Ensemble Nipponia - Kabuki and other Traditional Music

Miyata Kōhachirō
Elektra Nonesuch Records - 9 72084-2
1995, 1980

Track	Titel	Kanji	Länge	Künstler
1	Echigojishi (nagauta)	越後獅子	03'50
	Echigojishi is a lyrical piece about a provincial entertainer who makes his living in the city streets performing a folk-style lion dance. A flute-and-drum ensemble sets the festive atmosphere and then provides a back-drop against which two shamisen play the prelude and then the famous sarashi duet which, when danced, features two long white streamers whirled about by the dancer in a spectacular display that rivals the virtuosity of the musicians.
2	Ataka no Matsu	安宅の松	03'27
	This lovely popular tune was adapted by Fujita for the nagauta dance version heard here. Ordinarily, a vocalist is featured, but for this recording his part has been omitted in order to spotlight the delicate relationship between flute and shamisen-particularly appropriate, since the text of the song describes how the flute serves as an expressive outlet for a lonely lover.
3	Musume Dojoji	娘道成寺	05'04
	The Maiden at the Dojo Temple Musume Dojoji is one of the great dance-dramas of the kabuki stage. The ancient legend of a young woman possessed by unrequited love provides the framework for a series of solo dances that take the girl from innocence, through frustration, to her transformation into a vengeful serpent-demon. In this performance, three excerpts are linked. The first is a tama (jewel), improvised by the lead shamisen against the accompanying ground patterns of the second shamisen, a flute, and percussion. The second is a wistful song that demonstrates the characteristic relationship between shamisen and voice; here, the flute follows the melody much more closely than in Ataka no Matsu or Echigo jishi. The final excerpt is a true display of shamisen virtuosity.
4	Kanjincho	勧進帳	10'17
	The Subscription List The entrance music of the two hand-drums and flute (just after the kabuki-style flute-and-taiko curtain opening), evokes the gravity of a Noh performance. The introductory vocal, also in the style of the Noh, sets the scene of mountain priests on a journey (the shamisen interlude that follows is perhaps descriptive of that journey). The concluding excerpt from Kanjincho skips the central plot developments and moves directly to the rousing finale, a kind of victory celebration. Two instrumental interludes are heard here: the first, an expression of joyful intoxication, leads into a sung passage praising the purity and eternal plenty of waterfalls; the second, the famous taki nagashi. Depicts a waterfall's boundless energy. The final vocal section expresses the relief of the travelers as, inspired and re-invigorated by their experience, they resume their journey.
5	Sagari Ha (Nezasa Ha)	下り葉 (根笹)	05'44	Shakuhachi: Miyata Kōhachirō Shakuhachi: Mitsuhashi Kifu
	The Sound of Wind Through the Bamboo Leaves One of the most distinctive of the purely instrumental traditions is that of the shakuhachi. A vertical bamboo flute which, like the shamisen, became prominent during the Edo period (1615-1868). Whereas the shamisen eventually found its life among the townspeople, the shakuhachi belonged first to komuso priests of the Fuke (Zen) sect, and later was shared with ex-samurai who used it as both a club and a musical instrument; between 1759 and 1868 it was forbidden to any but these two groups. Shirabe-Sagariha belongs to the classical shakuhachi tradition, called honkyoku (original music), specifically to the Nezasa-ha branch. Which was founded by a head of the Tsugaru clan. The inward, meditative nature of the honkyoku repertory, and the geographical isolation of the groups that transmitted it, resulted in the development of different versions of the same pieces. It is in the spirit of this freedom of interpretation that the present performance embellishes a solo piece with an improvised part for a second shakuhachi. The piece evokes the sound of wind blowing through bamboo leaves. It is preceded by a short introduction which serves not only as warm-up for the performer but also as purification of the instrument itself.
6	Atsumori		07'24
	The biwa - a plucked, pear-shaped lute with four or five strings - is a seminal force in Japanese music, standing at the head of the great narrative tradition. Originally part of the gagaku court orchestra which came from the mainland to Japan in the 7th century, the biwa later was used by itinerant Buddhist monks as an aid to their chanting of sutras and narration of parables. The biwa has influenced the development of shamisen music, and its tales have flowed into the plays of noh, bunraku, and kabuki. In the 13th century, the biwa became the prime vehicle for narration of the great military epic, the Tale of Heike, one episode of which is given here. Atsumori tells of the tragic death of a young Heike warrior at the hands of Kumagai, an older Genji warrior. This excerpt takes the story up to the point where Atsumori and Kumagai face one another at the water's edge. The scene is set both in words and descriptive music. The early morning wind off Suma bay is simulated in a long shimmering tremolo. After a short interlude, the text tells of a defeated Heike warship in the distance. Following the next interlude, Kumagai appears, searching the beach for a worthy opponent. A portentous biwa tremolo: he spots Atsumori heading into the water after his ship: Kumagai calls him back to do battle. The excerpt concludes with an instrumental depiction of Atsumori kicking his way through the surf to meet his opponent and death.
7	Hanayagi	華やぎ	06'24
	The Greening This contemporary composition features a 20-string koto - a modern version of the traditional 13-string koto-developed in 1969 by the composer in collaboration with Keiko Nosaka. The piece is the fifth in Miki's Ballades for Koto Solo, Vol. II. a cycle that depicts the various phases of the spring. Hanayagi describes the period when spring passes into summer - when the trees and plants approach the height of their vitality.
8	Satto	颯踏	06'05
	The Wind Dance This composition gives modern expression to a spirit at least as ancient as the instruments on which it is played - the spirit of the Shinto Festival. Satto is a technical term referring to a medium-fast movement in dance compositions of the ancient court, but it was the impressionist sound of the term, rather than its literal meaning, that attracted the composer to this title.