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CONCERT programme |
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Hibiki |
For over a thousand years Taiko drumming
has been used in Japan to celebrate the village festival, sound the rice
planting season, drum up a storm in a call for rain, beat off famine
and plague, and call the attention of the gods at religious ceremonies.
This style of performance which developed at the “onsen” hot
spring resorts in Ishikawa prefecture, is based on the ancient tradition
of “mushiokuri” – playing the barrel drum with bamboo
beaters in order to chase the crop-eating insects out of the rice paddies.
Together with this style, the players improvise solos, and the piece
climaxes with the spectacular “tsubame-kaeshi” cross-hands
style typical of the west coast of Japan.
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Miyake
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This traditional festival song and taiko
piece comes from Kamitsuki Kiyari Daiko of Miyake Island, one of the
seven volcanic islands off of the Izu Peninsula. At the yearly festival,
shrines are carried through the streets to pray for the well-being of
the village. The “kiyari” song and driving rhythms accompany
the rough wave-like motions of the shrines carried upon the shoulders
of the villagers, as the shrines are passed from one neighbourhood to
the next. |
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Hachijo |
This piece originates in Hachijo Island,
near Tokyo. On this island taiko developed as a form of music, played
for enjoyment rather than for ceremony, and for this reason, this is
one of the few areas of Japan where women were allowed to play the taiko
drums in ancient times. (Times have since changed, and these days in
Japan there are actually more female taiko players than male!) The Nihon
Buyoh dance in the Yukata (cotton Kimono) leads into a feminine and graceful
style of taiko, with the musical communication between the two drummers
ranging from the playful to the passionate.
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Gojinjo Taiko
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The origins of Gojinjo Taiko, roughly
translated as “war song drumming”, are known as a 400 year
old legend from the turbulent age of civil war. In the 16th century,
an invading army led by a samurai warlord was sweeping across Japan from
south to north. When the troops approached the small coastal village
of Nabune on the Noto Hanto peninsula, populated only by farmers and
fishermen, the brave villagers scared off the invading army by playing
the taiko drums wearing demon masks hewn from wood and seaweed. This
is our own version of this atmospheric and powerful piece. |
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Gezan Bayashi |
In Aomori prefecture in northern Japan,
pilgrims gather at the sacred Mt. Izami for a Shinto purification ritual,
ascending the mountain in a long procession wearing their white robes.
After the cleansing of their spirits, the pilgrims descend the mountain,
and this light-hearted flute & drum song is the expression of their
happiness.
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Hanayaka
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This is a traditional style of playing
from the Fukui area, where the players move on & off the drums, playing
improvised solos over the “mitsu-uchi” base rhythm typical
of the west coast of Japan. The showmanship in the “bachi-sabaki”,
drumstick spinning and poses, is very important, as each player develops
their own unique style of performance. |
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Yatai Bayashi
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The Chichibu Festival is one of the most
famous festivals in Japan, held yearly in December. Huge festival carts
are pulled through the narrow streets of Chichibu by hundreds of people,
each cart ornately carved and decorated with gold. Inside the carts,
there are teams of drummers who keep the beat going all through the night.
The low driving sounds of the Nagado drums encourage the people heaving
the carts along the streets, and the high pitched Shime rolls accompany
the turning of the carts around a corner. As the space inside each cart
is limited, a unique way of playing has been developed, playing the taiko
in a strenuous and challenging position.
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