A collection of songs from the poet and playwright Brecht's texts, known as Brecht Songs, as well as songs from Weill's and Eisler's plays. Songs: "Eucalyptus", "Barbara Song" (Weill), "On Suicide" (Eisler) and others. Co-performed by Masaaki Yasuda (piano) Recorded and recorded on 3 November 2019 at ACT Salon "Jiyugaoka Music Festival".

From the 2019 archive of the Jiyugaoka Classical Music Festival, which has been held every autumn since 2017.

The collection features songs based on texts by the poet and playwright Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956), known as Brecht Songs, as well as works by Kurt Weill (1900-1950) and Hans Eisler (1898-1962), who worked with Brecht extensively. Most of the songs are theatrical pieces, but because they can be transposed to other theatrical works, they have been combined into a solo theatre piece, or one-man show, entitled "The Whores' Minstrelsy". Eight songs in different languages and different years of composition make up the stage, but with the help of Masaaki Yasuda's colourful and perfectly theatrical piano, they work as if they were a suite.

Although the performance was recorded before the Corona disaster, we wanted to revisit the themes of life and death, hope and despair, women's oppression and emancipation that are hidden in the songs, which led us to make this film. Doesn't the image of a female singer travelling with only enough props in her travel bag, or her life, overlap with that of artists living in the current predicament of 2021? We hope that you will watch the film as if it were a documentary, hidden among the great works of art in an art exhibition.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Yoko Kobayashi, the producer, and Hideki Hayashi, the assistant producer, for giving us the precious opportunity to present the festival every year, and for kindly providing us with the images and sound sources. (Ayako Kosaka)


Songs
The lyrics are written by Bertolt BRECHT (1898-1956) except 1, 4, 8

Kurt WEILL (1900-1950)
1. J’attends un navire «Marie Galante» (1934)
Lyrics : Jacques DEVAL (1895–1972)
2. Barbara Song «Die Dreigroschenoper» (1928)
3.Surabaya Johnny «Happy End» (1929)
4. Je ne t’aime pas　(1934）Lyrics : Maurice MAGRE (1877-1950)
5. Alabamasong «Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny»　(1930)

Hanns EISLER (1898-1962)
6. Überden Selbstmord (1939) «Der gute Mensch von Sezuan»
7. In derBlumengarten (1954)

Kurt WEILL
8. Yukali(1934) Lyrics : RogerFERNAY (1905-1983)

MasaakiYasuda is a Japanese pianist known as a specialist on Messiaen, studied atTokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music under Kazuko Yasukawa, and hasgraduated Conservatoire de Paris (CNSMDP) under Yvonne Loriod-Messiaen andMichel Beroff and received ‘Premier prix’ on Piano, Accompaniment, and Chambermusic. He won thefirst prize at The Maria Canals International Music Competition (Junior), TheParis Steinway Piano Competition and The France Music Competition in addition,Mozart prize and Messiaen prize. He is also a prize winner at The MarsalaInternational Piano Competition, and The Senigallia International PianoCompetition, and a finalist of The J. S. Bach International Music Competition,Leipzig. He givesmany concerts including recitals and chamber music in Japan and Europe. Currentlyhe is an Associate professor at Ueno Gakuen University.