Japanese Celebration Melodies

Matsuri bayashi, the celebratory festival music of Japanese prefectures, provides the core for this album, albeit reimagined for a contemporary world. We approach the rural countryside in the first brief track, ‘Harutsugedori’, where whistles imitate bird song and we return to the contemporary world in the final track, ‘Hidamari’, a Westernised childlike melody referencing a popular manga about the daily life of schoolgirls living in high rise apartments. In between are 18 short tracks but, whereas matsuri bayashi mixes the shinobue flute with small and large drums, it is the shamisen three-stringed plucked lute that is central here. A second flute, the nohkan transverse flute once found in Noh and Kabuki theatrical performances, supplements the ensemble along with a host of additional drums, gongs, bell trees, and wood blocks. Some flute melodies suggest ancient gagaku repertoires, and the shamisen adds folk songs (for example, ‘Kappore’) and music from a butterfly dance (‘Rokudan Kuzushi’). Arguably, matsuri can be repetitive, except in its staged development as taiko groups such as Kodō, and the shamisen, originating in the 16th century and associated primarily with narrative genres where it accompanies singing, is somewhat restricted (it tends to play monophonic melodies and is known for its buzzy sound – sawari). Hence, the approach in Japanese Celebration Melodies is to blend the different musical elements while making the most of the available contrasts in sound. And it succeeds, offering plenty to keep both aficionados and novice listeners happy.