01. Music For Tinguely 10:01 02. Appearance 20:36 03. Music For Living Space 8:52
Music For Tinguely was composed in 1963, Appearance in 1967, Music For Living Space in 1969. Limited edition of 1000 copies.
Toshi Ichiyanagi is a well-renowned Japanese avant-garde composer who made brilliant pieces of tape music. This release consists of three of his obscure tape works. "Music for Tinguely" (1963) was made from the junk objects by kinetic sculptor Jean Tinguely. "Appearance" (1967) is the artist's first live electronic performance, also featuring John Cage and David Tudor -- very noisy and hardcore! "Music For Living Space" (1969) was composed for the inner "Future Section" of the Sun Tower at the World Expo in Osaka. A computer-generated voice reads Sun Tower architect Kisyo Kurokawa's artistic manifesto. Strange!
Oen (A Woman Named 'En') 01. Pt. 1 2:00 02. Pt. 2 1:21 03. Pt. 3 2:00 04. Pt. 4 2:06 05. Pt. 5 7:02 06. Pt. 6 2:31 07. Pt. 7 1:15 08. Pt. 8 5:02 09. Pt. 9 1:35 10. Pt. 10 3:17 Mittsu No Sekai (Three Worlds) 11. Mittsu No Sekai 21:42
Oen (A woman named En) composed 1963 for tape. Mittsu no sekai (Three worlds) composed 1959 for orchestra and tape.
This is volume 4 of Omega Point's newly reissued Obscure Tape Music of Japan series, featuring two early works of music concrète composed for theatrical drama by legendary Japanese composer Joji Yuasa. The sounds on this recording, especially of "Oen" is so experimental and strange, but this music was not for avant-garde theater. "Mittsu No Sekai" contains elements of a mechanical beat (suggestive of a machine civilization) that could be the precursor to industrial music. Composed for the Tokubei Hanayagi Dancing Troupe for the play Three Worlds (1959), the piece was constructed from orchestral composition and tape sound: music concrète. As the composer explains, "While my engagement in the work of music concrète started in 1953 in the earlier time of tape music, the instrumental section of this work is my first composition for orchestral music. Most of the section was composed with the twelve-tone technique; however, one may find some shadows of Edgard Varèse and Olivier Messiaen." "Oen" was composed for A Woman Named "En" (1963) and is a work of music concrète for a theatrical drama with choreography. "All the metamorphosed sound made from concrète sounds are used and combined for the tragic story of a woman in the Edo era, named 'En' who was put in prison for forty years. This work aims not only at depicting the situation, but also at lighting up the heroine's dark passion, her conscious and subliminal mind, and the psychological dimension."
Akai Mayu (A Red Cocoon) is based on the short fiction by Koubou Abe (1924-1993). Akai Mayu & Arcana 19 composed in 1960 and broadcast live by the Japan Broadcasting System NHK the same year. Limited edition of 300 copies.
This is volume 3 in Omega Point's newly-reissued Obscure Tape Music of Japan series. Akai Mayu is a short work of fiction by Japanese writer Koubou Abe (aka Kobo Abe pseudonym of Kimifusa Abe, 1924-1993). This musical drama version was broadcast by the Japan Broadcasting System NHK in 1960 and composed by Makoto Moroi, a pioneer of Japanese electronic music. He composed the music with a chamber ensemble, mixed chorus and electronic sound. This piece was performed at Sogetsu Art Center as a part of a concert program of Moroi's works. This version included a pantomime by Mamako Yoneyama, an abstract image projection and stage-setting by Hiroshi Manabe, as well as a performance by Kuniharu Akiyama with his work "Arcana 19." This work consisted of text, object sounds, piano and pre-recorded tapes, and was also broadcast live by NHK in 1960. This CD includes only some tape parts because the original live recording source of this performance was lost.
Hitomi-Za is an experimental puppet theatre group. They had performed in February 13-17 in 1962 at Sogetsu Kaikan Hall. This program was consisted of three parts, and Joji Yuasa, Kuniharu Akiyama and Naozumi Yamamoto composed background sound for each parts. This CD contains two works made from magnetic tape from among them. Both works are world première issue.
Limited edition of 500 copies.
Moment Grand-Guignolesques (1962) Noh-Miso (1962)
This is volume 2 of Omega Point's Obscure Tape Music of Japan series. Hitomi-Za is an experimental puppet theater group that still exists today in Japan. This recorded performance took place from February 13-17th in 1962 at Sogetsu Kaikan Hall. The program consisted of three parts, and Joji Yuasa, Kuniharu Akiyama and Naozumi Yamamoto composed background sound for each part. This CD consists of two works made from magnetic tape from among the performances. This is the world premiere release of both works. Music for "Moment Grand-Guignolesques": "...all the puppets were made of cutting out thin and filmy paper, which gave me an idea of using all kinds of sounds out of various kinds of paper for this composition musique concrète. The sound of tearing newspaper, of crushing brown paper and of shutting a thick telephone book, etc., were used as sound materials. --Joji Yuasa. "Noh-Miso" (A Brain) was composed by Kuniharu Akiyama (1929-1996), well known as a modern music critic, but also a composer of tape music (for example, soundtracks to experimental films and animation, tape music for John Cage's 75th birthday and more). "Noh-Miso" was the second part of this Hitomi-Za performance -- a combination of music concrète and the modulated sound of inside-played piano by Yuji Takahashi.
Produced At – NHK Electronic Music Studio Aoi no ue composed 1961 for voice and tape and based on The tales of Genji written by Murasaki Shikibu in 11th century. My blue sky (No.1) composed 1975 for tape. Tape parts realized at NHK Electronic music studio.
Limited edition of 500 copies.
Joji Yuasa, born on August 12, 1929, in Koriyama, Japan, is a self taught composer. He first became interested in music while a pre medical student at Keio University, and in 1952 turned to music full time when he joined a young artists’ group, the Experimental Workshop in Tokyo. Since then, Yuasa has been actively engaged in a wide range of musical composition, including orchestral, choral and chamber music, music for theater, and intermedia, electronic and computer music.
His works, including film and television scores, have won several prizes; among them the Jury’s Special Prize of the 1961 Berlin Film Festival, the Prix Italia (1966, ’67), the San Marco Golden Lion Prize (1967), the Otaka Prize (1972, ’88, ’97, 2003), Grand Prizes at the Japan Arts Festival (1973, ’83), the Hida-Furukawa Music Grand Prize (1995), the Kyoto Music Grand Prize (1995), the Suntory Music Prize (1996), the Medal with Purple Ribbon (1997), Education Minister’s Art Encouragement Prize (1997), the Imperial Prize (1999) and the Japan Art Academy Prize (1999), etc. Yuasa has received a number of scholarships at home and abroad: a Japan Society Fellowship (1968–69), Composer-in-Residence at the Center for Music Experiment UCSD (1976), Berlin Artist Program by DAAD (1976–77), the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music in Sydney (1980), University of Toronto (1981) and IRCAM (1987), Civitella Ranieri Foundation (2002), among others.
He has won numerous commissions for his orchestral, chamber, chorus and electronic compositions including commissions for orchestral works from the Serge Koussevitzky Music Foundation, Saarländischer Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Japan Philharmonic hony Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Canada Council, Suntory Music Foundation, IRCAM and National Endowment for the Arts of the U.S.A., among others.
As a guest composer, lecturer and judge, Yuasa has contributed to the Festival of Arts In This Century in Hawaii (1970), New Music Concerts in Toronto (1980), the Asian Composers League in Hong Kong (1981), a concert tour for Contemporary Music Network by the British Arts Council (1981), the Asia Pacific Festival in New Zealand (1984), Composers Workshop in Amsterdam (1984, ’87), Internationale Ferienkurse Für Neue Musik in Darmstadt (1988), Lerchenborg Music Tage (1986, ’88) and Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo (1990), COMPOSIUM 2002 in Tokyo, Romania Contemporary Music Festival (2009), Internationale Ensemble Modern Akademie (2009), Stanford University (2009) among others. In 2005 his Responsorium from Requiem of Reconciliation, commissioned by Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart as a commemorate the anniversary of the end of World War II, was premiered.
His music has been widely performed throughout the world at such festivals as the ISCM World Music Days (1971, ’74, ’78, ’79, ’81, ’83–’86, ’91, ’93, ’95, 2005, ’08), Warsaw Autumn (1969, ’76, ’78, ’81, ’84, ’86), Horizon ’84, ULTIMA Oslo Contemporary Music Festival (1995, 2005) and Venice Biennale (2005).
From 1981 to 1994, Yuasa was actively engaged in music research and education at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Presently, he is professer emeritus at UCSD and Nihon University and a honorary menber of ISCM.
Volume one of Omega Point's Obscure Tape Music of Japan series, featuring Joji Yuasa's "Aoi-no-Ue" (1961) and "My Blue Sky" (1975). Joji Yuasa (b. 1929) is one of most important composers in Japan after World War II. "Aoi-no-Ue" was composed for experimental theater at Sogetsu Art Center. The sound of this work is made from the chants of Japanese traditional "Noh" theater. "The text is recomposed by me keeping the original words. And it was sung in the style of Noh-chant by three brothers ... This work is composed mainly based on the metamorphosed sound of Noh-chant. The other sound is concrete sound such as bird songs, water drops, glasses, the warped sound of a vibraphone, some generated electronic sound and others. These sound sources are diversely changed, metamorphosed through all the possible electronic techniques at that time, and finally mixed and reconstructed on stereophonic tape. This piece had taken almost half a year to complete, working with the excellent sound engineer Zyunosuke Okuyama at the Sogetsu Art Center." --Joji Yuasa. This package also includes his final electronic music piece "My Blue Sky No.1," made at NHK electronic music studio. This studio was the '60s and '70s mecca of Japanese electronic music. Yuasa explains: "In this work only clicks, pulses and the various kinds of beats induced from them -- varying pitches, width and their frequency of pulse -- are adopted. For example, I controlled successively occurring pulses of low frequency sine wave by means of triggering with the frequency of the square wave."
