REPERTOIRE – JAPAN
A brief personal overview of Japanese Band Repertoire
Revised September 2006
Japanese wind band music has looked traditionally towards the USA and UK for inspiration and repertoire. Concerts are full of American and British music, but we in the west have not reciprocated by programming Japanese composers. There are two reasons; a great deal of their music follows American formulaic patterns, while more original music is either not published, difficult to obtain or very expensive. Below is a selection made from discs and conference concerts of music which I would like to programme.

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In my reviews of the 1995 Conference, I wrote the following:

One of the most interesting concerts for me was that given by the Osaka Municipal Band of an all-Japanese programme. There were three works which I very much enjoyed.

Hiroshi Hoshina's music is very typical of a great deal of "serious" contemporary Japanese music, beautifully scored, owing a great deal to the melodic and harmonic idiom of Debussy and Ravel; for me the Symphonic Metamorphosis functions well as a piece, despite a rather trite fanfare section and a "Hollywood" ending. Some of the woodwind solo writing is very eloquent. Akira Miyoshi I believe is a composer of considerable substance, strongly influenced by his time in Paris and in particular the music of Dutilleux; two of his works were played at the Conference and both are well worth bringing into Western repertoire, Subliminal Festa and Stars Atlempic. Hiroshi Ohguri is more commercial, but he writes well and the idiom is evocative.

Three discs from Kosei Publishing Company and two from Brain and one from the 2003 WASBE Conference, published by Mark Custom, give a good overview of contemporary Japanese wind band music. The Kosei publications have good notes on the pieces and composers by Toshio Akiyama in Japanese and English, while the Brain records give information about four other discs, unfortunately only in Japanese.

Most Japanese composers have a virtuosic command of wind band scoring, and this is matched by the excellent playing on these discs. The influences are clearly from France, especially from the impressionists, and from America particularly in works which echo the big band idiom. Every so often, a composer will use traditional Japanese musical elements fused with Western influences, and the results are sometimes very striking.

JAPANESE BAND REPERTOIRE Volume 2 KOCD-2902 

To my ears, the strongest disc is Volume 2 of the Kosei set; all six works in this anthology will repay exploration. Ito’s Gloriosa is already established in the international repertoire, there are wonderful impressionistic sounds in the Ishihara and Hoshina, the full version of the Ohguri has tremendous energy, as does the opening March and the little “Parade” movements with their homage to Americana. Glory of Catalonia is an attractive march with some unusual phrasings, interesting harmonic changes which have a feel of eastern Europe, and a charming bagpipe middle section with an organum effect in the upper woodwind. This march is well worth playing.

Movement for Wind Orchestra no 2 is a scenic tonepoem evoking the African savanna. A wonderfully evocative impressionistic introduction, all too short, gives way to Japanese drumming under a filmic passage, with glissandi roars and a fascinating use of wild harmonies. A slower section repeats an eight beat phrase time and time again under different orchestrations and harmonies. I can remember thinking on first hearing that this was too long, but the simplicity and repetition of this passage has a certain strength which in live performances would make a bigger impact, especially with today’s interest in minimalism. There is a return to the shimmering of the introduction and the piece ends as it began. The impressionistic palette of Ravel and Debussy is present also in the Deux Paysages Sonores, both in the wonderful orchestration and also the snatches of melody which burst forth. Derivative it might be, but it is also very effective in its use of the colours of the wind band.

The Fantasy on Osaka Folk Tunes was originally commissioned for symphony orchestra by the conductor Takashi Asahina and was premiered by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in 1956. Ohguri transcribed the work for wind band for the Osaka Municipal Symphonic Band in 1974; the version on this recording is of the whole work, but it is better known in the shorter version, used frequently for band contests, and published by Concert Works Unlimited (Shawnee). No mere stringing together of folk tunes, this is a full-blown free fantasy with tremendous energy underlying all of the material. I wish this were readily available in the west in its full version.

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Hiroshi Aoshima describes his Parade as a “theatrical piece, accompanied by dance”. It has the wit of so much American band music of the 70’s and 80’s, owing much to the Big Band idiom, with nods to Copland and Bernstein. Ito’s Symphonic Poem Gloriosa has a wonderful programme of the “hidden Christians” of Kyushu who through the centuries continued to practice their faith, combining their use of Gregorian chant with their native modal melodies. The first movement is a set of free variations on the opening sung plainsong. The second, Cantus, opens with a solo passage for ryuketi, a Japanese type of flute, played with many glissando inflections, and the third, Dies Festus, is based on a folksong from Nagasaki.

Festal Scenes also by Ito is a very effective collage of four Japanese folk-songs, scored vivdly and aimed at about Grade 4, well worth exploring. It proved a most popular encore piece for our tour of Japan in 1995.

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VOLUME 3

Of the music on Volume 3, for me the outstanding work is Stars Atlanpic ’96 by Akira Miysohi, written for Emory University in Atlanta and premiered in 1991 in a Celebration of Japanese and American music. Its title reflects the selection of Atlanta as the Olympic site for 1996, and the three movements evoke the spirit of youth and fellowship. Encounter has enormous energy, Joy and Sorrow is more reflective and introvert, a lyrical scena of considerable beauty in an idiom which derives in part from the composer’s study in Paris with Dutilleux. Celebration is another energetic movement, built on a snappy dance phrase. Miyoshi has a virtuoso approach to the wind band, his musical ideas are far from hackneyed or clichéd, and his music never overstays its welcome. I think that his is one of the most exciting voices in contemporary Japanese music.

On the same disc, the Timber of Dendrocosmos by Ken Ito combines voices and instruments in the manner of the traditional bugaku instrumental and roei vocal music of ancient Japan. Interesting though the sounds are, there is not for me enough contrast of material, but I would be interested in hearing more music by this original voice. There are a number of works with impressive gestures which are not sustained; all too often I find that either the idioms used are too diffuse, or that the music lapses into sentimentality. On the Brain discs, I enjoyed the somewhat wistful idiom of Morning Stars by Ejii Suzuki, useful as a 5 minute little idyll, and the Sinfonia for Band by Masahiro Yamauchi has tremendous energy in its 5/8 section. Akira Toda’s and all on the earth had gone starts and ends with a similar energy.

KANAGAWA UNIVERSITY SYMPHONIC BAND

WASBE CONFERENCE 2003

Kanagawa University Symphonic Band

Recorded on 4744-MCD

I am tempted to suggest that if you buy only one of the Mark Custom compact discs from the WASBE 2003 conference, you should buy this, but that would mean leaving out another dozen excellent concerts, including Jim Croft’s final concert with FSU, a very moving occasion of wonderful music and music-making. Here was a fine balanced programme of original Japanese music, most of it avoiding popular cliché, all of it worth hearing.

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Suite for Wind Orchestra (14.15 minutes) - Yukio Kikuchi (b 1964)

Manuscript 1998 Grade 5

Fanfare - slow - fast - finale

The opening Suite for Wind Orchestra is in four movements; the first is a somewhat conventional two minute fanfare but like most Japanese music, sumptuously scored; devotees of John Williams will love the Hollywood ending. The second movement is reminiscent of Ravel, gentle mixed metres, emphasizing flute, clarinet and saxophone colours, while the third began with a riot of Japanese drumming, a raw energy reminiscent of West Side Story, eventually dissipated into a pointillist section with strange chords and motifs. The finale is more extended, a rather portentous introduction leading to a development of the opening motif, by turns pompous and energetic. This should be published and programmed!

Yugayo Chugan-azuma kagami ibun - Masamicz Amano

Rental Brain Music 1997 Grade 4, duration 7 minutes 25 seconds

Azuma kagami is a history book of the Kamakura era in 12th Cenbtury Japan, and the music is redolent with the mystery of that far off age, with the birth of various aspects of Buddhism. I love the sound and the inflections of the Japanese flute, and this work begins with a languorous evocative solo, taken up by figurations in the rest of the band. A cadenza-like passage for marimba and percussion follows, which breaks into a crazy very complex dance which is stilled briefly by voices.

Subliminal Festa (Secret Rites) - Akira Miyoshi

1988 Grade 4 duration 4 minutes 5 seconds

All Japan Band Association/Maecenas Music

Akira Miyoshi is one of the leading contemporary composers of Japan today. His studies in Tokyo were followed by further study at the Paris Conservatoire where he was strongly influenced by Duttileux, that most fastidious of composers, and you can hear something of Dutilleux’ brilliant organizational skills in all of Miyoshi’s work. This was written in 1988 for All Japan Band Competition, a work indicating the technical expertise of the Japanese band movement and its potential.

In less than five minutes, Miyoshi introduces a post-Stravinsky sound world, full of the swirling energy of the opening pages of Le Sacre – maybe it is the opening bassoon theme that suggests that to me. This is a real piece, useful as a virtuoso opening number, perhaps too short for its myriad of ideas to be developed. It is published by All Japan Band Association but also is on sale from Maecenas Music, so I am biased.

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Pretty Woman - Fumio Tamura

Rental Brain Music 1995 Grade 5, duration 9 minutes

This is an unashamed tone poem, based on Checkhov’s novel of the same title, and the musical episodes depict each of the men who affect the life of the heroine, each separated by a short chorale passage. The theme of the “pretty woman”, Orenka, is stated at the start, and is then treated in four contrasting ways: Orenka and Kukin, the manager of an amusement park, Orneka and Prostwarlov, the manager of a lumberyard, Orenka and Sumilnine, the vetinarian, and Orenka and Sashya, the son of Sumilnine. This work is tougher than the rest of the programme, and I must confess to having heard a cassette a few times and found the music dense and uncompromising. In this performance, there was so much contrast and detail that I found it very powerful indeed. I was interested to see that Tamura studied with Robert Saxton at the Guildhall, and it was fortuitous that the Guildhall Wind Ensemble played Saxton’s only wind work in their concert.

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Symphonic Movement for Band - Bin Kaneda (1935-1981)

Published Ongaku no Tomo Sya Corp, Grade 4, duration 10.30

Like Tamura’s Pretty Woman, this was commissioned by the Yamaha Wind Orchestra; written in 1975 and thus the earliest work of this programme, this is more traditional in idiom, and I suppose you could consider that it comes from the middle ground of late romantic/twentieth century styles. Other works which seem to me which are cast in that mould but written with passion and integrity are Piet Swerts’ Cyrano and Jules Strens’ Danse Funambulesque to have an integrity, similar perhaps to Marco Pütz’ Meltdown or Alexander Comitas’ Night on Culbin Sands.

This is emotional music. The programme note says that: Emphasis was laid on hopes to express the symphonic capabilities that are harboured in band music performance patterns and whether or not it was possible to express not only what lies in the surface of the human mind but also the vague emotional feeling that stagnantly lies profoundly in the bottom of one’s heart.

Weighty ambitions, but the result for me is a work with tension and contrast, some very exciting writing after the agonized opening statement, built on a falling figure full of yearning This figure becomes the basis for a fast moving fugato, giving way in turn to a slightly sentimental slower section.

Fu-Mon (Sand Dunes) - Hiroshi Hoshina b 1936

Rental Bravo Music, Grade 4, duration 7 minutes 10 seconds.

Hiroshi Hoshina is a much revered figure in Japanese wind band music, an unashamedly romantic composer and a fine conductor – it was good to have him with us. His music is more traditional in idiom, with the impressionistic palette of Ravel and Debussy both in his masterly orchestration but also in the snatches of melody which burst forth. Derivative it might be, but it is also very effective in its use of the colours of the wind band, and with only a hint of American influence in the more grandiose sections I think that these three works would make a strong addition to the repertoire for a small college, high school or community band.

Other works by Hoshina which I would recommend:

Deux Paysages Sonores 11.23

An Ancient Festival 13.33

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Les Trois Notes du Japon - Toshio Mashima

The Dance of the Cranes – Snow River – Festival

Rental Bravo Music, Grade 5, duration 17.10.

This suite was performed by the Kosei Wind Orchestra under Douglas Bostock in 2001; the music is intended to depict three typical Japanese scenes with western instruments, scales and harmonies. Despite more than a nod toward America and the “big” band sound, the idiom is clearly Japanese. The first movement after a striking opening gesture, is based on a short modal motif which does for fast and slow material in a traditional ABA form. The second movement is extremely evocative of a desolate black and white snow scene, with its consecutive fifth harmonic background, snatches of wind solos. The third movement storms in with a kaleidoscope of noise, described by the composer:

La fête du feu is the collage of various rhythms and notes describing the vigourous Japanese summer festival. In the middle, summer scenery with towering thunderclouds in the scorching blue sky is expressed. The rhythm of drums approaching from far away is that of the Neputa Festival of the Aomori region where my mother was born.

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SINGAPORE 2005

It was disappointing that the Central Band of the Japan Air Self Defence Force had to withdraw following mobilization of all available help after the Tsunami. They were however replaced by the excellent Senzoku Gakuen College of Music who began their concert with the very amusing Salty Music by Hideaki Miura. Adam Gorb wrote that:

Salty Music was a great curtain raiser, combining raunchy post West Side Story big band colors with more impressionist sections and moments of epic grandeur.

I have enjoyed Japanese repertoire at the various WASBE Conferences, and I hope that we in the West will seek out more and more of this very original music to add colour to our programmes. I believe that any one of these works would add excitement and originality to any Western concerts; The infallible Jim Cochran of Shattinger Music can I am sure get materials, but there is now in USA an agent for the recordings and much of the music.

Further information from:

Toshio Akiyama

308, Minami Nakano

Ohmiya Saitama 330, Japan

Tel (day): +81/48/684-2018

Fax (bus.): +81/48/686-2575

E-mail: Sonta@sb3.s0-net.ne.jp

For more information about purchasing music or recordings, contact

Bravo Music, 1500 SE 3rd Ct.,

Suite 152 Deerfield Beach

FL33441

Email bravo@bravomusicinc.com

www.bravomusicinc.com