Kiyoshige Koyama “Noh-Men / Ainu No Uta”

Kiyoshige Koyama

Noh-Men / Ainu No Uta

Denon (Japan) 1980

OW-7856 (LP) w/obi.

sleeve : VG+(light wear on corner, dirts.)

media : EX+/EX+(some slightly surface noises.)

Album released in 1980 by composer Kiyoshige Koyama, whose works incorporate elements of Japanese instruments and Japanese folk music. Side A, Symphonic Suite《Noh Mask》, was composed in 1959 on commission from the Bunka Hoso Broadcasting Company, and this album contains a live recording made in 1961 at the Bunkyo Public Hall, conducted by Akio Watanabe and performed by the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra. It is a three-part suite that uses Western instruments but imitates the intonation of classical Japanese instruments, including the Noh flute. The B-side, Ainu Song for Strings, was composed in 1963 and premiered the following year at New York's Lincoln Center under the direction of Seiji Ozawa. This recording was made at Suginami Public Hall in 1964, conducted by Keiko Hisayama and performed by the Toho Gakuen Orchestra. It is an attempt to express Ainu folk songs and folk dances with an orchestra, and is rich in folk melodies and rhythms.

A: 能面