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Introduction to Japanese Music - Week 1
- 1. Introduction to Japanese Music Week 1 - Gagaku
- 2. General Points • Different development to European music • Free and flexible rhythms • Mostly vocal genres • Polyphony rarely found
- 5. Nara Period: 710 - 794 Heian Period: 794 - 1185 Kamakura Period: 1185 - 1333 Muromachi Period: 1336 - 1573 Azuchi-Momoyama Period: 1568 - 1603 Edo Period: 1603 - 1868 Meiji Resotration: 1868
- 6. Music at the Court • Music needed for rituals, ceremonies, festivals • Shōmyō – Buddhist chanting • Gagaku – music of the court
- 7. Left and Right • The oldest extant orchestral music in the world? • Tōgaku: music of the Left - Chinese • Komagaku: music of the Right – Korean • Bugaku: music with dance • Kangen: instrumental music
- 8. The Ensemble
- 9. The Ensemble • Hichiriki • Ryuteki • Shō • Komabue
- 10. The Ensemble • Koto • Biwa
- 11. The Ensemble • Kakko (san-no-tsuzumi) • Shōko (ōshōko) • Taiko (dadaiko)
- 12. Bugaku • In the Heian period, dances were structured in pairs with a dance of the left and of the right • Deliberately slow and reserved in movement
- 13. How is it Played? • ‘It is often said that the kakko plays the role of conductor’ – not true? • A complex co-relation between instruments • ‘If the tempo is strict, it is not gagaku’
- 14. Form, Tempo • Jo – Ha – Kyu • Pieces begin with solo transverse flute • End with a tōmete, or section in free rhythm • Bugaku faster and more rhythmically strict
- 15. Melody, Theory • Tōgaku often bi-modal or poly-modal • Rhythms described by formuale: ‘haya-ya-hyōshi hyōshi-hachi’ • Use of Chinese seven-tone scales, Ryosen and Rissen
- 16. • Ryo (ryossen) • Ritsu (rissen)
- 17. Shinto • Kunibori-no-utamani • Indigenous religious and ceremonial music • Kagurabue, hichiriki, wagon, shakubyōshi
- 18. Other Gagaku forms • Rōei • Minamoto no Masanobu (920-93) • Sung excerpts of Chinese poetry • Saibara • Share melodies with togaku, komagaku and folk songs
- 19. Saibara • ‘Horse-tending music,’ or ‘Saibaraku’? • Wind, strings and shakubyoshi drum • Six pieces remain
- 21. Who plays music? • Professional families of musicians and dancers from the Heian period • ‘Gakke’ families • Nobles also participated
- 22. Go-Shirakawa • Emperor at the end of the Heian period (1155- 85) • Key figure in the Hōgen and Heiji rebellions, resulting in the establishment of a Minamoto Shogun • A great musician, who made a 20 volume collection of imayō texts and teachings.
- 24. Etenraku • Exists on three modes, as essentially different pieces • Hyōjō mode the most common • Ki-sho-ten-ketsu form, something similar to A-B-A
- 25. After the Heian Period… • Much died out during the long period of warfare in the 15th and 16th centuries • Gakke families fled Kyoto, traditions interrupted • Saibara and rōei largely vanished
- 26. Notation and Transmission • Shōga : mnemonic strings of syllables, indicating phrasing and pitch relations • Largely oral transmission, with tablature collections • Present-day gagaku united the three centres from the Edo period: Kyōto, Ōsaka, Nara
- 27. Writings and Sources • Shinsen Ōjō-fu, Prince Sadayasu (920) music notation for transverse flute • Gagaku notation not published due to a lack of practicing musicians • Meiji Sentei-fu (1876/88), standardized scores for complete repertoire
- 28. After the Heian Period… • Emperor Ogimachi (1557-86) played a large part in restoring gagaku traditions • Gagaku also found a place in other centres, such as Bizen province, under Mitsumasa
- 29. Post-Meiji Developments • ‘Unchanged and unchanging’ • Kishimoto Yoshihide (1821-90) • Toru Takemitsu, In an Autumn Garden (1973)
- 30. Melodic Theory • Modern shō and biwa parts carry ancient Chinese melodies… ? • Saibara melodies shared with tōgaku or komagaku cannot be heard… ?
Editor's Notes
- Play [Sandaien Ichigu – Jo] [Module Descriptor] Talk about course–essay–listening test Grouping musics by genre as well as (roughly) by period Hogaku – Japanese traditional music. (Rather than Ongaku?) Also need to understand some of the history of Japan – as with any kind of ethnomusicology, (or indeed musicology), cultural and social factors have an impact on the development of musical styles and need to be acknowledged. Be ready for lots of terminology, and try to get your heads around it quickly – the long list of Japanese names for things, and the various classifications (which often overlap) can easily get confusing. Does anyone speak Japanese?...
- The music of Japan developed, naturally, very differently to European music. The idea of music as a ‘gift from the Gods’ is pervasive, and has affected all music. Free rhythms, less that strict metre, allow for a more flexible, flowing music. The vast majority of genres are vocal-led, while melodic instruments most frequently accompany, double, embellish the vocal melody. This kind of group heterophony is the most common texture found. True polyphony, or a tonal system like Europe, is almost non-existent. Music in Japan is more of a natural, spiritual form, rather than the complicated mathematical and theoretical ordering and approaches of Europe.
- Culture has continually been drawn from the Asian mainland, across China and through Korea, to Japan. The original ‘Japanese’ settlers may have come from the mainland, and pressed against the native Emishi people, pressing ever further east and north. The capital settled first in Nara, and then in Kyoto, in the Kansai (western plain) region of Japan, as their settlers pushed north-east. It was here that Japanese culture grew and became its own, taking ideas from China and further and turning them into something distinctly Japanese.
- Settlers came first to Kyushu, then into Honshu and Shikkoku. Early Japanese society revolved around the trade of the Inland Sea, between these three main islands, and it was here that the Emperor – and some great samurai houses – held their power. The Emperor was considered to be descended from the Gods, from the first Emperor Jimmu (c.660 B.C.) who was a descendant of Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess. He held absolute power, though was usually controlled by some other power behind the throne. In the Heian period, the Fujiwara clan came to be the Emperor’s close advisors, and largely ruled through him. The Tang dynasty lasted 618-907 – this was the contact with Japan, especially through Buddhism, which was wholeheartedly embraced and imported. A different language, but the same writing system was adopted – allowing for differing types of translation?
- Contact with the Chinese Tang court from the early 6th century led to adaptation of much Chinese culture to Japan, including writing, administration, and music…
- The Imperial court naturally held a great many rituals, ceremonies, festivals and similar events, for which music was needed. The earliest forms of music that developed in Japan, apart from folk song which we can presume was prevalent but is unrecorded from the Nara or Heian periods, were the related genres of Shomyo – Buddhist chanting – and Gagaku, the music of the Imperial court. Both of these were imported from China, and began rooted in Chinese musical forms and theory. As they developed, they took on more attributes that we can see as ‘Japanese,’ and became the core classical music of Japan. From the Nara period, Gagaku considered a symbol of the government, an expression of their political power.
- Gagaku is sometimes called the oldest extant (continuously performed) orchestral music in the world. Now, it has a relatively small ensemble, and is closer to what we might call chamber music than orchestral – yet it is the only thing close to orchestral music found in Japanese music history. Originally the gagaku repertoire consisted of music derived from foreign sources – hence we have the delineation ‘music of the left’, or Togaku, which originates from China, and ‘music of the right,’ or Komagaku, which originates from Korea. Japanese musicians did compose new music for gagaku, but this new music would still be assigned to one of these sides. Both sides are filled with music to accompany dance – this is known as Bugaku. Togaku also, however, includes a large repertoire of purely instrumental pieces, which are known as ‘kangen’. This is larger than the bugaku repertoire, and makes Togaku the dominant sound of gagaku. Play Etenraku no Kyu
- One large change from the imported musics was the gradual shift in instrumentation. Originally the gagaku orchestra was larger, but some instruments (possibly due to difficulties in making and maintaining them) fell out of use. This meant a reduction in the size of Togaku, and quite a change for Komagaku as various string instruments were removed from the sound. The gagaku orchestra, as it became, is made up of wind, string and percussion insturments.
- Delineate the instruments… Hichiriki: double-reed, sounds like an oboe Ryuteki: transverse flute Sho: pictured – bamboo mouth organ, produces dense clustered chords. For Komagaku, there are – Hichiriki: Komabue: transverse flute
- Koto: pictured – thirteen-string Japanese zither, originally based on Chinese zither Biwa: four-string lute, low pitch. Biwa often plays an ostinato or repeated figure on the tonic note, usually also being struck (or ending arpeggios) on the downbeat of each bar.
- Kakko: Shokko: Taiko: large drum, struck on one side with sticks For Komagaku, there are: Oshoko: Dadaiko: the largest drum – a bigger version of the taiko San-no-tsuzumi:
- From the 9th century (early Heian period), Bugaku dances were structured in pairs so that a dance of the left would be matched with an accompanying dance of the right, though this has fallen by the wayside. [Show some Bugaku -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTv4jUfnEUI – Manzairaku, Bugaku dance] Deliberately very slow and reserved in movement. Green costume for Komagaku, red for Togaku – allegedly? Essentially the same in left & right today, though differences in learning for dancers (melody for togaku, rhythm for komagaku)
- ‘It is often said that the kakko plays the role of conductor.’ – not true? Tempo determined by hichiriki or koto players. Players follow the piece and interact in a complex co-relation of both measures, beats, and by listening to parts and events from other instruments. ‘If the tempo is strict, it is not gagaku’ The sho plays Chinese chords, because of the mechanism of the instrument, but it is possible that other instruments gradually adapted their playing to a more Japanese style over the years, through the influence of Japanese vocal melodies (from saibara and roei?). This results in semitone differences in parts. The musician says that an experiment of playing pieces in unison (same scales/modes) sounded distinctly ‘Chinese’ to them.
- The ‘netori’ – begun by the sho, is a stylised tuning section often used as an introduction to most gagaku genres. Gagaku pieces exhibit a slow but steady increase in tempo throughout the piece – something that happens almost unconsciously for many of the musicians. Jo-Ha-Kyu, three-part aesthetic idea, was found in Gagaku. Imported from China. Each movement comprises a few sections (called joh), and frequently each section is also in jo-ha-kyu. [EXPLAIN]. Every gagaku piece begins with solo transverse flute, and ends with a ‘tomete’ (section in free rhythm). (Similar concepts pervade music in Japan – another important one is [After the Kamakura period, the aesthetic idea of Wa-Kei-Sei-Jaku developed as a national idea. This means harmony-respect-pureness-quietness. It also includes simplicity.] This can be found in the aesthetics of Gagaku and Noh. Final beats of even bars are often drawn out to enable fingering changes. When performed as bugaku, the same pieces will be rhythmically stricter, and often at a faster tempo. Togaku come in three classes, small to large; the very long ones are rarely performed as kangen, and only sometimes as bugaku.
- Togaku pieces are often bi- or poly-modal; may be nominally in hyojo (dorian E), but melodic parts – flute and hichiriki – might flatten semitones, or omit tones, to produce different modes on the same basic melody, or move between modes. Dissonance common on notes other than I, IV and V – these are stable tones. Rhythms are described by a formula, for example, ‘haya-ya-hyoshi hyoshi-hachi’, meaning eight (ya) bars of 4/4 (haya), repeated eight (hachi) times. [p.58 - Analysis of gagaku piece Gōshoraku, with rhythm, very good.] [Examine Goshoraku opening for structure, show entrances and measures]. Gagaku uses the Chinese scales Ryosen and Rissen, seven-tone scales. Chords are played by the sho, the lowest tone of each being the principal tones of the accompanied melody.
- [Play Shichi no bongo - Naxos] Did anyone read the article on Western attitudes?? These are the modes – seven tones, but two are considered less important, and used as tones for inflection and/or modulation. This leaves the basis of two pentatonic scales, which are the first of Japanese music theory. While Chinese (and Western) modes can be set to any base tone, the Japanese only use a certain number of starting points for each mode. There are six modes for gagaku – slightly more for shomyo. Hence, Hyojo (is ritsu on e), Sojo (is ryo on G) and so forth.
- (Possibly include notes on Shinto music and ceremony?) Kunibori-no-utamani (accompanied vocal music & dance, indigenous origin, imperial & Shinto ceremony) – Indigenous, from pre-Heian times. Revived in the early nineteenth century. This is a part of gagaku, organizationally speaking, and uses similar instrumentation: the kagurabue (flute), hichiriki, a long six-string zither called the Wagon, two Shakubyoshi (clappers). There are four major pieces of Shinto ritual music: Kagura (the largest piece, folkloric ritual; used to take several days, now is twelve songs lasting c.6 hours), Yamato-mai (short piece for dancers), Kume-mai (ditto) , and Azuma-asobi (four short pieces, first and last have no dance). Azuma-asobi with dance [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFs9oiwzHgA]
- Saibara and Roei (accompanied vocal music from the Heian court) In the Heian period, these were organised into a separate office due to the growth of ‘foreign’ origin works. Roei formalized by the noble musician Minamoto no Masanobu (920-93). These are sung renditions of short excerpts from Chinese poems (by both Chinese and Japanese poets); may have brought a fixed form to an already common improvisatory practice. [Play Roei – Gems]
- Saibara was mainly Japanese folk origin; Many saibara pieces share melodies with togaku and komagaku; this may be that folk melodies were used to create new gagaku works, or it may be that saibara were ‘taking off’ the other works. List of the corresponding saibara with gagaku – p.214. Goshoraku, apparently, was matched with ‘Michi no kuchi’. Koromogae, with ‘Rokunshi’. [Play Saibara – Tokyo Gakuso] – with score from journal Allegedly in ritsu mode, on tonic of ‘e’ ‘Horse-tending music’, Japanese folklore with a Chinese accompaniment for court? OR – based on a lost piece of kangen known as ‘Saibaraku’? Uses winds and strings to accompany voice, as well as shakubyoshi drum (also used in Shinto) Once over sixty pieces, now only six remain.
- Performed by professional musicians and dancers, used for festivals and ceremonies both at court and at the major temples (alongside Shinto music). From the Heian period, professional families of musicians and dancers were instigated, traditions passed down hereditarily, which has continued to the present day – however, from the same period, nobles began to participate in the musical performances. From early 10thC, the emperor led a group of courtiers on wind and strings to play instrumental togaku (kangen?) and saibara. In the final Heian century, gagaku music flourished; transmission established, through the formation of ‘gakke’ hereditary music houses. In the Kamakura & Nanboku-cho periods, noble families carried vocal and string traditions, gakke families the other instruments & dances. Kyokunsho (1233) and Zoku-kyokunsho (1322) were put together, treatises on gagaku.
- Emporer Go-Shirakawa (and his Chancellor, a Fujiwara) was one of the great Heian musicians, a singer of saibara, roei, and the newer popular song form imayo. Also studied Tendai shomyo. Made a 20-volume collection of imayo texts and secret teachings. His chancellor, also known as Lord Myoon’in, was also an instrumentalist and wrote score collections for biwa and koto, v.important for understanding gagaku.
- Etenraku exists in three modes – hyojo being the most common, the others rarely played – but there is a debate as to which was the original. These are considered essentially three different pieces, rather than transpositions of the same, as the melodic ideas in each are quite different due to their specific modes. Etenraku is in Ki-sho-ten-ketsu, which is more of an A-B-A form. Four measures rise a melody (ki), another four to succeed that (sho), then four measures change the melody (ten) and the second four conclude (ketsu). [Play Etenraku]
- …Many genres died out during 15th & 16th C warfare, revived later. Much of what we have today was systemized in the late 19th C. After the Heian period, Gagaku became more formalized as a chamber music style at court and shrines, rather than being an art music for the enjoyment and entertainment of the people. Muromachi period saw a decline: the Onin war destroyed the capital of Kyoto, causing many gakke families to flee. Saibara died out, roei was reduced to only a handful of pieces. Only religious centres away from Kyoto kept gagaku going. Edo Period: Gagaku was re-established in Kyoto by bringing musicians from Osaka and Nara; also established in Edo. Extinct elements were revived from the seventeenth century, but noble parts were difficult to recover. Gakkaroku, a compendium on gagaku families and their art, was completed in 1690 by Abe no Suehisa – still used as a reference tool today. Early 19thC saw extinct vocal music like azuma-asobi and kume-mai resurrected.
- Heian periods saw notation which was essentially tablature, showing fingerings rather than pitch. Modern notation, passed down orally in families, is often a mnemonic string of syllables indicating phrasing and pitch relation, known as shoga. Gagaku musicians use ‘shoga’ to learn their individual parts. Present-day gagaku was formed when the capital moved to Tokyo, and united the three existing centres. To learn new works for gagaku, or modern music for the ensemble, musicians might want to see how easily it can be sung as shoga.
- Shinsen Ojo-fu, Prince Sadayasu (920), first official collection of music notation (for transverse flute) Four big books of gagaku theory published include Kyokunsho (1233), Zoku-kyokunsho (1270), Taigensho (1512) and Gakkaroku (1690). Taigen-sho, by Toyohara no Muneaki (1450-1524), a sho player, was a treatise on gagaku and related traditions. In contrast to shomyo, printed gagaku notation was not published as there was never a large enough practicing population. Meiji Sentei-fu, standardized scores for the complete repertoire, were published in 1876/1888. Garfias – most widely read English study of togaku
- Kyoto was ravaged and destroyed during the Onin war and civil war from the mid-15th century; this disrupted the performance of ceremonies and gagaku which had been in place since the Nara period. Many musicians killed – houses ended – others fled to safer provinces. Under Hideyoshi and Ieyasu, the Emperor Ogimachi (1557-1586) played a large part in restoring gagaku traditions. Ieyasu restored scholarly and artistic pursuits to the court, making them an important reason for it to be well funded and restored. Confucian ideas went hand-in-hand with gagaku, as a well-ordered form of music to help the mind, and as such was appreciated by various nobles and high-ranking samurai under the Tokugawa regime. In Bizen, the previous Lord had banned street performance; Mitsumasa went further and banned all music (and dance) except classical (gagaku) and Noh. At Mitsumasa’s shrine, spring services used the Sojo mode, while autumn services used the Hyojo mode! The Bizen daimyo sent his musicians to learn the piece Yamato Mai in the years before the Meiji restoration, hoping that performance of the piece in Bizen would help to calm any unrest (very Confucian idea).
- Meiji restored gagaku as the symbol of imperial power and the Shinto religion. Used as a propaganda tool, portrayed as ‘unchanged and unchanging.’ Until post-WWII, composition of new pieces did not happen. Kishimoto Yoshihide was left to play music, unlike other family musicians who turned to other trades in the 19th century, after Meiji took away the support for them. Kishimoto blended gagaku with popular music, called ‘Kibigaku’. No biwa or kakko, with voice the main melodic part. Wanted a new musical tradition, with the essence and tradition of gagaku. Takemitsu, ‘In an Autumn Garden’, a good contemporary work for gagaku.
- There is a view that the modern sho and biwa parts carry ancient Chinese melodies, greatly slowed down, in the form of a cantus firmus. The traditional idea that saibara pieces had the same melody as togaku or komagaku pieces, cannot be seen in modern performance – however, these saibara vocal melodies closely resemble the ancient Chinese melodies of gagaku. Dubious theory?