Supported by Japan Foundation

19 Mar. 2006 Tucson
14:30 pre-concert talk
15:00 St. Philip ’s In The Hills Episcopal Church

East meets West
Etenraku - Japanese court music
Fantasia No.21 “Udite Ecco le Trombe” 1603
Ich Stuend an einem Morgen 1534
Canzone Francese Terza, del Primo Tuono Finto 1641
Fantasia No.5 Z 739 1680
Concert in d minor H.545 1680-81––––Prelude/ Allemande/ Gigue Angloise
Prelude No.1 from The Well- Tempered Clavier I BWV846
O Man, thy Grievous Sin Bemoan BWV622 1714
Sinfonia No.12 BWV798 1720-1723

The 7th CenturyA. Banchieri (1568-1634)
L. Senfl (c.1486-1542/3)
G. Salvatore (early17c-1688)
H. Purcell (1659-1695)
M.A.Charpentier (1634-1704)
1722 J. S. Bach (1685-1750)––– Intermission –––Sang Hwa 1999–––– Hibikiatte/ Ame no youni/ Tawamurete/ Kaze no youni hayaku
Batalha de 5˚ Tom 1695?
The Cries of Kyoto, Fantasia “Tohoku” 1991
Suite for Noble Cats 1990–––– Prelude-Fuga/ Arietta/ Scherzo Misterioso/ Gavotte/ Gigue

Yoko Sato (b.1971)
D. da Conceição (fl.1695)
David Loeb (b.1939)
Ryouhei Hirose (b.1930)

All programs are subject to change .

NOTESEtenraku
This is the most famous work in the Japanese Gagaku repertoire. It recreates the atmosphere ofa wedding or the Japanese New Year season. It has remained as an active piece since the 7th century,
often being sung with a poem from that time. Now what’s happening with viols? As the arranger, I
propose something in the style of Heisei (reign name for the current emperor).
For this arrangement I used a recording of “Hyojo Etenraku” made by the ensemble of theImperial Court. I had to eliminate the metallic percussion instrument ‘shoko’, but was able to readily
imitate the sounds of the plucked strings: ‘koto’ and ‘biwa’, as well as the ‘taiko’ wooden drum. Thetendency of the transverse flute ‘ryuteki’ and the oboe ‘hichiriki’ to use glissandi presented a challenge,
but the members of the consort are Japanese after all, and they understand this very well. The mouthorgan ‘sho’ sounds fit in very well, matched by the higher harmonics of the viols, especially in clusters.
Thus Gagaku and the viols fit together very well.
Tsutomu MizunoTsutomu Mizuno graduated from the Tokyo Nat ional Un iversity of Fine Arts and Music. He iscurrently a lecturer at Junshin University, and has been composing for viols continuously since 1983.

Udite Ecco le Trombe“Listen to the Sound of the Trumpets” is by the Italian organist-composer Banchieri.
with the joy and cheer of the Italian sunshine.

It is filled

Ich Stuend an einem Morgen
Senfl was a Swiss composer active in Germany. In the sixteenth century his polyphonic songs
were very popular in Germany. Their main melody was usually in the tenor part. In this piece thetenor viol expresses a song with grief placed between the canonic parts of the melody “Ich Stuend aneinem Morgen”.
YKVC recorded it in the CD “Buffet” YKVC 0201.
Canzone Francese Terza
Salvatore’s canzona was an early Italian Baroque instrumental piece, consisting of several parts ofin the manner of a toccata. The first section is entitled “Primo Tuono Finto” and the following section
has the suggestion “Concerto di Viole”(viol consort). The usages of chromaticism and sharp
dissonances express the open Latin passion.
Fantasia No.5The four-part Purcell “Fantasia No.5” was composed on June 22, 1680, when the 21-year oldPurcell already been appointed organist at Westminster Abbey. This was among his last works in an
already outmode style. In them one can view with admiration his genius for imitation, inversion ofmelodies, and chromaticism. It was Purcell’s music which first attracted modern audiences of the lastcentury to the sounds of viols and to early music.
Concert in d minor
Charpentier was a French composer who studied with Carissimi and worked in Paris. This
concert, composed in 1680-81, is a set of French dances, and thus is really a suite. Its charm comesfrom the treatment of dissonances in its harmony, and it might not be by chance that the English
composer Purcell used quite similar treatment of dissonances in his collection of Fantasias composed atabout the same time.
Prelude No.1
“The Well-Tempered Clavier I” based partly on the “Little Clavier Book”, consists of twenty four
preludes and fugues in all major and minor keys, an event crucial to music history. These wereoriginally performed by two hands on a keyboard. However for us the true nature of the works
becomes much clearer when played by four or five viols. “No.1” became very famous as anaccompaniment added to Gounod's “Ave Maria”. It appears as five voices to us, therefore each plays
either one or two voices with viol pizzicati.
YKVC recorded it in the CD ”Ja, doch BACH” YKVC 0503.
O Man, thy Grievous Sin Bemoan
Bach composed this prelude for organ in 1714 at the Weissenfels Palace in Weimar, where he hadlearned about the rich Italian style of ornamentation from music which Duke Johann Ernst had broughtfrom the Netherlands. Thus the soprano choral part has rich ornamentation, expressing the depth ofredemption. We sympathize with Bach's words from a letter sent to his student J.G. Ziegler in 1746:“Performance should conform to the meaning of the chorale verse.” Historically viols had been usedby many composers to symbolize passion or the image of heaven. When Bach uses viols, he often does

so in slow tempi, so we find viols very suitable for a piece marked ‘Adagio assai’.
Viols were first brought to Japan by Portuguese missionaries in 1561 to assist in singing masses,
instead of using an organ, which arrived in 1579 or 1580.* From this circumstance we got the idea toplay more organ music to expand possibilities of expression of the viol consort and to extend ourrepertoire.
*Y. Kambe, “Viols in Japan in the Sixteenth and Early Seventeenth Centuries” Journal of VdGSA
37 (2000): 31-66
YKVC recorded it in the CD “Ja, doch BACH” YKVC 0503.
Sinfonia No.12
Bach entitled these pieces Fantasia in the “Little Clavier Book”, written in 1720 for his son
Wilhelm Friedemann, changing the title to Sinfonia when they became part of a collection intended toguide amateurs in cantabile playing in 1723. “No.12” comprises a dia-logue of three voices over a
basso continuo. The pleasant theme seems to us to go for a walk.
YKVC recorded it in the CD “Ja, doch BACH” YKVC 0503.
Sang Hwa
With each short movement the listener should see flowers unfolding in overlapping patterns. An
Asian feeling emerges from the contemporary usages of early instruments.
Yoko Sarto
Yoko Sato graduated fro m Tokyo College of Music where she majored in co mposition. She also holds
a Master's Degree in Co mposition fro m the University of Hawai'i, Manoa. Up to the present, she hascomposed three pieces for viola da gamba, Sang Hwa, Memo ry of Trees, and Ocean Songs. She serves asMusical Director of ORA-J, an ensemb le of Japanese instrumentalists who seek to develop a repertoire ofcontemporary music for traditional Japanese instruments.

YKVC recorded it in the CD “Buffet” YKVC 0201.
Batalha de 5°Tom
Fr. Diego da Conceição was Portuguese composer about whom we know almost nothing. His“Batalha” on the 5th Tone is from “Fr. Roque da Conceicao Livro de Obras de Orgao”, Portugaliae
Musica XI, Lisbon, 1967.
At that time, battles were frequent. This piece begins with political negotiations, theirbreakdown, a skirmish, signals of trumpets and drums, commencement of the battle proper, hard fighting
and the end. Then you see a pastoral scene. After all that they are eating and drinking! Since thepiece has no sections in minor, we think it must have been victorious battle.
Wishing for world peace for the twenty-first century…
YKVC recorded it in the CD “Buffet” YKVC 0201.
The Cries of Kyoto and Fantasia Tohoku
These come from Book IV of the “Fantasias for the Japanese Consort” series, begun in 1984, andcontinuing still. “The Cries of Kyoto” represent a Japanese reinterpretation of “The Cries of London”
pieces of the English Renaissance, using melodies often heard in the large Nishiki market in Kyoto.
Occasional long tones symbolize the temple bell from the shrine at the Eastern end of the market.
“Fantasia Tohoku” is a short cheerful piece in the spirit of folklore from Northern Japan (‘Tohoku’means Northeastern Region), although all the melodies are original, as is their contrapuntal treatment inkeeping with the old fantasia tradition.
David LoebDavid Loeb has composed an extensive body of solo, consort, and large ensemble works fo r vio la dagamba since 1964. In addition to Yukimi Kambe and her consort, such performers as August Wenzinger,Hannelore Müller, Dennis Nesbitt, and Judith Davidoff and the New York Consort of Viols have frequentlyperformed h is works. His many awards include prizes in co mposition fro m the Vio la da Gamba Societ ies ofEngland, Japan, and the United States. So me o f these pieces are published and recorded. He has also
composed many works for Japanese instruments and occasionally performs some of them.

It is recorded by YKVC in the D.Loeb’s CD “Echoes from Bronze Bells” VMM 2029.
Suite for Noble Cats
Though the titles of the different parts are taken from old music, I intended to realize modern
expression. For example: I sought cheerful activity in Prelude, loveliness in the Aria, wildness andmystery in the Scherzo, esprit and wit in the Gavotte, and rapid mobility in the Gigue. In fact, all ofthese qualities are attributes of cats!
Ryouhei Hirose
Ryouhei Hirose graduated from the Tokyo University of Music and Arts. He has concentrated lately
on writing for western instruments, although he also composes for orchestra, early instruments, and traditional
Japanese instruments. He seeks “reaffirmat ion of hu man values through music”, and also attaches much
importance to communicat ion between performers and audiences. He directed the Research Centre forJapanese Traditional Music and Kyoto City University of Arts. He is currently president of the Kyoto
Concert Hall.

YKVC recorded it in the CD “Buffet” YKVC 0201.

Yukimi Kambe Viol Consort
Yukimi Kambe

www.ykvc.jp

Eriko Ozawa

Maki Noguchi

Kaori Hashizume