Nagauta Symphony
The Nagauta Symphony is a symphony in one movement composed in 1934 by Japanese composer Kōsaku Yamada.
Description
[edit]Kosaku Yamada was the first major Japanese composer to study the European tradition, and the first to write in the symphonic and operatic forms.[1] He was responsible for introducing Japanese audiences to a broad range of the European orchestral tradition through his conducting.[2] In his compositions, Yamada had been working to combine European traditions with Japanese classical music since at least 1921, when he composed Inno Meiji which combined Japanese and western instruments.[1] Composed in 1934, the Nagauta Symphony represented the culmination of this work.[3]
For this work, Yamada composed music for the western orchestra which is used to counterpoint a classical nagauta, the music which accompanies the kabuki.[4] The symphony is subtitled Tsurukame after the name of the nagauta which is used.[3] Composed in 1857,[4] the text celebrates the Emperor of Japan and the imperial court.[3] The symphony is in one movement with a duration of approximately 17 minutes.[3]
Instrumentation
[edit]The Nagauta Symphony uses a western orchestra and voices, as well as an ensemble of traditional Japanese musical instruments.[4] The Japanese ensemble consists of several shamisen and percussion.[3]
Recordings
[edit]- Naxos Records (August 28, 2007)
- Takuo Yuasa, Conductor
- Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra
- Touon
References
[edit]- 1 2 Katayama, Morihide. ""Yamada, Koscak Biography"". Naxos Records. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
- ↑ Lim, Vincent (2008-05-08). "European Classical Meets Japanese Nagauta". UCLA. Archived from the original on 2008-06-01. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Lange, Art (2008-05-08). "Yamada: Nagauta Symphony, Etc / Miyata, Ajimi, Yuasa, et al". ArkivMusic. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
- 1 2 3 "KÓSÇAK YAMADA (1886-1965): Nagauta Symphony "Tsurukame", Sinfonia "Inno Meiji", Choreographic Symphony "Maria Magdalena"". Records International. Retrieved 2008-05-16.