Imported from Japan: A look at Japanese Composers Composing for Band – by Christopher Heidenreich

IMPORTED FROM JAPAN: A LOOK AT JAPANESE COMPOSERS COMPOSING FOR BAND

BY CHRISTOPHER HEIDENREICH

If you have recently attended Midwest, most likely you witnessed one of the highquality performances given by a wind band from Japan. Roughly the size of California with a population of approximately 126.5 million as of 2018, Japan, its musicians and people, reveres its wind bands. Many wind bands in Japan rehearse for two hours each day after school as well as on Saturday and Sunday, and often these groups are working to attain entrance to the exclusive All-Japan Band Contest held each October and November in Tokyo. While Japanese composers and orchestrators have crafted numerous popular sounding music and arrangements of musicals and the like, new music is regularly written on commission and for required compositions for the Band Contest. These pieces appear to go unnoticed by conductors in the United States. The results of the survey mentioned below indicate lack of profile or awareness of these works.

In the Summer 2019 quarterly newsletter from the College Band Directors National Association, an informal review of concert programs revealed that over 1,400 total works were performed by schools reporting (including repeated works). Of that number, only 5 different works were performed by 4 composers from the country of Japan. Further, in Teaching Music Through Performing in Band (TMTPB) Volumes 1-11 which includes over 880 total musical selections in grades 4-6, only 26 are by composers from Japan, less than 3 % of all works.

In his book Wind Band and Cultural Identity in Japanese Schools, author David G. Hebert states that wind bands are “significant ensembles in contemporary Japanese society” (p. 3). In his first chapter, he affirms and demonstrates that these school bands are among the “world’s finest.” As noted by Timothy Reynish in his website titled “Japanese Music,” the country holds “an incredible wealth of music of all types” worth exploring with the ease of availability in publisher and composer websites.

Below are brief biographies and descriptions of one selection each from eight composers born and musically trained in Japan, five selections for wind band and three for chamber ensembles. Four of the selections use authentic Japanese melodies, sometimes in full or utilizing folk melodic material for the music. Four of the selections are featured in TMTPB for further information or more detailed composer biographies, and their difficulty grades range from 3-5. In addition to Hebert’s book and Reynish’s website, please see Professor Emeritus Ray Cramer’s article “Exploring the Japanese Band Culture” in Volume 7 of TMTPB for a personal view of the school programs in Japan.

Associate Professor Dr. Christopher P. Heidenreich began serving at Louisiana Tech University as Director of Bands in the fall of 2021. Prior work includes fifteen years in higher education as well as fourteen teaching public school in Ohio. He completed his Doctor of Music in Wind Conducting from Indiana University in 2006 and holds degrees in Music Education from The Ohio State University and Bowling Green State University. In 2002, he was awarded the American School Band Directors Association’s “Distinguished Band Director” Award for the North Central Region, and in 2013 UM-Flint awarded him the Faculty Distinguished Service Award.

SONGS BYYOGOTO(B.1958)

Yo Goto has presented clinics and served as a guest conductor, and his works have been performed at many national and international conventions in the U.S. and abroad. He currently is the executive director of the Japan Academic Society of Wind Music, the executive advisor of the committee of the Japan Band Clinic, and professor at the Showa University of Music.

Goto has written many other works for wind band including a grade 3 work entitled Dancing in Air (2004) available through C. Alan Publications along with other music for solo and chamber ensembles.

Songs (2009) was commissioned by the Hamamatsu Cultural Foundation, Japan, and won the 2011 Sousa/Ostwald Award held by the American Bandmasters Association. The commission project, titled “Band Ishin” or “Band Restoration,” commissions new works for wind ensemble from Japanese composers who work in the field of orchestra, chorus, jazz, television, and film. The score requires 24 parts, and each part is to be played by a single performer with each regarded as a soloist; as such, the simple “songs” and song fragments are to be played in their own way and sometimes in their own tempo without meter. The composer’s intent is to have the work sound as an accumulation of freely performed melodies. Although some “songs” have different characteristics, all of them are derived from a melody played by the clarinet at the beginning of the piece. After a slow introduction, the music moves into a rhythmic B section which tosses the rhythm fragments among the individual players and sections. This is followed by a return of the slower opening section, and the piece ends with a return to the tempo and style of the B section as the rhythmic fragment fades away.

Songs is listed as a Grade 4 by the publisher. There is an inherent independence of parts due to the composer’s requirement of one player per part, but the technical demands are appropriate for this grade level. The first and second clarinet, tuba, and euphonium have unmetered solos. The piece is featured in Volume 9 of TMTPB.

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BEYONDBYWATARUHOKOYAMA (B.1974)

Wataru Hokoyama presently resides in Los Angeles, California, after leaving Japan at the age of 16. He initially attended the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan and with academic work at the Cleveland Institute of Music where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. He holds an advanced certificate in scoring for motion pictures and television programs from the University of Southern California School of Music. Two other works of note by Hokoyama are Nebula (2006) published by Audica Music and Spiritual Planet (2004) available for rental through Bravo Music.

In 2001, the Japan Air SelfDefense Western Air Band commissioned and premiered Hokoyama’s Beyond. The composer states that the music was inspired by and written in a Hollywood style in the vein of John Williams. Further, he expressed his desire to create music that demonstrated the setting and the imagery of the pilots that fly for the Air SelfDefense.

To that end, the music is fanfare in nature with sudden changes in key and mood. The score calls for two tenor saxophones, and, while harp is not required, it lends to the atmosphere created by the music. After the opening fanfare, the first section utilizes a broad sweeping melody that moves through various orchestrations. The second section is slow, passionate, and sweeping with transitional material moving to a return of the first section. The fanfare repeats followed by a concluding coda based on the fanfare motive.

Beyond was reissued after several edits in 2005 and is available through Master’s Music. It is featured in Vol. 6 of TMTPB and is listed as a Grade 5 due to the considerable demands in terms of register and endurance on the brass in addition to the woodwind technique required by the music.

JAPANESE FOLK SONG SUITEBY BINKANEDA(1935-2002)

Bin Kaneda graduated in 1959 from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music where he majored in composition. In 1980, he became Professor of Music Education at the University of Gifu and in 1983 was named Professor of Composition at the Aichi Prefecture University of Fine Arts and Music. In 1996, he became Professor of Music for Graduate Education at the University of Gifu and in 1999 was named Professor Emeritus at the Aichi Prefecture University.

Japanese Folk Song Suite was originally published by Shawnee Press but is now available through Boosey & Hawkes. It consists of three songs for children referred to as Warabe-uta in Japan which are similar to nursery rhymes. Each tune occurs in part or in full and utilizes the melodic material to introduce the movement or as development material throughout.

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The first movement is in the key of G minor, in 6/8 time, and the melody entitled Antagat-dokosa or “Where are you from?”is often used to accompany a game that uses a bouncing hand-ball. Written for the brass and percussion, each section features the brass at various times in the movement. The second movement is set in the key of C minor, titled “Lullaby,” and is known as Komori-uta in Japan. It expresses the joys and sorrows of taking care of very young children. Only the woodwinds play in this movement, beginning and ending with a freely written flute solo. The final movement is centered around C and is for the entire wind band and percussion; the tune was written to accompany a bouncing ball game that is sung with the words Yamader no oshosa, or “An Ancient Priest in a Mountain Temple.”

The piece is a Grade 4 work featuring an independence parts with very little cross written parts for most of the winds. The percussion parts are not very demanding yet provide color and atmosphere to the music.

JAPANESE TUNEBYSOICHI KONAGAYA(B.1949)

Soichi Konagaya graduated from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in 1973 with a major in percussion. He began his career as a composer while still a student and shortly after began arranging for CBS Sony studio.

Japanese Tune is a grade 4.5 selection and a collection of three folk tunes including “The Genroku Flower Festival Dance,” “Cherry Blossoms (Sakura),” and “Yagi Bushi.” The 1985 arrangement was commissioned by Zushi Kaisel High School, Kanagawa, Japan, and published in 1987 by Molenaar’s Muziekcentrale. The score calls for three authentic Japanese instruments including the shime-taiko, Oh-Taiko, and chan-chiki. Each of these authentic instruments can be imitated by striking on a traditional snare drum with snares off, a bass drum with wooden sticks on the head, and the cup of a cymbal with a triangle beater.

The piece starts with a mysterious introduction that features glissandos and other effects to establish the mood. Each melody is identified in the score and appears in its entirety, and melodic fragments are used to provide transitions between sections. A short flute solo connects two of the tunes, and the final section could be opened up to a longer percussion section solo. Some double-tonguing will be required depending on the tempo of the final melody. The score calls for E-flat clarinet which doubles the flute parts and a soprano saxophone that switches to alto saxophone after the introduction. This selection can be found in Volume 2 of TMTPB.

AND THE OCEAN GLOWSBY SATOSHIYAGISAWA(B.1975)

Satoshi Yagisawa graduated from the Musashino Academia Musicae and the Department of Composition with additional studies in trumpet and band instruction. After completing a master's degree at Musashino, he continued research studies for two additional years. He teaches wind, string, and percussion instruments at Tokyo Music & Media Arts, Shobi. Other works by the composer include the Grade 5 To Be Vivid Stars (2008) available through Penders Music Company, and Machu Picchu: City in the Sky (2005) available through Bravo Music is featured in Volume 6 of TMTPB. The composer states the following in the score:

“And Then the Ocean Glows was commissioned by Niihama Grade School, located in the eastern part of Ehime Prefecture, Japan, and its director, Mr. Shinichi Tagawa, and completed in April of 2002. Mr. Tagawa and I titled the piece together, drawing from sectional themes of “Shining Morning Ocean”, “Wind Stormy Ocean” and “Large Mother Ocean.” Before I began composing the piece, I visited Niihama’s rehearsal and met the band’s inspired young students.”

True to his program notes, the work utilizes various orchestration, percussion techniques, and running ascending and descending scales to emulate ocean waves and turmoil. Set in the key of A-flat, the piece begins with a reoccurring slow introduction depicting a calm ocean with free tempo parts for piccolo, triangle, woodblock, and glockenspiel. The B section is hinted at during the previous section and is explored thematically with a background of rolling chromatic and octatonic scale variations and percussion effects portraying an ocean storm. The slow introduction returns scored for the full ensemble in two distinct settings followed by a grandioso setting of the B theme to

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conclude the work.

The selection calls for an ocean drum, a two-headed tambourineshaped instrument with various beads trapped in the middle to be slowly swished back and forth by wind players as indicated in the score. It is listed as a Grade 3 because of the many running scales for the woodwinds and the fanfare-like brass parts.

CHAMBER MUSIC

TAKU CHI SUI BYMASAMICZ AMANO(B.1957)

Masamicz Amano is a graduate of Kunitachi College of Music in composition. As a student, he wrote for a wide range of musical ensembles including jazz, rock, folk groups, pops, and classical. After completing his studies, he pursued the study of Computer Music Instruments in Australia. He remained overseas while recording and conducting his own works in many countries throughout central Europe.

The work was composed around one of the parables associated with the Chinese I Ching or “Book of Changes.” In his program notes (only provided in Japanese in the score), Amano cites one of the 64 Hexagrams that comprise this ancient Chinese divination text written over a period of centuries from 1000-200 BC as his source for the emotions of the piece. The title Taku Chi Sui translates to “puddle” and metaphorically can be seen as a “gathering place.” Specifically, the music relates to 45 Tsui which reads as follows: temple. One benefits from observing the great man. This brings success Perseverance furthers. Bringing great offerings creates good fortune. One can thus strive to accomplish great things.

The seven winds and one percussionist include flute, clarinet, alto saxophone doubling on baritone saxophone, horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba, and percussion comprised of drum set, shaker and vibe. The music has three sections with a rock-feel at the outset, middle, and end in which the winds provide hits to emphasize the meter changes and the drum set provides rocklike fills. A wide spanning theme emphasizing the octave is stated after the brief introduction and becomes the basis for melodic material throughout the piece. Cadenzas are written for alto saxophone, flute, trombone, and tuba.

The publisher Brain Music lists the work as a Grade 5 due to the rhythmic nature and technical demands particularly of the woodwinds found in the music.

SNOW OF AN AYNU VILLAGEBY HIROKAZUFUKUSHIMA(B.1971)

Hirokazu Fukushima graduated with a Bachelor’s degree and Certificate Diploma from the Tokyo College of Music where he studied composition. He has been previously nominated and won the Asahi Composition Prize for his 1999 work entitled Chant for Dosozin and been awarded the Japan Bandmasters Association Shitaya Prize in 2003.

Composed in 2007, Snow of an Aynu Village is written for seven winds and one percussionist. The winds include flute doubling on piccolo, clarinet, alto saxophone, trumpet, horn, and trombone. It could be useful to use two performers on the percussion part because of the numerous instruments called for including vibraphone, suspended cymbal, Tam tam, timpani, triangle, woodblocks, and wind chime, and a few rapid changes that occur.

The composer notes in the score that he purposefully selected folk tunes from the northernmost state in Japan from which the commission originated. Fukushima continues by saying that the music represents the people who live “strongly” and worship the gods of snow. The music begins slowly in the key of D minor with a first folk song statement by the clarinet. Counterlines are created with melodic fragments and thematic development. This use of theme continues in the second section with a new folk song utilizing a new faster tempo and a variety of rhythmic ideas and changing meters. The work concludes with a slow return of the first section with more melodic fragmentation of the first folk melody.

The publisher lists the music as a Grade 4.5. A flexible instrumentation wind band version was created by Fukushima in 2012 and is available through Bravo Music.

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HAWORTHIA BYDAISUKE SHIMIZU(B.1980)

Daisuke Shimizu is a 2002 graduate of the Showa College of Music where he studied composition and saxophone. His works have been composed for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force Chubu Band, Japan Ground SelfDefense Force Eastern Army Band, Yamaha Symphonic Band, and the Siena Wind Orchestra.

The piece was named after the haworthia flower which tends to be white with small green or brown striations and are usually found in South Africa. The provided program notes (which are written in only Japanese) tells of the composer’s fondness of the plant and that the three parts of the music and overall characteristics are meant to create impressions of this member of the lily family from Africa.

The work is set for flute doubling on piccolo, clarinet, alto saxophone doubling on baritone saxophone, trumpet, horn, trombone with option doubling or substituting on euphonium, tuba, and percussion which includes Glockenspiel, vibraphone, and djembe. Overall, the work is very melodic, opening with the first theme stated in the first measure and the rhythm used as a reoccurring motive throughout the entire selection. The piece is highlighted by a rhythmic B section in which the baritone saxophone and djembe set a groove with a very rock-like mood. The composers suggests that the djembe part be improvised and that the written part is only a suggestion. The slower sections feature weaving lines among the woodwinds with the brass mostly providing a harmonic pad. The more expressive opening returns in the center of the work followed by a return of the B groove to conclude the piece. The publisher Brain Music lists the work as a Grade 5 due to the rhythmic demands and numerous technical passages in the woodwinds.

REFERENCES Carmichael, John C. “Beyond: Wataru Hokoyama.” Teaching Music through Performance in Band (Vol. 6), edited by Richard Miles. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2007, pp. 461-467. Cramer, Ray. “Exploring the Japanese Band Culture,” Teaching Music Through Performing in Band (Vol. 7), edited by Richard Miles. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2009, pp. 123-152.

Hebert, David G. Wind Bands and Cultural Identity in Japanese Schools. New York: Springer, 2011.

“Japanese Composers.” Wind Repertory Project, https://www. windrep.org/Category:Japanese_ Composers. Accessed 05 January 2021.

Pease, Andy. “Snow of an Aynu Village,” Wind Literature: A Conductor’s Perspective. https://windliterature. org/2018/08/30/snow-of-anaynu-village-by-hirokazufukushima/#:~:text=Hirokazu%20 Fukushima%20(b.,Association%20 Shitaya%20Prize%20in%202003. Accessed 07 January 2021. Reynish, Timothy. “Timothy Reynish: Repertoire by Country: Japan.” Timothy Reynish, http:// www.timreynish.com/repertoire/ repertoire-by-country/japan. php#music. Accessed 1 December 2020.