Nihon no Uta Kono Hyaku-nen (English) / Concert Hall ATM

1-6-8 Goken-cho, Mito-shi, Ibaraki-ken, 310-0063 Japan

Mail to: webstaff@arttowermito.or.jp
Phone: (029) 227-8111 / Fax: (029) 227-8110
For reservations, please call at (029) 231-8000

TENTH ANNIVERSARY, ART TOWER MITO

Nihon no Uta Kono Hyaku-nen (Japanese Songs over the Past Century)

I. Evolution of "Kakyoku" (Classical Japanese Songs)
(1) Period of Genesis
(2) Period of Succession/Transition
(3) Modern Era
II. Songs by Poets - Solo and Choral
III. Voices of Oral Tradition - Japanese Songs

Where did Japanese songs come from?

The daily lives of the Japanese people are filled with songs in the native language -- from "kakyoku" (classical Japanese songs) and "gasshokyoku" (choral works) to "kayokyoku" (popular Japanese songs) and "enka" (popular ballads) all clothed in colorful garb. But we are not necessarily very knowledgeable about where those songs came from. Only a century or so ago, Western music crashed ashore on Japan like a giant wave. How did the Japanese people confront that music and shape it into something they could call their own?

Japanese Songs over the Past Century

Three planning coordinators at Art Tower Mito have traced the source of Japanese songs, each using a different perspective. They will take you on a trip that lets you encounter songs both favorite and new, sung for over a century. It should turn out to be a trip that explores the roots of the Japanese soul -- something that has become hard to discern as of late.

My Thoughts on "Japanese Songs over the Past Century"
Ryosuke Hatanaka (Director, Concert Hall ATM, Art Tower Mito)

No Japanese person would fail to recognize the song, "Kojo no Tsuki" (Moon over Castle Ruins), by Rentaro Taki.
That song -- the first Japanese "kakyoku" (classical song) -- has been powerful enough to strike the hearts of foreigners as well, with its melody having even been incorporated into a Russian Orthodox hymn. Rentaro Taki composed it in 1900 (publishing it in 1901), at the young age of 21. That makes it exactly one century old this year. During that era, when Western composition techniques were not yet fully mastered in Japan, Taki underwent a great struggle of trial and error in his efforts to send modern Japanese music on its way. He died at the age of 23 years and 10 months, having only partially accomplished his dreams.

However, the new path that he charted was in turn taken up by Kosaku Yamada, who guided Japanese music into a golden age. Along with Kiyoshi Nobutoki and Kunihiko Hashimoto and others, he helped create the "mountain range" of Japanese songs.

This year, as we welcome a full century of Japanese songs, Art Tower Mito also celebrates its 10th anniversary. Of the various special events planned for the year, then, "Japanese Songs over the Past Century," is perhaps the most fitting. We have planned five separate installments in the series, covering not just solo songs but also choral works, the latter being handled by the planning coordinators Shin'ichiro Ikebe and Michio Mamiya. With the scope of the new project thus being enlarged, we have enlisted our best staff and best cast, so to speak, in its production. While each installment is enjoyable in and of itself, we in the production staff recommend that you attend all five parts for the most rewarding experience.

I. Evolution of "Kakyoku" (Classical Japanese Songs) -- (1) Period of Genesis
Planned, produced, and emceed by Ryosuke Hatanaka

While the man really responsible for establishing the genre of Japanese kakyoku (classical songs) was Kosaku Yamada (1886-1965), he was preceded by several other composers who were active in the early period of the field, starting with Rentaro Taki (1879-1903), mentioned above. They include Nagayo Motoori, Sada Harita, Shimpei Nakayama, Ryutaro Hirota, Haseo Sugiyama, Tamezo Narita, Tadasuke Ono, Hidemaro Konoe, and Kiyoshi Nobutoki (1887-1965).
Other noteworthy composers who will be introduced this time are Kosuke Komatsu and Kiyomi Fujii, making for a total of ten.
Carefully selected songs from this period will be sung and performed by well-known singers and pianists. Come and enjoy.

April 22 (Sat) 4:00 p.m.
Performers: Charlotte de Rothschild (soprano), Katsura Nakazawa (soprano), Ikuo Oshima (baritone), Yoshio Tsukada (piano)
Venue: Concert Hall ATM, Art Tower Mito
Ticket fee:
A ¥3,500 per individual concert
B ¥2,500 per individual concert
~~5-ticket Series Pass ¥15,000 (A seating)~~ Sorry, sold out.
All seats reserved. Tickets now on sale.

II. Songs by Poets Solo and Choral
Planned, produced and emceed by Shin'ichiro Ikebe.

Songs are always accompanied by words -- except for scat songs, that is typically the case, and is perfectly natural. Songs in the Japanese language traditionally went well with such rhythms as 5/7/5/7/7 and 3/3/7. It was only after the beginning of the Meiji Period (1868-1910) that a new style of poetry appeared. In order to trace Japanese songs over the past century, then, we first have to look at what happened before that time.

Then we will look at the past 100 years, particularly the words penned by Shuntaro Tanikawa, whom you all know. How have composers dealt with words since the Meiji period? We will let the poets' eyes speak.
This concert will explore the deep relationship between words and songs over the past century.
(Shin'ichiro Ikebe)

July 22 (Sat) 4:00 p.m.
Performers: Keiko Hatanaka (soprano), Nekodono (counter tenor), Fumiaki Kuriyama (conductor), Ritsuyu-kai (chorus), Yuri Saiki (piano), Hideyo Takakuwa (flute), et al.
Venue: Concert Hall ATM, Art Tower Mito
Ticket fee:
A ¥3,500 per individual concert
B ¥2,500 per individual concert
~~5-ticket Series Pass ¥15,000 (A seating)~~ Sorry, sold out.
All seats reserved. Tickets now on sale.

I. Evolution of "Kakyoku" (Classical Japanese Songs) -- (2) Period of Succession/Transition
Planned, produced, and emceed by Ryosuke Hatanaka

The second installment of "Evolution of Kakyoku'" focuses on the developments of the genre in the period following the work of the two "giants" of the field -- Kosaku Yamada and Kiyoshi Nobutoki. While "kakyoku" used to favor German influences, Kunihiko Hashimoto (1904-49) introduced a fresh sensibility and technique that came from France instead.
Meanwhile, Kozaburo Hirai (1910- ) expanded the framework of Japanese lyrical songs with his exceptional abilities as a melodist. Their songs are still going strong today.

Other composers who penned many praiseworthy songs during this transitional period were Shukichi Mitsukuri, Yasuji Kiyose, Hideo Ishiwatari, Akira Ifukube, Osamu Shimizu, Kazuo Yamada, Koichi Kishi, Tadashi Hattori, Fumio Hayasaka, Tatsunosuke Koshitani, and Saburo Takada.
Four master "kakyoku" songsters will perform for you the major songs from this period.

September 23 (Sat) 4:00 p.m.
Performers: Sadako Seki (soprano), Keiko Aoyama (mezzo soprano), Yasushi Matsui (baritone), Yoshiaki Takezawa (baritone), Yoshio Tsukada (piano)
Venue: Concert Hall ATM, Art Tower Mito
Ticket fee:
A ¥3,500 per individual concert
B ¥2,500 per individual concert
~~5-ticket Series Pass ¥15,000 (A seating)~~ Sorry, sold out.
All seats reserved. Tickets now on sale.

I. Evolution of "Kakyoku" (Classical Japanese Songs) (3) Modern Period
Planned, produced, and emceed by Ryosuke Hatanaka

The third and final installment of the "Evolution of Kakyoku" program looks at the development of the genre in the postwar period, down to the present. It will start with the meteoric career of Yoshinao Nakata (1923-), who is probably unsurpassed in terms of the number of his songs that have been heard, sung, and loved. Another composer from the same generation is Ikuma Dan (1924- ), who has written many "kakyoku" that cannot be ignored.

The postwar period has seen the appearance of many wonderful "kakyoku," focusing on the work of these two men, and also including songs by Minao Shibata, Mareo Ishiketa, Sadao Bekku, Ryosuke Hatanaka, Megumi Ohnaka, Akira Yuyama, Yasushi Akutagawa, Makoto Moroi, Hikaru Hayashi, Akira Miyoshi, and Takashi Imoto. Be prepared for a wonderful concert performed by the singers best equipped to sing these songs from the modern era.

October 28 (Sat) 4:00 p.m.
Venue: Concert Hall ATM, Art Tower Mito
Performers: Eiko Seyama (soprano), Keiko Koizumi (soprano), Toshiko Shimura (mezzo soprano), Tadahiko Hirano (baritone), Yoshio Tsukada (piano)
Ticket fee:
A ¥3,500 per individual concert
B ¥2,500 per individual concert
~~5-ticket Series Pass ¥15,000 (A seating)~~ Sorry, sold out.
All seats reserved. Tickets now on sale.

III. Voices of Oral Tradition Japanese Songs
Planned, produced and emceed by Michio Mamiya.

Peoples living in various lands around the globe each speak their own particular language. In the same way, various peoples have produced their own particular melodies, which have been passed down with a special tonality and rhythm. The form of folksongs passed down that way serves as the "seed" determining the shape of artistic music, as well as the "mulch" that fosters such music. What kind of flowers have modern Japanese musicians let bloom from the "mulch" of the voices from oral tradition?

We have put together an interesting lineup of songs in the concert, beginning with those of Kosaku Yamada. At first we will accompany them with a new instrument, the piano, and then with older instruments such as the shamisen and koto.
The songs will fly out at you.
(Michio Mamiya)

January 27 (Sat), 2001 4:00 p.m.
Performers: Michiko Yamaguchi (vocal), Tadao Saito (vocal), Mutsumi Hatano (vocal), Yumiko Tanaka (vocal), Emiko Mizuki (piano), Masahiko Sato (piano), Yukihiko Nishizawa (flute), Akiko Nishigata (koto), et al.
Venue: Concert Hall ATM, Art Tower Mito
Ticket fee:
A ¥3,500 per individual concert
B ¥2,500 per individual concert
~~5-ticket Series Pass ¥15,000 (A seating)~~ Sorry, sold out.
All seats reserved. Tickets now on sale.

Note: Changes may be made at any time to the program and/or performers.

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