■Topics 2018
2018-05-23 NichibunkenNews
Evening Seminar (May 10, 2018) “The Interrelation of Academic and Artistic Approaches to the Reconstruction of Japanese Court Music: From Historiographies to Historiophonies”
“The Interrelation of Academic and Artistic Approaches to the Reconstruction of Japanese Court Music: From Historiographies to Historiophonies,” Andrea Giolai (JSPS postdoctoral fellow at Nichibunken)According to Giolai, who is also a member of the gagaku group Nanto Gakuso, Japanese court music (gagaku) as restored by the Meiji government has undergone remarkable developments over the past fifty years. While new works by prominent composers like Takemitsu Tōru and Mayuzumi Toshirō have emerged as the mainstream of innovation, in more recent years a growing body of pieces reconstructed from ancient documents such as the Sango yōroku (a late-Heian-period collection of biwa lute notation for gagaku), has attracted increasing attention in concerts, academic discussion, and otherwise. What meaning can be drawn from these developments? The theme of this seminar involved the profound question of whether “restored” music really grasps the essence, or substance, of the essentially ephemeral nature of sound.
During the presentation, while playing recordings of several pieces either reconstructed or recreated from gagaku, such as John Cage’s experimental “Ryoanji,” including music by the Reigakusha Gagaku Ensemble, Giolai talked about methodological differences, the subtle tensions between tradition and innovation, and other gagaku-related issues of today. Among musical instruments, Giolai focused especially on the gaku-biwa lute. The “Sekijō ryūsen,” a work of so-called secret music included in the Sango yōroku, was used as an example. A variety of different versions by modern players were played ranging from performances close to the original to new melodies that attempt to resuscitate ancient notation in ways suitable to modern times. The audience enjoyed listening to and comparing the excerpts, appreciating the quiet, deep resonance of the biwa strings, compelling in its own way apart from the solemnity of gagaku.
(Reported by Shiraishi Eri, assistant professor, Office of Digital Resources, Publications, and Public Information)
