Iris of Time - The International Shakuhachi Society

Iris of Time

Sawai Tadao
Camerata Tokyo Inc. - 30CM-92
1997

Track	Title	Kanji	Length	Artist
1	Stratums of Times	時の層	11'57	Koto: Sawai Tadao Koto: Sawai Kazue
	IRIS OF TIME (1987) -Heterophony for Seven Kotos and Three Jyushichigen-Kotos by seven kotos (Japanese zithers) including one solo, and three 17-string kotos including one solo I composed this commissioned by the Japan Arts Council(a producer Mr. Naoji Yamakawa) in the spring, 1987. From the first I imagined SAWAI KOTO ENSEMBLE in composing, and it resulted in a composition in which I try a heterophony woven by many layers of time streams kept in my mind since several years ago. The composition consists of following two parts. I. Stratums of Times I have tried to put some neighboring time Streams in parallel, and express a sway of folded time layers as a whole. A delicate rhythm lag which I call "micro-polyrhythm" is performed, folded in many layers. In tuning, a pile of perfect fifth presented by the solo koto at the beginning makes a backbone of mode of all instruments, whose intervals are to be filled up by seven partial modes distributed to each instrument. A big cadenza by both soloists is put at the latter part.
2	River of Times	時の河	10'06	Koto: Sawai Tadao Koto: Sawai Kazue
	II. A River of Times In the second part, time streams don't stand close but get parted from or interfere with each other, and gather finally to make one broad stream of time, that is the mainstream of time river, appear. Each player has an individual sheet music, and there exists no whole score. The solo koto and the solo 17-string koto are prepared by clips, finger-cymbals, haIf-split chopsticks, etc., while other eight players plays the koto by rubbing with bows for string instruments. As a result, its sonority has gone away from that of an ordinary koto ensemble. I remember that a hum of voices toward this strange sound arose among connoisseurs of Japanese music filled up seats of the Japan Arts Council just after the first performance. This composition is dedicated to Mr. Tadao Sawai and Mrs. Kazue Sawai. [ Akira Nishimura ]
3	Gosechi no Mai	五節の舞	13'26	Koto: Sawai Tadao Koto: Sawai Kazue
	It is said that the Gosechi no Mai, a type of dance performed at the Toyoakari-no-sechie Festival, began with the dance of heavenly maidens who waved their sleeves five times. They were brought down to each by the sound of the kin (Chinese zither) of the Emperor Temmu (reigned 673-686), as he played it at his detached palice in Yoshino. I was fascineted by this fantastic scene, 2nd borrowed the name of the dance for the title of this oomposition. The content of this piece is not, however, a simple description of the legendary event, but rather my own mental image of the phantasmagorial part of the myth itself. The piece begins with an explosion of energy on the two jushichigen (17-string koto), from which the classically-phrased koto part is born quietly. The sound of this koto part entices those of the two jushichigen (17-string koto), developing gradually into an ardent dance. (commissioned by Ritsuko Koda)
4	Fantasy	幻想曲	11'30	Koto: Sawai Tadao
	Teizo Matsumura didn’t try his hand at composing with traditional instruments for a long time, though he must have been affected by his teacher Akira Ifukube, and must have been interested in traditional music or traditional music or traditional instruments considering his own musical conception. It was in 1969, when modern Japanese music had already reached the climax, that he composed for koto and Shakuhachi (a bamboo clarinet) for the first time. The first composition, "shi-kyoku" impressed as a song in praise of traditional music by a koto and a shakuhachi. Teizo Matsumura, however, has his own logic, which seems to be unchanged basically in this Fantasy. In a commentary on this Fantasy, Teizo Matsumura said as follows; "A koto mainly consists of tones full of life and relatively in the high register among instruments which produce sounds by plucking, and it was pretty difficult for me to materialize the maintenance of one composition only by those tones. Though every one of the tones has fassinating beautiful echoes and expression, there exists no self-sufficiency by one tone as an idea of "Ichion-Jobutsu (each tone attains Buddhahood)" in a biwa or a shakuhachi. One tone always necessarily needs a following tone, and moreover, when such a line of tones is uplifted to make many sounds move separately, there is a danger of losing the original charming expression and running idle in shrill garrulity. It is a matter of performance to avoid it, but it is also a matter depending more on composition". Due to such a basic attitude of Teizo Matsumura, the koto is naturally tuned in a traditional Miyakobushi scale in this composition, but that's like him to omit "g" sound at the lowest register where it should go as "d-es-g, a-b-d." In the Miyakobushi scale, the core-sound's function of the fourth is far weaker compared to the fifth. Moreover, many patterns and methods of classics appear naturally if it is a melody in the Miyakobushi scale. His modern way of developing, however, is reckoned quite minutely, and elaborately pondered over. For example, even the length of each sound's echo or a way of varying those echoes seems to be delicately pondered over. He has learned functions or melody patterns of the koto as an instrument very well. [Yoshiko Kojima]
5	Koto uta Basho's 5 Haiku	箏歌、芭蕉五句	03'14	Koto: Sawai Tadao Koto: Sawai Kazue
	I composed this for koto and 17-string koto commissioned for the 17-string koto recital of Ms. Teiko Kikuchi. Here I wished to inherit a Japanese tradition involved in an instrument of koto, and make it develop based on modernity. I wanted to revive "So uta (a koto song)" which is thoroughly forgot by modern koto music. That is the reason I have chosen haiku by Basho, whom I love and respect. The composition consists of following five haiku, Passages in parentheses are added as a kind of expression signs. 1. Friends are they? Separated by clouds, wild geese part for life (for something far away)
6	Koto uta Basho's 5 Haiku	箏歌、芭蕉五句	03'14	Koto: Sawai Tadao Koto: Sawai Kazue
	2. At dawn, whitebait, white they are slightly (chilly and clearly)
7	Koto uta Basho's 5 Haiku	箏歌、芭蕉五句	03'49	Koto: Sawai Tadao Koto: Sawai Kazue
	3. Narcissuses, reflect together white shojis (with a crystal calmness)
8	Koto uta Basho's 5 Haiku	箏歌、芭蕉五句	03'03	Koto: Sawai Tadao Koto: Sawai Kazue
	4. Stillness, soak into rocks chirping of cicadas (stillness thoroughly filling heaven and earth)
9	Koto uta Basho's 5 Haiku	箏歌、芭蕉五句	02'52	Koto: Sawai Tadao Koto: Sawai Kazue
	5. Rough sea! On Sado lies the Milky way (Vastness of the dark universe)