A.Air 19

The fourth piece in a pentalogy devoted to emotions of flower viewing. It was performed in RY760? for the pleasure of a House V'neef gathering within the Garden of Grapes for the season's first cherry blossoms. The rhapsody was composed and performed by Lady Ledaal Shinjo on the guqin, the "scholar of instruments", playing against a small mortal orchestra.

Composed in three movements, the first and third are joyful arrangements displaying the talents of Lady Mahara's best mortal talents; the former welcomes guests and members of the family to the gardens. In the second, slower movement the guqin stands central, aching for the promised moment, anticipating it in sonorous waves and ebbs. The orchestral accompaniment is a mere scattering of single notes, fitful and restless. The third movement arrives with the pink sakura opening, the scattered petal notes finally joining together in harmonies barely hinted at before.