Musical Anthology of the Orient, Unesco Collection Vol 1

Nōtomi Judō I
Baren Reiter Musicaphon - BM 30 L 2012
1962

Pista	Título	Kanji	Longitud	Artista
1	Yaegoromo	八重衣	24'32	Shakuhachi: Nōtomi Judō I Koto: Yonekawa Fumiko I
	Yaegoromo was originally composed for the Shamisen by Koto Ishikawa around 1820. This composition was later transcribed for the Koto by the great Koto-player Kengyo Yaezaki (d. 1848) and then arranged as Sankyoku (trio for Koto, Shamisen and Shakuhachi). The transcription for the Koto given here belongs to the Tegotomono style in which the melodies are connected with one another by virtuoso instrumental interludes. This composition belongs to the repertoire of the Ikuta School which was founded in Kyoto by the famous Koto-player Kengyo Ikuta in 1695. The five songs, which are based on Japanese poems of 31 syllables (in each of which the syllables appear in the classical order 5-7-5, 7-7), have been brought together under the title Yaegoromo (eight-fold dress) and deal with the moods of the four seasons, each of which is expressed in relation to a certain type of dress. The title can approximately be translated: "Five Seasonal Songs about Dresses". The poems have been taken from the famous anthology "Hyakunin isshu" (One poem by each of a hundred poets) by Teika Fujiwara (1162-1241). The primary musical form is divided into five parts corresponding to the number of poems: 1)Mae-uta - introductory song 2)Tegoto - instrumental interlude 3)Naka-uta - central group of songs 4)Tegoto - instrumental interlude 5)Ato-uta - concluding song The performers are: Koto and song: Fumiko Yonekawa Shamisen: Misao Yonekawa Shakuhachi: Judo N6tomi For your sake, I went into spring meadows to pick the young buds, while snow was falling on my dress. Spring has passed away, and summer is here; white dresses are seen fluttering in the breeze high on Kaguyama. From the Yoshino mountains the autumn wind at dead of night, here where once I dwelt, blows cold through my dress. On autumn fields at rice-harvest time, under a rough shelter, on a coarse-woven mat, my dress is soaked with dew. The crickets chirp! Must I rest alone through the frosty night, cold and on a narrow mat, lonely in my dress?
2	Yuya	熊野	23'01	Koto: Yonekawa Fumiko I
	Yuya is one of the most representative compositions by the founder of the Yamada School, the artist Kengyo Yamada (1757-1817), in Edo, the present day Tokyo. Kengyo Yamada used as the basis for his text an excerpt from the No play of the same name which is attributed to the great No master Zeami Motokiyo (1363-1444). Contrary to the Ikuta School, which cultivated instrumental techniques, the Yamada School gave prominence to the performance and the shaping of songs and recitation. A listener without previous knowledge of the No play Yuya, could hardly understand the musical situation. The story: Yuya, a young peasant girl, is the mistress of the powerful keeper of the seal at the Emperor's court, Taira-no-Munemori (1147-1185), Yuya's mother, who lives in a distant eastern province, is very ill. Yuya has begged Munemori for leave, but he would not grant it because of his passionate and selfish love. Even when a message from the sick mother arrives, Munemori is unwilling to let Yuya go. Instead, he arranges an excursion to see the cherry blossoms. (scene and song) Following a description of the blossom-filled landscape on Mount Otowa, on which the temple of Seisuiji (Kiyomizudera) is situated, a banquet begins during which Yuya is supposed to dance. As she dances, a shower of rain falls and many of the cherry blossoms are dashed to the ground. Yuya compares the falling blossoms to the fragile condition of her mother and composes a poem which fills Munemori with emotion. He then grants Yuya her long desired leave. The theme of the No play Yuya and its literary variants are adapted from the tenth chapter of the monumental epic Heike Monogatari (The Song of the Decline of the Taira Clan) which dates from the middle of the 13th century. The work is clearly divided, according to mood, into three distinct parts. The first part expresses the peaceful atmosphere in front of the Buddhist temple; the second part portrays the sadness of the heroine during the banquet and at the falling of the cherry blossoms; the third part reflects the joyful surprise felt by Yuya at the granted vacation. The players, who also recite the text, are: First Koto: Eisho Koshino Second Koto: Hiroyuki Nakada Shamisen: Shoko Murooka The text: The sound of the bell of the Kiyomizu Temple proclaims the transitoriness of all existence, just as that of the Gion Hermitage does. The splendour of the cherry blossoms at the Shinto Shrine Jishu-Gongen teaches us the transitoriness of all life, just as did the twin Sala trees that wilted at Buddha's death. No creature on this earth can escape transience. Even Buddha realised this, became an ascetic and preached his teachings on Mount Eagle. In memory of this event the Laurel Bridge Temple is called Temple of Mount Eagle. We are now in front of the Kiyomizu Temple and survey the surroundings. The cherry blossoms are so marvelous that one wonders whether they are clouds or real cherry blossoms. Nearby can be seen the Gion Grove - and the Yasaka Shrine, which reminds us of the Gion Fete and its music - in the neighborhood of Shimogawara. When we look to the south, we can discern in the spring haze the Imagumano Shrine where Yuya-Gongen is worshipped, who protects all mankind with his grace and benevolence. In the distance, the lightly coloured foliage of the maple-trees on Mount Inari is to be seen. The spring landscape (near the Kwannon) at Kiyomizu Temple, often praised in poems, is now in full bloom. What a beautiful sight! The cherry blossoms are wafted away as is hinted at in the names of both mountains, Mount Otowa and Mount Arashi (which means: in the sound of the wind or in the storms); and then fall like snow flakes, scattered here and there. Yuya: I am very sad, does no one pity me? (controlling herself) May I pour you some wine? (she presents Munemori with a cup of sake) Munemori: Yuya, would you like to dance for us? Yuya: No one understands my sorrow. (She begins to dance. It starts to rain.) Suddenly a downpour comes and scatters the blossoms. How can that happen? Munemori: A downpour is really coming and scattering the blossoms! Yuya: Oh, this heartless rain! These spring rain-drops; are they not tears of pain over the falling cherry blossoms? This would make anyone sad. Even the heavens are crying! (Yuya composes a poem, writes it down on a tanzaku (tablet) and shows it to Munemori.) Munemori: You are presenting me with a poem? It will have a deep meaning. Let us see! "What should I do? The departure from the Emperor's City (and from you) in the middle of spring is too difficult for me." Yuya: "And I am anxious lest the blossoms dear to me (the sick mother) in the East may already have fallen!" Munemori: You are right. I understand you now. You may take your leave at once and return to your home! Yuya: What? You would kindly grant me leave? Munemori: As I said, be on your way! Yuya: Oh, how glad I am! All this comes from the infinite mercy of the Kwannon in the Kiyomizu Temple. Then I would now like to take leave. Oh, how happy I am! If I should accompany you on your return to the city, you could change your decision; therefore, I will already take leave here. Farewell then. Chorus: On the way to the East, she pauses for a while on Mount Osaka. The frontier guard, moved by the faithful Yuya's account of her sick mother, opens the frontier gate immediately. Yuya's farewell from the Emperor's City is sad. "Indifferent to the beauty of the cherry blossoms, the wild geese leave the Emperor's City and fly towards the North. . . I turn to the East and even as they do leave the Emperor's City." How sad this is!