no similar western instrument; the composer recommends the Guiro as an alternative, as its sound still comes closest to the desired one. Zasara or Binzasara consists of 108 pieces of wood (a very important number in Buddhism), which look like large dominoes and are tied together in a kind of chain. When the two handles are moved at the ends of this chain, the juxtaposed pieces of wood produce a clattering noise. With the large guiro, this sound can be generated in a similar way. The sounds of these instruments take the listeners directly to distant Japan.