Working within an education
environment, I have had the opportunity to use a number of world pieces from
Africa, Asia and Central America with the students. By studying both the vocal and instrumental
scores I have gained valuable knowledge about a number of world styles. However, my great passion for Japanese
culture led me to use this exercise to further explore a style of traditional
Japanese music.
Much like any genre
of music, traditional Japanese music can be split into a number of
categories. Japanese Traditional Music (2002) [online] describes 9 different
categories as Gagaku, Shomyo, Biwa, Yokyoku, Joruri, Kabuki, Utaimono and
Katarimono. Each of these styles carries
their own individual properties from storytelling to Imperial Court music, and
each uses a variety of different instruments and techniques. However, there are many other forms of
traditional music from this region. For
the purposes of this exercise, I have chosen to focus on a style called
Noh.
The-noh.com (n.d.) [online] describes Noh as:
“a
total art form comprised of drama, music and dance elements.”
Noh is a form of traditional Japanese musical theatre, performed by men
playing both male and female roles.
Music, drama and dance play integral roles in performances, and costumes
and masks are also one of the main features.
Music for these performances is performed by a group of musicians called
‘hayashi’. The-noh.com (n.d.) [online]
describes the hayashi role as not an accompaniment to the performers, but of
equal importance.
The-noh.com (n.d.)[online] describes four instruments
played by the hayashi, collectively known as Shibyoshi. The Shibyoshi is made up of the fue (flute),
otsuzumi (hip drum), kotsuzumi (shoulder drum) and the taiko (stick drum). Vocals also play a large role in not only the
performance, but in keeping the rhythm in absence of the drums.
Even within the ‘Noh’ genre, there are a number of different types and
styles, but I was able to find a
number of examples on Spotify, which I have detailed below.
The Kyoto Nohgaku Kai – Kagura
– found on Spotify
Both the flute and drums play a large part in this piece, giving a
flowing and gentle feel to the composition.
There is a slight sense of the piece being somehow ‘aloof’ at the
beginning, with seemingly random drums beats and dissonant and piercing tones
of the fue. However, as this piece
develops, the rhythm becomes clearer and vocals are introduced. Unlike the formula in many western pieces of
music, there seemed to be no sense of crescendo or development to the
piece. From the beginning to end, the
level and intensity of the sound remain very similar.
Sakurama Kintaro – Noh:
Yashima – found of Spotify
In contrast to the last piece, this composition features vocals and a
simple rattle, which sounds throughout.
The deep tones of the vocals give an almost ‘eerie’ and slightly ominous
feel to this piece. Much like the last
composition, I felt that the music remained constant, lacking the dramatic
techniques seen in western musical theatre.
The minimalism of this style of music has inspired a number of western
composers, such as Benjamin Britten’s children’s opera Curlew River (1964). When listening to pieces from the score of
this opera, the minimal style of Noh is evident throughout. Whilst listening to the score I noticed quite
number of similarities to Noh and chose to specifically look at ‘I am the Ferryman’.
Britten – Curlew River,
Op.71 – “I am the Ferryman” – found of Spotify
Throughout this composition the vocals and drums play the integral role,
and although the vocals more closely resemble that of a western opera, the
minimalistic style clearly echoes the ancient Japanese style.
Olivier Messiaen also was greatly inspired by the Noh style and
developed a series of ‘Japanese sketches’: Sept haikai (1962), which
used traditional western instruments ‘stylised’ to sound like those
traditionally found in Noh. I found the
suite a very interesting take on the Noh style and chose to look a ‘4. Gagaku’.
Messiaen – Sept
Haikai – 4. Gagaku – found on Spotify
The strings and
woodwind section in this piece provide a slightly dissonant sound reminiscent
of that of The Kyoto Nohgaku Kai’s Kagura. This dissonance smooths out later in the
piece before a crescendo with large horn sections. Despite the minimalistic similarities to Noh
and the stylised instruments, I found the main contrast to be the ‘drama’ and
‘movement’ of the music. As described
earlier, the Noh styles seem to offer a more constant and calm nature, whilst
the western influences of Britten and Messiaen provide a more dramatic melodic
and harmonic motion.
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