Reflections of Japan is the companion sheet music collection for Christine Brown’s 2026 album by the same name. All thirteen pieces from the recording are included, transcribed to match the recordings as closely as possible. The music was inspired by Christine’s travels and reflect “the peaceful rhythm, quiet stillness and soothing whispers of Japan.” I started reviewing Christine’s music more than twenty years ago and she immediately became one of my favorite pianist/composers - and still is! Warm, expressive and overflowing with grace, her playing style expresses so much. Her songbooks and sheet music are always very well done and allow other pianists to get very close to the music, perhaps adding their own expressive touches and interpretations to it. The pieces aren’t difficult, and I would put most of them at an upper-intermediate to early-advanced playing level. As would be expected, the pieces vary somewhat in levels of advancement, but they are all worth the effort to learn to play them!

I am reviewing the digital edition of the songbook and haven’t seen the physical book which is spiral-bound. I played the music on my 8.5”x11” iPad and found it easy to read and clear. I didn’t find any reaches of more than an octave. Metronome settings are included and most of the expression and playing instructions are in English.

The Reflections of Japan songbook is available as a spiral-bound printed book as well as a download, and individual pieces are also available to download from Christine’s website. I’ve really enjoyed my time with this sheet music and give it both thumbs up!

The titles of the pieces, the key(s) they are in, and the number of pages are:

Whispering Cherry Blossoms - Key of Ab (4 flats) - 5 pages
Echoes of Kyoto - Key of D minor (1 flat) - 6 pages
Roots and Wings - Key of Db (4 flats) - 5 pages
Garden Waltz - Key of E (4 sharps) - 5 1/2 pages
Sakura Rain - Key of F minor (4 flats) - 5 1/2 pages
Maiko Dance - Key of E (4 sharps) - 3 pages
Soul of the Keys - Key of G minor (2 flats) - 3 pages
Bamboo Breeze - Key of D minor (1 flat) - 3 1/2 pages
Quiet Rituals - Key of Gm (2 flats) - 4 pages
Beneath Fuji’s Gaze - Key of C# minor (4 sharps) - 4 1/2 pages
Ancient Reflections - Key of F# minor (3 sharps) - 4 pages
Mountains in the Mist - Key of F minor (4 flats) - 6 pages
Path of Tranquility - Key of A (3 sharps) - 4 pages