Akane Kawabe

Today I would like to introduce you to the works of Hikaru Hayashi, a leading figure in Japanese contemporary music. "Michi(Road)" and "Kodomo to senro (Children and the Railroad)" were composed in 1966 using the text of Tanikawa Shuntaro's poetry collection " Ehon(Picture Book)", and "Sora(Sky)" was added two years later to form a trilogy. Although the composition of the soprano and flute is unusual, this work, spun with words, tones, and breath, transcends the genre of song, and can be said to have entered a new realm. His works, which capture not only the light side of things but also the shadow side, may sometimes shock the listener, but at the same time they demonstrate the power of words and music. I hope you will enjoy the free sense of rhythm that goes along with the words, and the sound of Hikaru Hayashi that is not bound by tonality, along with the lyric text.

¥500

Today I would like to introduce you to Viktor Ullmann's "Three Songs on the Poems of Hölderlin". Ullmann was one of Schoenberg's students, but he was persecuted under the Nazi regime and died in a prison camp, which is a tragic fate for the composer. It was against this backdrop that Ullmann composed The Setting Sun, Spring, and Evening Illusion, three short works of less than 10 minutes each, but they are all filled with beauty and deep sorrow and are worth listening to. In the midst of the changing times, each of us has our own struggles and issues to deal with, but we also live our lives. I chose this piece because I thought it has something that can be understood by many people today. I hope to convey the appeal of the German songs of the 20th century, which I am also fascinated by, and which, while retaining traces of Romanticism, are not only beautiful, but are capable of expressing in sound the subtleties of human thought and heart in essence.

¥500