Believe it or not,
Mayuzumi’s Nirvana Symphony was the first work
by any Japanese composer that I ever heard. In the mid-1960s,
I borrowed a copy of a long-deleted LP recording from the local
music library. That particular work made quite an impression
on me, then, although I found it rather austere as a whole.
Some time later, the late Manuel Rosenthal, then Music Director
of the Liège Symphony Orchestra - as it was then known - conducted
a performance of the colourful, if rather slight Bacchanal
(1954) that obviously inhabited a completely different sound-world.
At that time I did not know that Bacchanal had
been composed before the Nirvana Symphony. Now,
with this instalment in Naxos’s Japanese series, I understand
things a bit better, for the works here trace Mayuzumi’s early
composing life, from its very beginnings to its early maturity,
so that we may gather some idea of his musical progress over
the years. His output, however, was quite large and extraordinarily
varied, ranging from ‘pop’ items to sophisticated electronic
pieces, serial music and culminating in his two operas Kinkakuji
(1976) based on Mishima’s novel and Kojiki. Curiously
enough, these operas were written on commission from foreign
organisations (Deutsche Oper Berlin and Linz respectively).
Incidentally, a recording of Kinkakuji is available
on Fontec FOCD 3282/3, but I have not heard it.
Mayuzumi studied,
among others, with Qunihico Hashimoto and Akira Ifukube, whose
music may now be heard in two Naxos discs; and both of them
influenced the young composer in one way or another. Hashimoto
had a particular liking for French music, whereas Ifukube was
under the spell of Stravinsky’s Rite; and these
influences are quite clearly heard in Mayuzumi’s first orchestral
work Symphonic Mood completed in 1950. The first
panel opens in an obvious impressionistic mood and moves into
an energetic dance section. A varied restatement of the opening
concludes the first part. The second, dance-like panel is propelled
by massive ostinati - a technique probably learned from
Ifukube. The music is colourful, with oriental-sounding textures,
and displays a formidable orchestral mastery on the young composer’s
part.
Like the Nirvana
Symphony, although with different aims and means, the
Mandala Symphony is rather more
ambitious in intent, and – to some extent – rather more modern-sounding.
It is an attempt to blend Eastern and Western musical traditions
into a musically satisfying whole, while avoiding the all-too-obvious
picturesque clichés. This has been – and still is – a frequent
preoccupation of Eastern composers, be they Chinese or Japanese;
some have been more successful than others. The comparison with
the Nirvana Symphony can still be carried a step
further, in that Mayuzumi based the thematic material of Mandala
Symphony on two six-note rows derived from the overtones
of the bell of Buddhist temples, which he had studied in an
almost scientific way while in Kyoto. The first movement opens
with fragmentary ideas, with much percussion and – again – quite
a lot of ostinati; the music is sometimes reminiscent
of Stravinsky. The second movement Extrèmement lent (“Very
slow”) opens mysteriously. The music gains momentum - again
often generated by ostinati - punctuated by heavy brass
chords. It becomes somewhat more ponderous with heavy blows
from brass and percussion, before reaching a peaceful coda with
softly chiming percussion.
Bugaku
was composed for the New York City Ballet with choreography
by George Balanchine. The music draws on the ancient imperial
dance music of gagaku. This is clearly heard in the opening
bars of the first part, e.g. strings’ glissandi some eerie harmonies
over a bass drone. The mysterious introduction soon gives way
to an animated dance section capped by a coda, actually a shortened
restatement of the opening music. The second part opens somewhat
ominously with a bass drum ostinato leading into a stately
dance section gaining in intensity as the music unfolds and
ends with an emphatic peroration. In spite of the clear allusions
to gagaku, the music is lushly scored most of the time,
and is another example of Mayuzumi’s command of the orchestra.
The very early Rumba
Rhapsody, which surprisingly enough receives its first
performance, is an easy-going miniature in which the young composer
flexes his muscles. Light music of popular appeal, no doubt,
but quite expertly done.
These works by Mayuzumi
undoubtedly belong to his most accessible pieces, and none of
them may be considered an earth-shaking masterpiece; but they
all make for a very enjoyable disc. Excellent performances from
New Zealand and very fine recording throughout. With this release,
Naxos’s Japanese series moves closer in time. I hope that this
most welcome series will soon be investigating the music of
younger Japanese composers, such as Ikebe, Nishimura and Hosokawa,
to name but a few that come to mind.
Hubert Culot
see also Reviews
by Gary Higginson, Kevin
Sutton and Rob
Barnett
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