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Banshikicho Etenraku

盤渉調越天楽

[Жанр]Gagaku
[Стиль]Kangen

Banshikicho Etenraku appears on the following albums

Альбом Исполнитель
Play ButtonTraditional Music of Japan, The - 01
One of three pieces having the same title, Etenraku and being composed in three tonalities, Banshikicho, Hyojo, and Oshikicho. The present piece is composed in Banshikicho and is said to be the oldest of the three, although Etenraku in Hyojo is best known in Japan. This has been performed by Stokowsky in the U.S.A. The original Etenraku is transposed to other tonalities by moving the key, that is, from Banshiki (b) to Hyojo (e) or Oshiki (a). However, the transposition is not the same as for Western music. Because of the narrower range of the Ryuteki and Hichiriki, the melody is changed and in addition, the composer (or arranger) can change the melody to some extent. But the chords of the Sho are mechanically transposed based upon the new key and the form of the original piece is strictly maintained. Pieces transposed in this way are called generally, Watashi-mono. In older times there were about one hundred examples of this, but only twenty are preserved today.

The present piece is a small, one-movement composition, consisting of 24 measures in 4/4, which is divided into three phrases of 8 measures, A, B, and C. Usually this piece is performed in the following way: A, A, B, B, C, C, A, A, B, B. At the very end a short stylized coda is added. This form, however, should not be regarded as a Western ternary form, because the Phrase C, called Juto, can be omitted when the piece is performed in an abbreviated style.

The most noteworthy and interesting feature of this recording is that the piece is performed in a special style called Nokorigaku, literally meaning remaining music. It resembles the authentic performance of Haydn's Farewell Symphony, except the musicians do not disappear from the stage. While three phrases are repeated, the performers stop -playing in the following way. First, three percussion instruments stop, then three wind instruments (except the leaders, one for each section) stop. Next, the Ryuteki and Sho stop. Two string instruments, the 'Biwa and the So together with one wind instrument, the Hichiriki continue performing, while the Hichiriki occasionally stops and the So is played with additional arpeggios. Then, the assistant players of the Biwa and So stop. Finally the Biwa leader stops and only the So leader remains. The So continues and quietly finishes with a short coda. Improvisation is found to some extent when the Hichiriki leader occasionally stops and the So leader inserts ornamentation.