Sahoko Sato Timpone, mezzo-soprano; Kenneth Merrill, piano; Andy Biskin, clarinet.
Yoritsune MATSUDAIRA: Asakusa Overture浅草序曲
Kōsaku YAMADA: Hana no iro wa 花の色は
Kiyoshi KOMATSU (1899-1975): C’est un jour du printemps… 久方の
Francesco SANTOLIQUIDO: Petits Poëmes Japonais
Joseph MARX: Japanisches Regenlied
Bohuslav MARTINŮ: Nipponari
Kōsaku YAMADA: The Bell of Dōjōji
Kunihiko HASHIMOTO: Dance 舞
Shiva (SH273)
Release Date: January 2022
Duration: 52m 6s
Giorgio Koukl | 31 JAN 2022
After commodore Matthew C. Perry opened the first commercial way into Japan in 1852, the Western world got soon fascinated by the Japanese culture, its arts and its diversity. The mutual influence began to grow and produced in the field of music such masterworks as Madame Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini or The Mikado of Gilbert & Sullivan. Soon many composers integrated in some form the oriental fascination into their works.
Cove art by Masako-Inkyo
Mezzo-soprano Sahoko Sato Timpone has gathered on this disc a fascinating segment of music until now not very often explored, offering an occasion to get a glimpse of cultural differences in treating ancient Japanese texts. Mostly over a thousand years old, these poetic treasures are logically sung in the original language when written by composers like Yoritsune Matsudaira (1907-2001), Kiyoshi Nobutoki (1887-1965), and others. But they are also sung in translation in French when set by Francesco Santoliquido (1883-1971); into German, into English, and even in the Czech language in a well-known, youthful work by Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959) called Niponari (in the booklet, it is corrected to “Nipponari,“ which is probably exact but does not correspond to the original title).
What has to be said is that Ms. Timpone obtains remarkable results in the accurate pronunciation of all four languages.
The disc opens with a curious but attractive work by Yoritsune Matsudaira called Asakusa Overture. Here, the mezzo-soprano and her pianist Kenneth Merrill are joined by clarinetist Andy Biskin in an unusual mèlange of jazzy elements and Japanese chromatic solutions. As strange as the idea may sound, the result is quite appealing, a small gem of mutual East-West influence.
The three extremely short pieces that follow, by Kiyoshi Nobutoki, are settings of extracts from Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, an anthology of Japanese verse. These poems are real Haiku, like the second one titled “Hana no iro wa,” which translates as:
are washed away:
in vain
I spend my length of days
gazing on the endless rain.
The composer obtains here with minimal technical means a real gem in simplicity that both artists understand well.
The same text is also used in the following work, with slightly more dramatic development. It is the composition of Kosaku Yamada (1886-1965), who studied at Berlin conservatory and became quite famous for his conducting skills. Among his more than 1600 compositions, the vocal work Yuin is still often performed.
The following track is an extract from Neuf Tankas by a mostly unknown composer named Kiyoshi Komatsu (1899-1975). This composition is a setting of a French translation of Japanese poetry. Its very fine harmonies inspired the interest of Alexander Tcherepnin during his numerous Japanese stays. Listening to this refined and rarefied music easily explains such an interest. Unfortunately, all this music is now forgotten altogether, so we must thank Ms. Timpone for her discovery.
The next three tracks are likewise set in the French language but written by a fascinating yet entirely forgotten Italian composer, Francesco Santoliquido (1883-1971). Born in Naples, he spent the main part of his life in Northern Africa, mainly at Hammamet, Tunisia. Today utterly absent from any European concert hall, he was nonetheless quite influential during the fascist pre-Second World War period under Mussolini. The three songs are titled Petits Poemes Japonais. In their style, this music strongly recalls Debussy and Respighi.
Joseph Marx (1882-1964), one of Vienna’s legendary music teachers and critics, today quite forgotten despite his relentless musical activity in Austria, is present on this CD with a short work called “Japanisches Regenlied” (“Japanese Rain Song”). It is not a typical composition of this author with his tendency toward Scriabinesque mysticism and probably the least important work of this CD.
Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959) has written his seven songs H.68 called Niponari, originally for voice and orchestra. The orchestral score is fully immersed in the impressionist world of a Debussy or Ravel. The subsequent reduction for voice and piano lacks the original’s depth of colors and can only scarcely reproduce the fascinating orchestral harmony. The rendering on this disc is perhaps the least inspired among all the other music. The note that this is the first-time recording of the transposition into a lower key is of scarce interest to the listener.
The two final tracks are dedicated to Japanese composers Kosaku Yamada and Kunihiro Hashimoto (1904-1949). This music is probably the most apt to be indicated as “20th century.” There are still some elements of oriental influence but the main source is that of solid European-style modernism.
The voice of Ms. Timpone is a pleasant one, especially in the lower register. But the main interest of this installment is that of a rarely heard repertoire which one cannot otherwise enjoy. ■
EXTERNAL LINKS:
- Sahoko Sato Timpone, mezzo-soprano: sahokotimpone.com/
Giorgio Koukl is a Czech-born pianist/harpsichordist and composer who resides in Lugano, Switzerland. Among his many recordings are the complete solo piano works and complete piano concertos of Bohuslav Martinů on the Naxos label. He has also recorded the piano music of Tansman, Lutosławski, Kapralova, and A. Tcherepnin, amongst others, for the Grand Piano label. Koukl has most recently completed recording a second volume of the complete solo piano music of Polish composer Alfons Szczerbinski.
(photo: Chiara Solari)
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