III


Love Dances

 

 


He tempted me to

Come in and say goodbye

I hesitated to respond

And he brushed my hand away

But yet-the smell of his clothes

In the soft darkness

“Tangled Hair” /” Midaregami” Yosano Akiko

Not speaking of the way

Not thinking of what comes after

Not questioning name or fame

Here loving love

You and I look at each other

 “Tangled Hair” Yosano Akiko

 

 





I have played with both sung and spoken sound of my voice, in English and Japanese. The Japanese language version adds certain freshness to the general sound (as the whole project is mostly sung in English) and the fact that Japanese lacks word stress, exposes the regular flow of the rhythmical 57577 pattern.


He Tempted Me - in Japanese, rhythmical aspect

Ingredients:

Tanka in Japanese and English, electronics, drums, percussion, wind instruments, double bass, voice.

 

I have chosen to play with the combination of the sho sounds re-established by the voices, strengthened by the saxophones and the flutes, supported by the steady rhythmical pattern of a drum. The continuity of the sho’s presence was to serve as a silver thread in the musical narrative, and the kakko-like sounding membrane drum (here: Irish bodhrun) was to bring out the tension suggested in the poem. The atmosphere of the anticipation of battle, seduction in the air, the containment of passion, and mystery had to be translated into music following the requirements of yugen.


He Tempted Me - song fragment

Reciting the text of the second poem by two voices, male and female, accentuates the intimacy of the poem and its sensual nature. To achieve that, the soft-spoken voices have been recorded very close to the microphone.


Not Speaking of the Way - song fragment





Next page

 

III


Love Dances

 

 


He tempted me to

Come in and say goodbye

I hesitated to respond

And he brushed my hand away

But yet-the smell of his clothes

In the soft darkness

“Tangled Hair” /” Midaregami” Yosano Akiko

Not speaking of the way

Not thinking of what comes after

Not questioning name or fame

Here loving love

You and I look at each other

 “TangledHair” Yosano Akiko

 

 


Ingredients:

Tanka in Japanese and English, electronics, drums, percussion, wind instruments, double bass, voice.

 

I have chosen to play with the combination of the sho sounds re-established by the voices, strengthened by the saxophones and the flutes, supported by the steady rhythmical pattern of a drum. The continuity of the sho’s presence was to serve as a silver thread in the musical narrative, and the kakko-like sounding membrane drum (here: Irish bodhrun) was to bring out the tension suggested in the poem. The atmosphere of the anticipation of battle, seduction in the air, the containment of passion, and mystery had to be translated into music following the requirements of yugen.


He Tempted Me - song fragment




I have played with both sung and spoken sound of my voice, in English and Japanese. The Japanese language version adds certain freshness to the general sound (as the whole project is mostly sung in English) and the fact that Japanese lacks word stress, exposes the regular flow of the rhythmical 57577 pattern.


He Tempted Me - in Japanese, rhythmical aspect



Reciting the text of the second poem by two voices, male and female, accentuates the intimacy of the poem and its sensual nature. To achieve that, the soft-spoken voices have been recorded very close to the microphone.


Not Speaking of the Way - song fragment





Next page