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Armed with over 2,000 years of history, Japan has been able to develop its own musical language, with forms of expression that are linked tightly to theatre and dance. The country's recent westernisation has contributed to the emergence of a new style which takes on board both Japanese roots and outside influences. This album offers a selection of choral works composed after 1950, in a period when many Japanese composers were gradually liberating themselves from outside influences.
That was the case with Toshio Hosokawa (born in 1953) who started out writing in the "western avant-garde style", before taking inspiration from the traditional music of his homeland. The Lotus, based on the Buch der Lieder by Heinrich Heine which Schumann set to music, uses a vocal ensemble and light, discreet percussion, Japanese singing bowls and wind chimes.
Töru Takemitsu (1930-1996) is thought of as one of Japan's greatest composers, both at home and around the world. While few, his choral works are very evocative and call up childhood memories, and the "sakura" (cherry blossom) of the popular songs that he arranges in his own style. His music possesses a fascinating subtlety.
Michio Mamiya (born 1929) turned early in life to the study of folk music, in the manner of Bartók and Kodály. He collects and transcribes the songs of the oral tradition, which he then works into his music. Finally, Jô Kondô (born 1947) takes inspiration from the great Flemish polyphonists like Johannes Ockeghem, setting modern Japanese literary texts to music. His complex music at once reinforces and hides the ambiguities of the poem, with constant changes in rhythm and a polytextuality inherited from western medieval music. © François Hudry/Qobuz
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Die Lotosblume for mixed Chorus and Percussion (Toshio Hosokawa)
Marcus Creed, Conductor - Toshio Hosokawa, Composer - Bernhard Hartmann, Artist - Franz Bach, Artist - SWR Vokalensemble, Choir, MainArtist - Wakako Nakaso, Artist - Alexander Yudenkov, Artist - Dorothea Winkel, Artist - Stefanie Gläser-Blumenschein, Artist
(C) 2019 SWR Classic (P) 2019 SWR Classic
Wind Horse (Töru Takemitsu)
Marcus Creed, Conductor - Toru Takemitsu, Composer - SWR Vokalensemble, Choir, MainArtist
(C) 2019 SWR Classic (P) 2019 SWR Classic
2. Spell of Fingers (Töru Takemitsu)
Marcus Creed, Conductor - Toru Takemitsu, Composer - SWR Vokalensemble, Choir, MainArtist - Wiebke Wighardt, Artist - Dorothea Winkel, Artist
(C) 2019 SWR Classic (P) 2019 SWR Classic
3. Vocalise II for male choir (Töru Takemitsu)
Marcus Creed, Conductor - Toru Takemitsu, Composer - SWR Vokalensemble, Choir, MainArtist
(C) 2019 SWR Classic (P) 2019 SWR Classic
4. Vocalise III for mixed chorus (Töru Takemitsu)
Marcus Creed, Conductor - Toru Takemitsu, Composer - SWR Vokalensemble, Choir, MainArtist
(C) 2019 SWR Classic (P) 2019 SWR Classic
5. Legend of the Dining Table (Töru Takemitsu)
Marcus Creed, Conductor - Toru Takemitsu, Composer - SWR Vokalensemble, Choir, MainArtist
(C) 2019 SWR Classic (P) 2019 SWR Classic
Compositions for chorus No.1 for mixed chorus a cappella (Michio Mamiya)
Marcus Creed, Conductor - Philip Niederberger, Artist - Hubert Mayer, Artist - Michio Mamiya, Composer - SWR Vokalensemble, Choir, MainArtist
(C) 2019 SWR Classic (P) 2019 SWR Classic
II (Michio Mamiya)
Marcus Creed, Conductor - Michio Mamiya, Composer - SWR Vokalensemble, Choir, MainArtist
(C) 2019 SWR Classic (P) 2019 SWR Classic
III (Michio Mamiya)
Marcus Creed, Conductor - Michio Mamiya, Composer - SWR Vokalensemble, Choir, MainArtist
(C) 2019 SWR Classic (P) 2019 SWR Classic
IV (Michio Mamiya)
Marcus Creed, Conductor - Philip Niederberger, Artist - Hubert Mayer, Artist - Michio Mamiya, Composer - SWR Vokalensemble, Choir, MainArtist - Hitoshi Tamada, Artist
(C) 2019 SWR Classic (P) 2019 SWR Classic
Songs II (Töru Takemitsu)
Marcus Creed, Conductor - Toru Takemitsu, Composer - SWR Vokalensemble, Choir, MainArtist
(C) 2019 SWR Classic (P) 2019 SWR Classic
2. Wings (Töru Takemitsu)
Marcus Creed, Conductor - Toru Takemitsu, Composer - SWR Vokalensemble, Choir, MainArtist
(C) 2019 SWR Classic (P) 2019 SWR Classic
Motet under the Rose for twelve voices (Jo Kondo)
Marcus Creed, Conductor - Jo Kondo, Composer - SWR Vokalensemble, Choir, MainArtist
(C) 2019 SWR Classic (P) 2019 SWR Classic
Songs I (Töru Takemitsu)
Marcus Creed, Conductor - Toru Takemitsu, Composer - SWR Vokalensemble, Choir, MainArtist
(C) 2019 SWR Classic (P) 2019 SWR Classic
Album review
Armed with over 2,000 years of history, Japan has been able to develop its own musical language, with forms of expression that are linked tightly to theatre and dance. The country's recent westernisation has contributed to the emergence of a new style which takes on board both Japanese roots and outside influences. This album offers a selection of choral works composed after 1950, in a period when many Japanese composers were gradually liberating themselves from outside influences.
That was the case with Toshio Hosokawa (born in 1953) who started out writing in the "western avant-garde style", before taking inspiration from the traditional music of his homeland. The Lotus, based on the Buch der Lieder by Heinrich Heine which Schumann set to music, uses a vocal ensemble and light, discreet percussion, Japanese singing bowls and wind chimes.
Töru Takemitsu (1930-1996) is thought of as one of Japan's greatest composers, both at home and around the world. While few, his choral works are very evocative and call up childhood memories, and the "sakura" (cherry blossom) of the popular songs that he arranges in his own style. His music possesses a fascinating subtlety.
Michio Mamiya (born 1929) turned early in life to the study of folk music, in the manner of Bartók and Kodály. He collects and transcribes the songs of the oral tradition, which he then works into his music. Finally, Jô Kondô (born 1947) takes inspiration from the great Flemish polyphonists like Johannes Ockeghem, setting modern Japanese literary texts to music. His complex music at once reinforces and hides the ambiguities of the poem, with constant changes in rhythm and a polytextuality inherited from western medieval music. © François Hudry/Qobuz
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 14 track(s)
- Total length: 01:08:21
- 1 Digital booklet
- Main artists: SWR Vokalensemble
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: SWR Classic
- Area: Japon
- Genre: Classical Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) Choral Music (Choirs)
- Period: Contemporary music
(C) 2019 SWR Classic (P) 2019 SWR Classic
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