Three Haiku

I would like to thank the teacher who first introduced me to Japanese Haiku poetry, along with another teacher who invited each member of my high school Psychology class to bring a piece of music that had personal significance. One of my classmates brought “Japanese Koto Classics”, (Nonesuch H 72008), opening up a whole new world of music for me! I rushed out to special-order the record so I could listen to it again! My heartfelt gratitude goes to teachers everywhere who may never know how significant their work may be to the lives of their students!

My Three Haiku” poems are meant to honour the Japanese tradition, including syllable count, themes about nature, and a little surprise or twist in the third line of each poem.

The piano in “Three Haiku” is meant to evoke the sound of the koto, and the flute to be reminiscent of the Japanese wooden flute. Any choir that has access to a harpist or koto player is invited to use these instruments instead of the piano. A wooden flute would certainly add another dimension of authenticity!

“Three Haiku” realized by Cantāmus Vocaloids.

Cypress Choral Music publishes the SSA and SATB versions of Three Haiku.
The SSAA choir version is available for purchase directly from the composer using the Contact page. Please order a copy for each choir member, plus one for your conductor and one for your accompanist.

Full SSAA score (pdf with license): $2.00 / copy
A free SSAA score (with some redactions) is available for preview