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Found Sounds UNCG Musicology Journal Volume 1 Issue 1 Fall 2015 Staff EditorinChief Enoch Robbins Assistant Editors Nicole Kuker Kelly Norris Editors Sara Horton Janine Neprud Faculty Advisor Dr. Elizabeth Keathley Table of Contents Fennell’s Vision: The ‘Wind Ensemble’ Concept Thomas Breeden Nobuo Uematsu: The Man behind the Music of Final Fantasy Mario Castilo The Shape of Japanese Music Before, During, and After the Meiji Restoration Christopher Girgenti FENNELL’S VISION: THE ‘WIND ENSEMBLE’ CONCEPT Thomas Breeden ABSTRACT: This paper will explore the influence and legacy of Frederick Fennell and his vision of the wind ensemble concept. It seeks to illuminate the contributions of this landmark figure in the history of ensembles of wind instruments in regards to instrumentation, repertoire, nomenclature, and popularity. The paper will begin with an exploration of the history of the wind band from early Middle Ages itinerant groups to the professional bands directed by the likes of Patrick Gilmore and John Philip Sousa, and finally to the conception and creation of the Eastman Wind Ensemble. It will include Fennell’s own thoughts and writings on the wind ensemble and reference the compositions commissioned and the recordings produced by Fennell and the Eastman Wind Ensemble. Lastly, it will conclude with a summation of Fennell’s influence and legacy through his ideas, writings, recordings, conducting, and advocacy of the wind ensemble concept. FENNELL’S VISION: THE ‘WIND ENSEMBLE’ CONCEPT Thomas Breeden Ensembles of wind musicians began in the Middle Ages as itinerant bands composed of troubadours and other traveling musicians, performing from town to town for whoever would 1 stop and listen. These ragtag groups existed as the only ones of their kind until the military and 2 aristocracy began to establish their own private wind bands, especially in Germany. It was not until the fifteenth century that there were groups that performed regular concerts, and the modern 3 idea of a “band” was established. The “band,” however, continued to take a back seat to the orchestra during this time. It wasn’t until Mozart began to write his wind serenades that an ensemble of winds took on a life of its own; moving from a source of novelty for courtly dances or a source of cheap entertainment 4 to climbing the ranks of musical literature to join the top orchestral works. Other composers, such as Haydn, Beethoven, Berlioz, and Wagner, among others, followed Mozart’s lead in writing for wind instruments and incorporated them into their symphonies, concertos, and other major works. Early works for wind bands began to emerge in the 1800s, which was partially due to 5 improvements in instrument technologies , but also in the adaptation and recognition by major composers to this upandcoming musical ensemble. Military bands became more common in the United States and the United Kingdom, including the establishment of the U.S. Marine Band in Foster, Robert E, Wind Bands of the World: Chronicle of a Cherished Tradition (Delray Beach, FL: Meredith Music Publications), 1. 2 Ibid., 2. 3 Whitwell, David, A Concise History of the Wind Band (Austin, TX: Whitwell Publishing), 25. 4 Fennell, Frederick, Time and the Winds . (Kenosha, WI: G. Leblanc Company), 1011. 5 Ibid., 22. 1 6 1798, the longest functioning band in American history. This increasing recognition of wind 7 music and military bands, and the modernization of wind instruments by 1850 , paved the way for the professional bands directed by the likes of Patrick Gilmore and John Philip Sousa, famed bandleaders of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Patrick Gilmore was the conductor and bandleader of the Boston Brass Band in Charlestown, Boston, Massachusetts. In 1859, he took over the Boston Brigade Band which he promptly renamed the “Gilmore Band” and transformed into the most popular and successful professional band in United States history until that point. His band played from a “large library 8 of music of every kind, from serious to popular,” purchased by Gilmore. Gilmore set the precedent for an audiencefocused approach to the profession of band leading and conducting. He was charismatic, energetic, and knew what the public wanted to hear, staging popular Fourth of July concerts, promenade concerts based on those from England, and 9 tours throughout America during the Civil War and through Europe after the war. Gilmore brought “visibility and exposure” to the world of the wind band, and was a prominent influence 10 in increasing the number of bands and bandleaders springing up around the country. One of these bandleaders, John Philip Sousa, followed closely in Gilmore’s footsteps, 11 beginning his band in 1892—the year Gilmore passed away. Sousa emphasized the same precision and talent of musicians in his bands, but wanted to “refine” the sound of the band by Ibid., 37. Fennell, Time and the Winds , 22. 8 Foster, 60. 9 Ibid., 61. 10 Ibid., 90. 11 Ibid., 94. 6 7 Breeden 2 12 changing its instrumentation. He, like Gilmore before him, led many successful tours throughout the country, playing “what people wanted to hear,” which mainly included transcriptions of orchestral works, arrangements of popular tunes, and—of course—his famous 13 marches. Sousa advocated for the importance of crafting highquality transcriptions for the wind band, a trait that continued in one of his followers, Albert Austin Harding. Despite the success these bands enjoyed, their financial stability depended on audiences coming to hear them perform on tour. Performance opportunities began to disappear as their prime venues, amusement parks and other popular attractions of the late 1800s and early 1900s, lost business due to other forms of entertainment: the emerging styles of jazz and dance music, new radio programming and increasing numbers of family road trips made possible by the emerging automobile market. People were no longer as interested in going to hear band music, 14 and by World War I professional bands had nearly disappeared. After World War I, bandleaders and music education advocates took advantage of the mass production technologies made available to military bands for instruments and began to formulate the idea of a nationwide public school band program. Instrument manufacturers and music publishing companies were quick to see the potential in this endeavor, and immediately 15 supported it. This collaboration between instrument manufacturers, music publishers, and enthusiastic educators set up school band programs with a solid foundation for success. Early programs offered free instruction to students and a greater availability of higherquality instruments. The Fennell, Time and the Winds, 39. Foster, 94. 14 Fennell, Time and the Winds , 40. 15 Ibid., 37. 12 13 Breeden 3 first school band contest was held in Chicago in 1923, which helped to institute a “contest 16 repertoire,” which was one of the earliest examples of a cohesive repertoire for the wind band. Music camps such as the National Music Camp (now Interlochen) and marching band programs in major universities also contributed to the increase in band music education. Albert Austin Harding, aforementioned follower of John Philip Sousa, became the founding director of the University of Illinois band program, and expanded the concert band to the largest instrumentation the ensemble had ever had. Harding set the model for the collegiate bands of the time. In Fennell’s paraphrase: “the beginning and end of the movement may be seen 17 in the work of Harding himself.” The other universities that followed Harding’s example included the University of Wisconsin, Northwestern University, Oberlin College, University of 18 Michigan, and—most importantly for the scope of this paper—the Eastman School of Music. The Eastman School was founded at the University of Rochester, New York, in 1921 by Joseph E. Maddy using contributions by Eastman Kodak founder George Eastman. In 1924, Howard Hanson joined the School as director and would serve to be an influential force on Eastman’s 1939 hire: a young Frederick Fennell. Frederick Fennell arrived at the Eastman School of Music in 1939, and quickly became an important landmark in the wind band lineage, alongside Gilmore, Sousa, Edwin Franko Goldman, and A.A. Harding. He introduced a new conception of the concert band that was much smaller and gave precedence to the composer and the development of a highquality repertoire: Ibid., 46. Fennell, Time and the Winds , 50. 18 Ibid., 49. 16 17 Breeden 4 “The Wind Ensemble.” In his March 1953 article in the American Music Teacher , Fennell begins with a description of his first experience with this type of ensemble: “In the Winter of 1951, an unusual concert of music for wind instruments was performed at the Eastman School of Music under the writer’s direction…The wonderful affect this concert had upon the discriminating audience is a pleasure to recall, as is the reaction of 19 the players which was positive, articulate, and enthusiastic in the extreme.” Fennell marks this moment as the direct precursor to “the establishment in the fall of 20 1952 of the Eastman Wind Ensemble.” The following summer, Fennell sent “a mimeographed letter to approximately 400 composers in all parts of the world telling them of our [The Eastman 21 School of Music’s] plan to establish an ensemble of the following instrumentation:” Woodwinds Two flutes and piccolo Two oboes and English horn Two bassoons and contrabassoon One Eb clarinet Eight Bb clarinets, or A clarinets divided in any manner desired or fewer in number if so desired One Eb alto clarinet One Bb bass clarinet Choir of saxophones – two alto Eb, tenor Bb, baritone Eb Brass Three cornets in Bb Two trumpets in Bb or five trumpets in Bb Four horns Two euphoniums (bass clef) Three trombones One Eb tuba One BBb tuba or two BBb tubas if desired One string bass Other instruments Fennell, Frederick, “The Wind Ensemble” American Music Teacher 2, no. 4 (MarchApril 1953): 12. 20 Fennell, “The Wind Ensemble,”12. 21 Ibid. 19 Breeden 5 Percussion, harp, celeste, piano, organ, harpsichord, solo string instruments, and choral forces as desired Fennell’s goal with this instrumentation was to be as “simple as possible” and to serve as a “point of departure” for composers to write for this ensemble; where substitutions could be 22 made when desired and “[would] be welcomed” by the ensemble. Ultimately, he wanted to create a “flexible” enough ensemble to perform “all of the great music written for wind 23 instruments” from the sixteenth century through to the present (then 1952). Fennell credits Howard Hanson, the director of the Eastman School at the time, for providing the environment “to bring the development of the academic and creative aspects of musical education to new heights of attainment,” as George Eastman had done for the School of 24 Music. He also attributes this progress and creativity as dependent on a “full knowledge of what has gone before,” as both he and Hanson shared. This philosophy was crucial to his 25 conception of Fennell’s supplement to musical education: the wind ensemble . Part of Fennell’s vision in his conception of the new “wind ensemble,” was to establish an ensemble that could play a vast range of music from the epochs of Western music history. In his book, The Time and the Winds , he bemoaned the fact that there was an overwhelming Romantic attitude towards the band’s repertoire, when not idolizing Gilmore, Sousa, and Goldman. He envisioned an ensemble that could tackle more challenging and diverse repertoire; where the ensemble could provide “the important feeling of individual responsibility which is, Fennell, Time and the Winds , 52. Fennell, “The Wind Ensemble,” 52. 24 Ibid., 51. 25 Ibid., 52. 22 23 Breeden 6 26 perhaps, the greatest advantage of a small and intimate ensemble.” To achieve these goals, he needed to reach out to established composers to get them interested in composing for this new ensemble. He did that with his summer 1952 letter to over 400 composers, from which he got an 27 encouraging sixty percent response rate. Invigorated by this feedback, especially early responses from established composers Percy Grainger, Vincent Persichetti, and Ralph Vaughan Williams, Fennell began his careerlong advocacy of the power of the composer in defining musical ensembles. As he said in his 1953 article, “The composer has always shaped the 28 development of those instrumental ensembles which have survived.” Donald Hunsberger, one of Fennell’s successors as conductor of the Eastman Wind Ensemble, says of his mentor: “[Fennell] places primary emphasis upon the development and support of composers on behalf of the wind band.” Fennell took this perspective of a composerdriven repertoire and ran with it, adding the caveat that the responsibility “lies on the conductor ” of the ensemble to help initiate and foster this new repertoire by collaborating with composers to develop new works. As a conductor himself, he reached out to many composers over the course of his career, and was responsible, directly or indirectly, for the commissioning and premiering of over 150 works for the wind 29 ensemble, according to the Eastman School of Music website. Ibid., 53. Ibid., 12. 28 Fennell, “The Wind Ensemble,” 16. 29 “Eastman Wind Ensemble.” 1999. http://www.esm.rochester.edu/ensembles/ewe/ (accessed 28 April 2015) 26 27 Breeden 7 The “Eastman Symphonic Wind Ensemble,” as Howard Hanson then called the group because he believed it would sell more records, recorded many of these early works written for the wind ensemble on Mercury Records. Fennell, however, quickly rejected the word “symphonic” in the name because of its connotations, and thus it became the “Eastman Wind 30 Ensemble.” Composer W. Francis McBeth called this decision “ingenious” because “the term ‘band’ was too unsophisticated, and carried negative connotations,” but the term wind ensemble complied more with Fennell’s vision of a “coming repertoire for winds” of “serious wind 31 literature.” These recordings proved crucial to the success and popularity of both the Eastman Wind Ensemble and the concept of the “wind ensemble” as a whole. The twentytwo recordings made on Mercury Records provided “evidence of the excellent repertoire”—that Fennell helped to 32 produce, no less—“available for the wind band/ensemble at the time. The recordings increased the popularity of the wind ensemble through widening its potential audience and by providing conductors the opportunity to hear “the sound of Fennell’s new concept,” as many conductors 33 were still skeptical of Dr. Fennell’s work. They provided an exemplary performance of both the contemporary and the traditional band literature of the time, and were the model not only in how the ensemble was supposed to sound, but also in how to perform the repertoire. In short, the impact of the Eastman Wind Ensemble, stated by one of Fennell’s pupils, 34 Frank L. Battisti, was “created primarily through their Mercury recordings.” This may not be Battisti, Frank L. The Winds of Change: The Evolution of the Contemporary American Wind Band/Ensemble and its Conductor. (Galesville, MD: Meredith Music Publications): 53. 31 Battisti, 56. 32 Ibid., 58. 33 Ibid. 59. 34 Ibid. 30 Breeden 8 entirely correct, as Fennell’s enthusiasm, vision, and dedication to that vision were of utmost importance to the success and longevity of the wind ensemble concept, but the Mercury recordings did play a crucial part to the breadth of the wind ensemble’s visibility in the world of concert hall music. Fennell’s followers comprise a majority of band conductors and directors since his establishment of the Eastman Wind Ensemble in 1952. Initially, the band music world was confused by the difference between Fennell’s “wind ensemble” and any other concert band of the time. They believed that “wind ensemble” simply meant a smaller group of musicians wearing tuxes and tails, but that the philosophy and content of the band otherwise remained unchanged. Charles Winkling, in an article in the December 1965 issue of The Instrumentalist explains: “Conductors of large bands viewed the wind ensemble as a serious threat to the positions of themselves and their groups. Dr. Fennell did not intend or foresee this development, but due in part to his influence and also due to the ambiguity of the term wind ensemble, 35 the band world has been in a state of upheaval.” This was where they were wrong: the main difference of Fennell’s ensemble was in a philosophy of excellence, individual responsibility amongst musicians, and accessibility to the whole repertoire of wind music from the sixteenth century. Fennell did not wish for the 36 replacement of the large concert band, but a “supplement” to it. Directors eventually caught on to this idea, beginning with early adopters such as Donald Hunsberger (one of Fennell’s successors of Eastman Wind Ensemble), H. Robert Reynolds, 37 , 38 Frank Battisti, James Crott, John Paynter, and David Whitwell. These conductors became the Winkling, Charles, “The Wind Ensemble in the Small College” The Instrumentalist 20 (December 1965): 48. 36 Fennell, Time and the Winds , 52. 37 Battisti, 69. 38 Foster, 204. 35 Breeden 9 foundation for Fennell’s vision coming to fruition, since the support of the conductors’ “dedication to good music and to the achievement of a high level of artistic performance” was critical to the concept of the wind ensemble. Without these early advocates, Fennell’s “helpful advice concerning the selection of repertoire and composers from whom to request commissions,” and “constant source of support” for directors establishing their own ensembles, 39 the wind ensemble would not have been as successful, according to Frank Battisti. It turns out that Charles Winkling was right about Fennell’s influence on the world of wind directors and conductors. His writings were equally influential. Aside from his seminal article “The Wind Ensemble” in March 1953 and his book Time and the Winds in 1954, Fennell composed countless articles on the established and upandcoming repertoire of the band and the wind ensemble. He wrote about Holst’s First Suite , calling it a “cornerstone” of the literature. He wrote about Grainger, Vaughan Williams, Hindemith, Schuman, and countless other composers—many of whom he had commissioned to write pieces. It was through these writings that he explained the value of this new and preestablished repertoire for his wind ensemble concept. His efforts to contact composers and advocate on behalf of their value to wind conductors and directors did not go unnoticed. His influence and enthusiasm for the ensemble and the repertoire led to countless “compositions, and many others spawned through their creation, are 40 now staples of the repertoire [he] so fervently sought in his 1952 letter to composers.” Ibid., 59. Hunsberger, Donald, The Wind Ensemble and Its Repertoire (Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press): 30. 39 40 Breeden 10 After Fennell left Eastman and its nowfamous Wind Ensemble to A. Clyde Roller in 1962, he went on to conduct for the Minnesota Symphony Orchestra, the University of Miami 41 Wind Ensemble (19651984), and the acclaimed Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra (19841996). His prestige and influence followed him wherever he went, and he lead each of his ensembles to great success. Clyde Roller continued his legacy at Eastman (19621965) through 42 the Mercury recording project until Donald Hunsberger took the podium (19652001). Hunsberger led the Wind Ensemble through many successful premieres, tours, and recording projects, including a very successful 1977 tour concluding with the premiere of Joseph 43 Schwanter’s revolutionary work and the mountains rising nowhere . Fennell’s vision for an ensemble dedicated to the commissioning and celebrating of its own repertoire was well established, and being carried on even after the ensemble he began—a testament to his conviction and powerful educational ideals. Ultimately, the influence of Frederick Fennell could be best summarized by Robert E. Foster in his preface to Wind Bands of the World : “Bands have continued to evolve into more sophisticated mature ensembles, to the point where, today, there are more new works being 44 created for band and wind ensembles than for any other instrumental ensemble.” Undoubtedly this evolution could be traced back to the efforts of Frederick Fennell in establishing an ensemble concept to promote highquality performance standards, a vast repertoire, and “an Foster, 201. Ibid., 202. 43 Foster, 203. 44 Ibid., ix. 41 42 Breeden 11 unqualified acceptance of concerted wind music on the same level as all other forms of 45 instrumental or vocal composition.” 45 Fennell, “The Wind Ensemble,” 12. Breeden 12 Bibliography Battisti, Frank L. 2002. The winds of change: the evolution of the contemporary American wind band/ensemble and its conductor. Galesville, MD: Meredith Music Publications. “Eastman Wind Ensemble.” 1999. http://www.esm.rochester.edu/ensembles/ewe/ (accessed 28 April 2015). Fennell, Frederick. “The Wind Ensemble.” American Music Teacher 2, no. 4 (March – April 1953): 1216. Fennell, Frederick. 1954. Time and the winds. Kenosha, WI: G. Leblanc Company. Foster, Robert E. 2013. Wind bands of the world: chronicle of a cherished tradition . Delray Beach, FL: Meredith Music Publications. Hunsburger, Donald. 1997. The wind ensemble and its repertoire . Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press. Whitwell, David. 2010. A concise history of the wind band . Austin, TX: Whitwell Publishing. Winkling, Charles. “The Wind Ensemble in the Small College.” The Instrumentalist 20 (December 1965): 48. Breeden 13 Nobuo Uematsu: The Man behind the Music of Final Fantasy Mario Castillo ABSTRACT: Nobuo Uematsu is the original composer of the music and game sound in the Final Fantasy series. Known to be one of the most famous composers within this industry, his direction of sound in games has branched out vigorously in many directions since the first game of the series. Uematsu heavily influenced the direction of game sound history through his innovative works that make video game music stand up to par with even classical music, and through analysis, one may even find characteristics of classical composition styles in his works. His milestones were the very product of his own work, and left a big set of footprints for everyone else to follow within the game industry. Uematsu’s compositions in game sound were so impactful to his audience that to this day, decades later, people still talk about the immense feeling of nostalgia from those sounds. Nobuo Uematsu: The Man behind the Music of Final Fantasy Mario Castillo The year is 2015, and Merregnon Studios just produced a digital album of Final Symphony , a concert performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, and recorded at Abbey 1 Road Studios, published by X5 Music Group, a renowned record label. The composer behind st the works performed for the album is none other than Nobuo Uematsu (Born March 21 , 1959 in Kochi, Japan), the genius behind the majority of music in the adventurous Final Fantasy series. Known to be one of the most popular game series in video game history, this is no ordinary accomplishment. After graduating from Kanagawa University with a degree in English, Uematsu, who was selftaught, played the keyboard in several amateur bands and composed music for commercials. That was his career path until the fateful day he joined Squaresoft (now known as Square Enix) in 1985, where he went on to compose music for a multitude of game titles. In 1987, he was asked by Hironobu Sakaguchi to compose for a game called Final Fantasy , which ended up a huge success, becoming one of the bestselling video game series in 2 3 the history of this industry , selling over 110 million units worldwide as of 2014. This eventually lead to Uematsu progressively leaving a conspicuous trail of milestones that have been catching the eyes of many and changing the course of history in video game music. Nobuo Uematsu’s innovative musical implementations in game sound brought forth new ways of experiencing video game music and changed expectations of video game music. This can be seen "Nobuo Uematsu Heads to Abbey Road to Record Final Symphony," ( Spielemusikkonzerte , December 13, 2014), (accessed March 20, 2015). 2 "Nobuo Uematsu," LA Phil , (accessed March 23, 2015). 3 "Businesses,” Square Enix Holdings Co., LTD , (accessed April 4, 2015). 1 2 by looking at the sociology and psychology of game sound within his works and is visible through the analysis of his compositions. In 1999, his Final Fantasy VIII theme song, Eyes on Me , which featured Hong Kong pop diva Faye Wong, sold 400,000 copies and went on to win "Song of the Year (Western Music)" at the 14th Annual Japan Gold Disc Awards, a rippling moment in game sound history, as this was 4 the first time music from a video game has ever won the award. Following soon after that success, Uematsu’s music saw a significant change in live performances. The first Final Fantasy symphony concert was held in Japan in 2002, and was performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, and it being a soldout success lead to a concert series titled “Tour de Japon – music 5 from Final Fantasy ”. In 2003, Uematsu formed The Black Mages, a group consisting of him and his colleagues who arrange and expand his original works from the Final Fantasy series. During that same year, his music from Final Fantasy was performed in a Symphonic Game Music Concert outside of Japan for the first time. The concert was considered the official opening ceremony of Europe's biggest video game convention, the GC Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany. Uematsu's music has been a key element of Final Fantasy franchise's success United Kingdom and the United States. In 2004, he formed his own company called Smile 6 Please Co., Ltd. while continuing to compose for Square Enix, among other companies as well. That same year, his Final Fantasy music was the centerpiece of the firstever video game music concert held in the United States, titled Dear Friends , which was held at the Walt Disney "Nobuo Uematsu," FFXIclopedia , (accessed April 4, 2015). "Uematsu," LA Phil , (accessed March 23, 2015). 6 "Uematsu," FFXIclopedia . 4 5 3 7 Concert Hall in Los Angeles. This piece was played by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and the Los Angeles Master Chorale and was conducted by Miguel HarthBedoya, director of Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. Uematsu’s style of composition is very diverse, containing a list of classical style works, New Age music, and even hyperpercussive technoelectronica, similar to songs by the '70s band Emerson, Lake and Palmer, one of his stated influences, along 8 with Simon & Garfunkel and Elton John. Uematsu has had a definitive impact on music in video games, focusing the interest of many towards this side of the game industry. Nobuo Uematsu appeared in Time Magazine's "Time 100: The Next Wave Music" feature, and was recognized as one of their listed "Innovators". His music was continuously becoming more popular, for example, during the 2004 Summer Olympics, the United States synchronized swimming duet Alison Bartosik and Anna Kozlova used two of his compositional works from the game Final 9 Fantasy VIII in their routines. During the following years, his works have been constantly played during new concerts, such as Video Games Live , and Play! . Just this year, due to the success of the Final Fantasy video game concert series, Final Symphony , the concert was performed by London Symphony Orchestra and recorded at Abbey Road Studios, and made into an album whose process was personally supervised by Nobuo Uematsu. The concert was first performed in May 2013 and has seen sellout success in Germany, United Kingdom, Japan, Denmark, Sweden and Finland. These concerts typically featured some of the world’s leading 10 orchestras and soloists. Tong, Sophia, "Behind The Games: Meet the Composers Nobuo Uematsu," GameSpot , July 31, 2009. 8 “Abbey Road," Spielemusikkonzerte . 9 "Uematsu," FFXIclopedia. 10 “Abbey Road," Spielemusikkonzerte . 7 4 In video games, there was a time when people didn’t really care about the music contained in the earliest games, as it all seemed like mindless beeping and buzzing, simple noises to occupy the ears was all that they were to most. As stated by Farley: “The death of PacMan 11 was not an event that cried out for a symphonic requiem.” Some would say that music’s ability to stir emotion and evoke more powerful imagery grew as technology advanced. As game sound capabilities grew, so did the attachment people experienced in games due to their music. Starting with the Famicom, the Final Fantasy series brought very emotionally driven music, which would later transfer over to the SNES, or Super Nintendo Entertainment System, allowing Uematsu to create music that would later become the roots of nostalgia for so many fans of the game series. YouTube game reviewer Jeremy Jahns talks about his experience of the Final Fantasy VI game for the SNES, emphasizing the most memorable aspects of the story thanks to the musical themes within this game: “ Final Fantasy VI is a sprite based RPG from the SNES era, as much as that sounds like that compromises the experience, it does not compromise the experience at all….[during the opening of the game] this town is coming closer while this theme is playing and just and the beginning credits start and you’re like that’s what movies do, but it happened in 1994, in a SN game…the characters in FFVI had their own themes, not only is the theme to FFVI one of the best themes ever made, but the character themes are fantastic…We can’t talk about FFVI without talking about its soundtrack and its soundtrack’s composer, Nobuo Uematsu. The guy is a genius, complete musical genius. For comparison’s sake image paint to a painter is like an orchestra to a composer in which case using 16bit super Nintendo MIDI technology to create music would be like a painter painting with Crayola crayons. What did Nobuo Uematsu do with that technology? He created the Sistine chapel with Crayola crayons, metaphorically speaking. I consider the FFVI soundtrack to be his masterpiece in more ways than one. I could just listen to it all day long, you’re listening to it, you’re like oh yeah there’s shadow again, there’s cyan, there’s terra and you’re just right back there emotionally with the characters that you bonded 12 with.” Farley, Christopher John, "In Fantasy's Loop," Time 157, no. 21 (May 28, 2001): 72, Music Index, EBSCOhost, (accessed March 23, 2015). 12 Jahns, Jeremy, "Final Fantasy VI Game Review," YouTube , February 17, 2013, (accessed March 25, 2015). 11 5 This music’s impact on many players is observable through the research of what social and psychological responses developed in effects of what the game sound brought to the experience of these games. In Final Fantasy VI , visible in Jahns’ review of the game, there is a huge emphasis on the themes of the characters. One character in particular, has not a theme of music, but simply a laugh, a synthesized descending staccato melody. Kefka, the main antagonist of the game, comes with a trademark laughter representing his insanity. The short melody is paired up with a looping twoframe animation of Kefka’s pixelated body and flapping mouth, creating the sense of laughter, emphasizing the idea that the source of the sound comes from the villain. This theme within the FFVI game has been notated to be one of the most unforgettable noises in game history, noticeable in the videos posted online, and comments 13 made by fans of the game. A six second video of Kefka’s laugh and animation can be found on YouTube. The video as of today in April 2015 has over 440 thousand views and over 1,400 14 comments. Quoted responses in the comment section video found by William Cheng reflect the emotional impact this short sample of game sound has brought to fans: “How can a 16bit sound file manage to be so frigging CREEPY!?!?!...You hear that sound, you know things are going downhill, fast. (HappleProductions, 2012)” or “And to think no voice actor could ever provide this; only a simple synthesized choir instrument generated this memorable laugh that 15 haunts all of us to this day. (WitchChao, 2010).” Nobuo Uematsu had to change the insignificant musical material in the game into sounds that were to take the form of the fantasies Cheng, William, “How Celes Sang,” In Sound Play: Video Games and the Musical Imagination , (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014), 57. 14 Libregkd, "Kefka's Laugh," YouTube , August 16, 2006, (accessed April 4, 2015). 15 Cheng, “How Celes Sang,” Sound Play , 76. 13 6 and heroic characters of the worlds within the game. The sounds that followed the characters on their adventures had to appear in a manner that stimulated feelings of wonder and magic. Uematsu here describes his experiences of game sound while creating video game music: “The NES [Nintendo Entertainment System] only had three [melodic] tracks, and each of their sounds was very unique. I had to focus on the melody itself and think about how each chord would move the audience. I struggled to produce originality in the same three tones, just like any composer for that period. It’s amazing to listen to how composers […] had totally different creations by using the same three instruments” (quoted in Belinkie 16 1999) Uematsu made the game sounds tell a story by presenting them as ideas of vocal expression. The results weren’t always speechsignifying sounds, but sometimes ended up being emotional expressions, such as the laughter of Kefka. Even without a speechlike aspect, a sound can say more, depending on how it is depicted. Kefka’s laugh’s appeal originates from the listener’s knowledge that the noise comes from Kefka’s mouth, allowing for the idea of vocal expression in a game that contains no form of recorded speech. Early in the game, the player learns to distinguish that sound as laughter through its pairing with Kefka’s pixilated body and flapping mouth. Further into the story, the game occasionally presents the sound without the animations, letting the sound manifest into a comprehensible idea of its own. Although this main antagonist’s laughter is a powerful trademark of the game, there is another case of vocal ingenuity within this title of the Final Fantasy series, an opera performance titled Maria and Draco, so full of emotion and drama, with the main section of the opera being packed into the form of a musical Aria that brought many fans to tears takes the crown of an emotionally filled experience within a 16bit 17 limitation. This concept introduced minimalist ideas in game sound as sometimes being more 16 17 Cheng, “How Celes Sang,” Sound Play , 58. Cheng, “How Celes Sang,” Sound Play , 59. 7 impactful towards an immersive gaming experience. Some people even saw the technological advancement from the forcefully creative voice expression to real voice acting as a negative development in some cases. Here, Cheng quotes Journalist Kirk Hamilton, who argues that voice acting can sometimes hinder gameplay by distracting the gamer from an immersive musical soundtrack: Melody and voiceacting can very quickly come into conflict […] Final Fantasy VII [released in 1997] has no voiceacting, no ambient sound, and minimal sound effects. Every scene is drawn and punctuated by the music, and the story’s wide range of emotions is conjured entirely by enthusiastic, melodramatic melody. If you give yourself over to it, it’s spellbinding, like plunging your head into a deep well of sound and symphony. [...] Contrast the experience of playing FFVI with the more recent Final Fantasy XIII [released in 2009]. In [ Final Fantasy XIII ], characters are fully voiced, shouting their way through the entire 60hour game. […] Our ears simply don’t have the bandwidth to process both a strong melody and a person talking. (2011; cf. Collins 2013: 18 7076) Hamilton makes a point that voicerecorded words can potentially compromise the experiences intended to be taken in by the player. It is a fact that voices focus attention to the words, belittling everything else in a scene. Changing focus away from clear speech may not be impossible, but we are so conditioned to believe that speech symbolizes the communicative efforts of people, as this instinct leads us to think of a speaking voice as someone having something important to say, so, naturally, we find it appropriate for us to listen and focus our attention towards intelligible speech. A very important exception to this would have to be singing voices. Unlike speaking voices, singing voices carry musical characteristics that transfer attention to or from the text, such as dynamics, accompaniment, and stylized melodies. Opera styled singing, described as “capable of transcending speech altogether,” is said to manifest itself as a clear exclamation which does not dilute an experience, but instead is a part of the 18 Cheng, “How Celes Sang,” Sound Play , 60. 8 experience, due to singing’s characteristic of being unrestricted by the instinctiveness of verbal 19 diligence. Opera today is an musical form known to be an educated art form and cultured, while video games are seen as uncultured or a distraction, so when opera appears in video games, it can be seen as an esoteric concept that shines light on things we typically overlooked in video games, and the stories told in that light. In Final Fantasy VI , the opera Maria and Draco contains a mezzosoprano aria sung by Celes Chere, who is one of the main protagonists. The stage design, large orchestra, and Romantic lyricism all characterize the scene as a nineteenthcentury grand opera. The rapid pulsing of singular tones created the effect of vibrato, synchronized with the moving of the performer’s mouths, it gives the idea that the music was truly being sung by Celes. 20 The theme that is heard later on in the tragic scene located on an island where Celes becomes depressed and attempts suicide (visible in the flute part of Arnold Morrison’s arrangement of 21 Celes Theme )(Ex. 1) , is the same theme found in the aria of the opera and can be seen in 22 Morrison’s arrangement of Uematsu’s Aria De Mezzo Carattere .(Ex. 2) Example 1. Nobuo Uematsu, arr. by Arnold Morrison. Celes Theme . mm. 816 Cheng, “How Celes Sang,” Sound Play , 61. Cheng, “How Celes Sang,” Sound Play , 64. 21 Uematsu, Nobuo, arr. Morrison, Arnold, “Celes Theme,” Final Fantasy VI Arrangements , May 24, 2007. (accessed April 5, 2015). 22 Uematsu, Nobuo, arr. Morrison, Arnold, “Aria De Mezzo Carattere,” Final Fantasy VI Arrangements , May 24, 2007, (accessed April 5, 2015). 19 20 9 Example 2. Nobuo Uematsu, arr. by Arnold Morrison. Aria De Mezzo Carattere . mm. 816 This is a very emotional scene for all players, who usually become immediately attached to the theme because it shows a side of Celes previously thought to be nonexistent, since she was originally portrayed as an emotionless and hardened warrior. This sentimental theme is known to many fans as one of the most nostalgic experiences in video game history. Visible in the comments of the YouTube videos 22Celes's ThemeFFVI OST and Final Fantasy VI Opera Scene , this theme had a very emotional impact on so many of the fans of the game, such as YouTube user Arausito’s comment in the Celes theme video: “Oh hey I remember this theme. 23 It's when...when...oh dear god. why am I crying?” and user WhiteBuddah’s comment of: “In my opinion, one of the most iconic Final Fantasy moments. I seriously had tears in my eyes 24 while watching this scene. Nobuo Uematsu: you are a god among men.” There is no argument here that this scene is an unforgettable moment in video game music history, as its success in nostalgic nature gave way to new ideas to the series. I interviewed Matthew Wick, a friend and a 23 24 FF Radio, "22Celes's ThemeFFVI OST," YouTube, July 2, 2008, (accessed April 5, 2015). SeraphimZera, "Final Fantasy VI Opera Scene," YouTube , September 13, 2006, (accessed April 5, 2015). 10 longtime fan of the Final Fantasy series, and asked him about his responses when going back to listen to the music: “…the Opera scene to me is just so beautiful. For me, just listening to the music pulls me into the world within the game, the world within the opera even. It even hits me in a nostalgic way, since I played the game quite a bit when I was younger. It brings my memories back to the 'classic' JRPG's of the SNES era. The music and the scene, it's all really powerful in the sense that just the one scene, combined with the music, is enough to bring your thoughts back to your childhood.” This clear presence of nostalgia visible in this and previous Final Fantasy games would later become the foundation for the ideas that helped shape the way Final Fantasy IX was to be developed. Nostalgia is a very powerful tool that is common in the video game industry today, very visible in FFIX, which used the concepts of lived memory and antiquarian fantasy in order 25 to create a nostalgic experience for new and older fans alike. This was done by going back to characteristics found in the earlier games of the series, such as updating the black mage, sticking to character job classes and simple combat systems, cartoonlike designs of the characters, and reducing elements of technological advancement while including symbols of tales and fantasies such as princesses, castles, and knights. These are all themes very different from the last two previous games of the series prior to FFIX . For example, in Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII, we saw the abandonment of the class system for more realistic and complex combat, and 26 introduced graphics of more lifelike characters. One of the most important triggers of nostalgia within the game would have to be the music of the game, the last soundtrack to be composed solely by Nobuo Uematsu for the series. Uematsu enforced a nostalgic experience in the game Kizzire, Jessica, "‘The Place I'll Return to Someday’ Music Nostalgia in Final Fantasy IX," In Music in Video Games: Studying Play , edited by K. J. Donnelly, William Gibbons, and Neil Lerner, (New York: Routledge, 2014), 183. 26 Kizzire, “The Place,” Studying Play , 185187. 25 11 through musical reminiscence of the themes found in almost every game of the series, such as 27 the “prelude”, the “chocobo” themes, and the “moogle” themes, well known by most fans. As well as this, Uematsu uses characteristics of music found in medieval and renaissance styles to create the nostalgic feeling of a distant past, establishing the renaissance setting of the game to its players, and letting them know that this game is a tribute to the classics of the Final Fantasy series. The music of the introduction is titled The Place I’ll Return to Someday and has a score that calls for three recorders, an instrument with a distinct sound associated with the medieval period. The introduction piece’s form is similar to that of a pavan dance, a composition form typically found during the renaissance period. Later on, and a classic characteristic of the Final Fantasy series, the melody of the pavan is found throughout the rest of the game, reoccurring most noticeably in the music A Transient Past and Ipsen’s Heritage, seen as variations of The 28 Place I’ll Return to Someday . When it comes to quality and musical density, soundtracks in games today can certainly stand up against classical symphonies and film scores. But why does the music of this nostalgic theme have a stronger pull towards fans? This is potentially caused by the social implications in minimalist art and music, that less is more has always been an appealing concept. So when one looks at the similarities of emotion when comparing synthesized MIDI music in games with the real thing, it’s no surprise fans are more devoted to the original 29 version “not despite but rather largely because of its aesthetic constraints.” The compositional forms of Nobuo Uematsu’s soundtracks have seen innovative characteristics throughout the series, largely due to changes in technology, laying the foundation Kizzire, “The Place,” Studying Play , 187. Kizzire, “The Place,” Studying Play , 187194. 29 Cheng, “How Celes Sang,” Sound Play , 71. 27 28 12 of expectations of music in video games as time progressed. In nearly every single Final Fantasy game within the series, one can find a recurring theme in the music. This theme originated in the first Final Fantasy game’s piece of music known as Prelude , or sometimes titled Crystal Theme . The theme can be found referenced in many forms of arrangements related to the series, and 30 sometimes as homage to Nobuo Uematsu’s compositions. As for the piece of music, it saw a variety of changes in sound and ideas that were correlated to what could be composed by the technology at the time. The Prelude can be seen as a piece of music constantly rewritten as a theme and variation, a new arrangement for every game containing thematic transformation, a classical composition technique which developed in the Romantic period. This technique in game theme music became the norm for the series, and future games and series to come, such as Nintendo composer Konji Kondo’s music of The Legend of Zelda series, seeing the recurring Overworld Theme music in every game of the series, with slight variations applied as the series 31 progressed and grew with available technology. Other ways the music of the series has shown impact in expectations of music was in the way Umetasu’s soundtrack relied on MIDI from the onboard synth chip of the PlayStation console to provide music, something that was previously abandoned for a long time in video game music. Prior to Final Fantasy VII , most soundtracks relied on Redbook technology for audio, a form of CD audio that allowed for recorded sound 32 effects, live instruments, and voice recording. The reliance of MIDI to provide in game music permitted a livelier style of music, visible in the Battle Theme (also known as Let The Battles "Prelude," Final Fantasy Wiki , (accessed April 5, 2015). "Overworld Theme from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past," Game Music Themes , (accessed April 5, 2015). 32 Collins, Karen, "Press Reset: Video Game Music Comes of Age," In Game Sound an Introduction to the History, Theory, and Practice of Video Game Music and Sound Design , (Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 2008), 63. 30 31 13 33 Begin! ) music transposition provided by Karen Collins (Ex. 3) , abolished the need to keep it continuously looping, and allowed for quicker transitions between tracks. This was influential since most other games on PlayStation and personal computers were typically seen using the Redbook technology, and after Uematsu’s use of MIDI in FFVII , next generation console games such as the Nintendo 64 and the Sega Dreamcast games saw persistent use of MIDI technology 34 once again. Example 3. Nobuo Uematsu. Battle Theme. mm. 17 Besides more immersive styles of music, Nobuo Uematsu composed music similar to that of formally trained composers, such as the Aria De Mezzo Carattere of the opera in Final Fantasy VI, and the pavanlike piece titled The Place I’ll Return to Someday in his Final Fantasy IX soundtrack with its theme and variations found later in the game titled. In FFIX ’s soundtrack, 33 34 Collins, Game Sound, 70. Collins, Game Sound, 6371. 14 the form is laid out in a similar fashion to that of a sixteenthcentury pavan, visible in Jessica 35 Kizzire’s image of the phrase structure of The Place I'll Return to Someday. (Figure 1) Figure 1. Jessica Kizzire’s illustration of the phrase structure of The Place I'll Return to Someday. The melody of the pavan, The Place I'll Return to Someday, would later be found in A Transient Past and Ipsen’s Heritage, as a recurring musical idea within the game was a norm for Uematsu. More particularly, in A Transient Past, the recurring melody from The Place I’ll Return to Someday is not the only thing that was brought back in A Transient Past . The same binary structure of the pavan, is found within A Transient Past , but with a slight change of inserting a chantlike phrase that is ‘sung’ by synthesized voices before each section of The Place I’ll 36 Return to Someday . This can be seen in Jessica Kizzire’s chart of A Transient Past that visualizes the insertion of the chant phrases before each section taken from The Place I'll Return to Someday. (Figure 2) 37 Kizzire, “The Place,” Studying Play , 190. Kizzire, “The Place,” Studying Play , 191. 37 Kizzire, “The Place,” Studying Play , 191. 35 36 15 Figure 2. Jessica Kizzire’s figure illustrating the insertion of the chant phrase in A Transient Past. Another example where selftaught composer Nobuo Uematsu uses classical techniques of composition for form is the organization of the aria titled Aria De Mezzo Carattere of the opera Maria and Draco, in Final Fantasy VI. The Opera’s structure consists of four main scenes, starting with the Overture , the Aria De Mezzo Carattere , the Wedding Waltz & Duel , and the 38 Grand Finale, with each section lasting between three to five minutes. The aria’s form is consisted of an intro, interlude, and coda which can be seen in William Cheng’s table illustrating 39 the overall form of Uematsu’s Aria De Mezzo Carattere. (Figure 3) Figure 3. William Cheng’s table illustrating the form of Aria De Mezzo Carattere. 38 39 Cheng, “How Celes Sang,” Sound Play , 6571. Cheng, “How Celes Sang,” Sound Play , 71. 16 There is no argument that Nobuo Uematsu’s compositions are a major influence to video game composers of today, and this use of formal classical techniques visible in his music would create future expectations in game sound used to this day. Nobuo Uematsu is known to be one of the most popular video game composers to this day. His creativity and innovation is clear in his works of game sound and has greatly impacted the video game industry, which is marked by his timeline and accomplishments. He brought forth new ways of experiencing video game music, visible in the societal and psychological responses of fans of the series concerning his game sound techniques. He also changed the expectations of video game music for future developers, identifiable through the analysis of his compositional works. The magic in Uematsu’s music has taken us Final Fantasy fans to a brand new world, a fantasy world that we experienced emotionally, visually, and aurally, which we will never forget for the rest of our lives. 17 Bibliography Book Sources: Cheng, William. “How Celes Sang.” In Sound Play: Video Games and the Musical Imagination , 5791. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014. Collins, Karen. "Press Reset: Video Game Music Comes of Age." In Game Sound an Introduction to the History, Theory, and Practice of Video Game Music and Sound Design , 6384. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 2008. Kizzire, Jessica. "‘The Place I'll Return to Someday’ Music Nostalgia in Final Fantasy IX." In Music in Video Games: Studying Play , edited by K. J. Donnelly, William Gibbons, and Neil Lerner, 183198. New York, New York: Routledge, 2014. Online Sources: "Businesses.” Square Enix Holdings Co., LTD . http://www.hd.squareenix.com/eng/group/index.html#game1. (accessed April 4, 2015). "Nobuo Uematsu Heads to Abbey Road to Record Final Symphony." Spielemusikkonzerte . December 13, 2014. http://www.spielemusikkonzerte.de/en/neues/ansicht/article/nobuouematsufuerfinalsy mphonyindenabbeyroadstudios/. (accessed March 23, 2015). "Nobuo Uematsu." LA Phil. http://www.laphil.com/philpedia/nobuouematsu. (accessed March 23, 2015). “Nobuo Uematsu" FFXIclopedia . http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Nobuo_Uematsu. (accessed April 4, 2015). "Overworld Theme from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past." Game Music Themes . http://www.gamemusicthemes.com/sheetmusic/supernintendo/thelegendofzeldaalinktothe past/overworldtheme/.(accessed April 5, 2015). "Prelude." Final Fantasy Wiki . http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Prelude. (accessed April 5, 2015). Farley, Christopher John. “In Fantasy's Loop.” Time 157, no. 21 (May 28, 2001): 72. Music Index, EBSCOhost (accessed March 23, 2015). FF Radio. "22Celes's ThemeFFVI OST." YouTube . July 2, 2008. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoBn04lcNmo. (accessed April 5, 2015). Jahns, Jeremy. "Final Fantasy VI Game Review." YouTube . February 17, 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBZSgIX7huw. (accessed March 25, 2015). 18 Libregkd. "Kefka's Laugh." YouTube . August 16, 2006. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyZoer9qb0. (accessed April 4, 2015). SeraphimZera. "Final Fantasy VI Opera Scene." YouTube. September 13, 2006. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgZXiHfNt0M. (accessed April 5, 2015). Tong, Sophia. “Behind The Games: Meet the Composers Nobuo Uematsu.” GameSpot . July 31, 2009. http://www.gamespot.com/articles/behindthegamesmeetthecomposersnobuouemats u/11006214478/. (accessed April 4, 2015). TantrisOST. "Final Fantasy 6 Complete Soundtrack." YouTube . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLpjPht5mvg. (accessed March 23, 2015). Uematsu, Nobuo, arr. Morrison, Arnold. “Aria De Mezzo Carattere.” Final Fantasy VI Arrangements . May 24, 2007. (accessed April 5, 2015). http://www.squaresound.com/arrangements/finalfantasyvi/. Uematsu, Nobuo, arr. Morrison, Arnold. “Celes Theme.” Final Fantasy VI Arrangements . May 24, 2007. http://www.squaresound.com/arrangements/finalfantasyvi/. (accessed April 5, 2015). The Shape of Japanese Music Before, During, and After the Meiji Restoration Christopher Girgenti ABSTRACT: This paper explores the musical history of Japan, emphasizing the Tokugawa and Meiji eras. While these are only two of Japan’s many eras, they had the most impact on the musical aspects of society. As the Tokugawa shogunate forced the isolation of Japan from the Western World, it was during this time period that the Western World was expanding. Tensions arose between Japan and the West during the 1850s and 1860s, eventually leading to the overthrow of the shogunate. The result was the beginning of the Meiji era. Why the Meiji era is highly critical to Japanese history is because once the Tokugawa shogunate was overthrown, the new government reversed Japan’s isolation, stating that it should embrace Western ideals and practices in order to avoid colonization. Not only did this change the fundamental aspects of Japanese society, but it also lead to many musical changes. Western instruments and a formal music education were introduced, and as Japan became an imperial power military bands played a role in the shaping of Japanese society. As the twentieth century progressed, so did the Westernization of Japanese music. What this paper argues is that once Japan reopened itself, its music became more Western and less Japanese. In order to fully understand this argument, my paper includes a background of Japanese music history from its beginnings, so readers can examine how Japanese music has evolved over time. Japanese music today is very much Westerninfluenced, causing the line that defines Japanese music to become blurred. However, it is important not to make the assumption that all Japanese music is no longer Japanese in nature; there are still traditional elements that exist today, even though Western elements seem to have a stronghold. Girgenti 1 The Shape of Japanese Music Before, During, and After the Meiji Restoration Christopher Girgenti From the beginning of the Tokugawa period (1603) until the Meiji Restoration (1868), there was a span of over 250 years of isolation from the Western world. This period of isolation closed Japan from Western influences. Western countries such as Portugal and Holland were spreading their ideals eastward, but the Tokugawa shogunate disliked and feared what these countries were bringing to Japan (specifically Christianity). Once the Tokugawa shogunate was overthrown, Japan reopened itself to the West, embracing its ideals and becoming a powerful nation. Many aspects of Japanese society changed during and after the Meiji Restoration, one of which was music. Because of the Meiji Restoration, Japanese music has become more Western and less Japanese. Ancient Japanese history is different in that “the exact ethnological origins of the Japanese are not clearly known,” and during ancient times the indigenous people were not ethnically 1 united. The indigenous people were not united until the Yamato clan spread its power during 2 the first centuries A.D. During this period, the Japanese did not have a written language, so in order to fully understand ancient Japanese music one must research Chinese sources, as the 3 Chinese had spread their ideas to the Japanese islands. The history of Chinese music is much vaster compared to Japan’s, as “the history of Japanese music begins in the 8th century AD William P. Malm, Japanese Music and Musical Instruments, (Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1959), 24. 2 Malm, 2425. 3 Malm, 25. 1 Girgenti 2 4 th more than 2000 years after the origins of Chinese music.” Japan’s 8 century was known as the Nara period. This period was “characterized by the formation of a politicaladministrative system…modeled after China. Music and musical instruments, as well as Buddhism and 5 6 Confucianism, were introduced.” This period was the beginning of Japanese music history. The court music of the Nara period “was all of Chinese, Korean, or Indian origin and was played primarily by foreign musicians in its original style.” During this period, music was mainly 7 instrumental, but the spread of Buddhism to Japan influenced vocal music. Court music began to further develop in the Heian period, which was still heavily influenced by Chinese music styles, but now the musicians were Japanese, and the music itself was becoming more distinctly 8 Japanese. “The main genres born in this period are gagaku (court music) and syômyô (Buddhist 9 10 chant).” Of course, the Japanese also had native Shinto music ( kagura ). However, “by the Kamakura period…court music in general was declining, while there was a steady growth of 11 more theatrical arts.” Theatrical art started as Buddhist rituals and dances, and eventually became integrated 12 into popular traditions. Specifically, in the Kamakura period, sacred and secular music began 13 14 to intertwine. In the Muromachi (Ashikaga) period, theatrical arts took form in noh drama. 4 Dharma Deva, “Underlying SocioCultural Aspects and Aesthetic Principles that Determine Musical Theory and Practice in China and Japan,” 1999, Accessed October 5, 2014, 1. 5 Tomuku Yosihiko and Tukitani Tuneko, “Music Profile of Japan,” East Asia: China, Japan, and Korea, Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, vol. 7, Edited by Robert C. Provine, et al, (New York: Routledge, 2007), 535. 6 Malm, 25. 7 Malm, 26. 8 Malm, 30. 9 Yosihiko, 535536. 10 Yosihiko, 536. 11 Malm, 31. 12 Deva, 6. 13 Malm, 32. 14 Malm, 32. Girgenti 3 Noh drama was especially popular in the warrior class during this time, and continued to have a role in government through the Tokugawa period. However, the Meiji Restoration caused the 15 noh to lose its political standing. There were also other types of theatrical arts besides noh 16 drama; these included kabuki and bunraku . One type of kabuki dance, kiyomotobushi (kiyomoto), “came into being as a musicosocial entity in 1814, but it was part of a complex body of narrative music used to accompany dance in the kabuki theatre for several decades prior 17 th to this date.” Founded in the 16 century, kabuki theatre is a highly sophisticated and highly 18 popular act in which “was well established by the mid17th century.” Other types of folk music appear throughout Japanese history, including “chamber music for shamisen (a threestringed plucked lute), koto , kokyû (a three or fourstringed bowed lute), 19 and syakuhati .” The modern shamisen came from Korea during the Momoyama period while Japanese leader Toyotomi Hideyoshi was invading Korea. At the time, the instrument was called 20 jamisen , which was a threestringed guitar, but it later evolved into the shamisen . Shamisen 21 music was prominent in the Tokugawa period, along with koto and shakuhachi . As there were numerous genres of Japanese music, each genre had its own specific theoretical practice. For example, “prestigious genres such as gagaku and syômyô developed highly complex theories,” whereas “vernacular genres such as zyôruri ( kabuki theater), in contrast, had little systematic written theory, but relied instead on practical knowledge of Deva, 8. Yosihiko, 536. 17 Alison McQueen Tokita, "Mode and Scale, Modulation and Tuning in Japanese Shamisen Music: The Case of Kiyomoto Narrative," Ethnomusicology 40, no. 1 (Winter 1996): 133, Accessed October 6, 2014, http://www.jstor.org/stable/852434 , 1. 18 Deva, 9. 19 Yosihiko, 536. 20 Malm, 3334. 21 Malm, 35. 15 16 Girgenti 4 22 melodic patterns and performance practice.” The theoretical practices of Japanese music were based similarly to those of Chinese music. The octave was divided “into twelve ritu , or pitches, 23 roughly equivalent to the twelve Western semitones.” When arranged in ascending order, the first five pitches thus generated (called kyû, syô, kaku, ti, and u ) formed a pentatonic scale, gosei [meaning] ‘five voices’. By adding a semitone below ti (designated hen ti , where hen is equivalent to the Western flat) and another semitone below kyû ( hen kyû ), the pentatonic scale could be expanded into a heptatonic scale, or sitisei 24 [meaning] ‘seven voices.’ Although Japanese music adopted similar principles from Chinese music, Japanese music as a whole is difficult to analyze and generalize due to “the many extant Japanese musical genres 25 from various historical periods.” Although there are many varying genres of Japanese music, that does not mean that there are some commonalities in theoretical practice; “as for the whole of Japanese music, all that can be said without further study is that the framework of the fourth (or tetrachord)… is important for nō and early narrative (such as heike narrative), as is the pentatonic 26 scale for gagaku .” Probably the most vital element in Japanese music is the pentatonic scale. The term pentatonic scale was not used until the interactions between Japan and the West began, and was “deliberately created by one of the first Japanese prewar composers who had been educated in 22 Komopa Haruko and Nogawa Mihoko, “Theory and Notation in Japan,” East Asia: China, Japan, and Korea, Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, vol. 7, Edited by Robert C. Provine, et al, (New York: Routledge, 2007), 565. 23 Haruko, 566. 24 Haruko, 566. 25 Tokita, 1. 26 Tokita, 2. Girgenti 5 27 Westernstyle music.” The prominently used yonanuki ( yo = four, na = seven, nuki = omission) scale “is merely a Western major or minor scale with the two corresponding steps eliminated. Thus, we can see that Japanese modality, as the construction of a melody, is really a 28 ‘cultural marker’, rather than a conceptual building block for the composer.” Another vital element in Japanese music is mode. However, it is difficult to distinguish mode in Japanese music (or even Western music) because the terms mode and scale have been 29 interchangeable; thus, “Japanese musicologists are not consistent in their use of the two terms.” Because of the many musical genres, “no one has yet developed a theory of mode which will 30 explain all of Japanese music.” However, stepwise motions are preferred over leaps because “the Japanese people have no feeling for harmony,” in comparison to harmonicbased Western 31 music. All forms of Japanese music were incorporated into the Tokugawa period. As William P. Malm notes in his book, Japanese Music and Musical Instruments , “The Tokugawa period is a 32 treasure of Japanese music and represents the zenith of all the traditional arts.” Also, as noted by Dharma Deva in the essay, “Underlying SocioCultural Aspects and Aesthetic Principles that Determine Musical Theory and Practice in China and Japan,” “Today, most of the surviving folk 33 songs are from the Edo period of Tokugawa Shogun rule.” The Tokugawa period saw the flourish of Japanese music (along with other Japanese ideals), but as previously mentioned, this Carolyn S. Stevens, Japanese Popular Music: Culture, Authenticity, and Power, (New York: Routledge, 2008), 19. 28 Stevens, 1819. 29 Tokita, 3. 30 Tokita, 1. 31 Stevens, 1920. 32 Malm, 36. 33 Deva, 8. 27 Girgenti 6 is the period during which Japan was closed off from the Western world. In the book, Voices of Early Modern Japan: Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life During the Age of the Shoguns , author Constantine Nomikos Vaporis states that “much of what we today associate with 34 ‘traditional’ Japan either originated with, or found a popular audience in, Tokugawa times.” In terms of musical developments, kabuki theater attracted large audiences and created a sense of 35 “popular (mass) culture.” The Tokugawa period lasted for over two and a half centuries. Although, the Tokugawa period was not entirely secluded from Western ideals, as it was not until after the shoguante was established that Christianity was expelled from Japan. Before this expulsion, Christian missionaries brought more than just religious ideals; they also brought musical ideals—in Kyushu, the Japanese experienced their first performance of a Christmas Mass, and even learned 36 Gregorian chant. These events were the first exposure to Western music, yet no similar events would occur until the late nineteenth century. Beginning in 1853 with the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry at Edo bay, Western imperial powers tried to force Japan to change its ways. However, after several years of assessing whether or not to take on Western culture, the Tokugawa shogunate was overthrown in what is known as the Meiji Restoration (named after the Emperor Meiji). The Meiji government fully adopted Western ideals and therefore “The Meiji Restoration of 1868 became much more 37 than the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate—it became the Meiji Revolution.” The Meiji 34 Constantine Nomikos Vaopris, Voices of Early Modern Japan: Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life during the Age of the Shoguns, (Boulder: Westview Press, 2014), xvii. 35 Vaporis, xvii. 36 Tukahara Yasuko, “Foreign Musics Introduced Before the Meizi Era,” East Asia: China, Japan, and Korea, Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, vol. 7, Edited by Robert C. Provine, et al, (New York: Routledge, 2007), 724. 37 Vaopris, xix. Girgenti 7 Restoration led to the implementation of “Westernstyle education (including the study of 38 Western music).” During this time, music education was introduced into elementary schools, which caused a number of Western musicians and music teachers to come to Japan along with 39 many Japanese studying music abroad. Although music in Japan was transformed tremendously by Western influences, traditional music still remains. However, how music was shaped during and after the Meiji Restoration depended on the government’s policies and regulations. “For example, syamisen genres (such as nagauta and gidayû busi ), which were connected with kabuki and bunraku theater, were hardly affected by the Meizi Restoration, because traditional forms of performance were secure under the new government. In contrast, ziuta, syôkyu, and syakuhati were severely 40 affected because the government made changes in their social and economic base.” During the early years of Japanese imperialism (c. 18701890), band music was introduced through European military bands. The Japanese were impressed by the European military bands and therefore studied military music. Realizing that military bands could strengthen morale and discipline, the army and navy ministries were created. “As Japan embarked on the process of opening up to the West, local clan leaders who were jockeying for position in the new political order actively sought to develop connections with foreign nations. 38 Nakamera Kosuke, “Western Musics Introduced in Japan in Modern Times,” East Asia: China, Japan, and Korea, Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, vol. 7, Edited by Robert C. Provine, et al, (New York: Routledge, 2007), 727. 39 Masakata Kanazawa and Yasuko Todo, "Collections of Western Music in Japan: An Introduction," Fontes Artis Musicae 56, no. 3 (2009): 238, Accessed September 25, 2014, http://web.b.ebscohost.com.portnoy.wingate.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=5f4b8bf5787942 198c6e15591d7104c9%40sessionmgr113&hid=101&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d %3d#AN=44921542&db=a9h . 40 Tiba Yuko, “Nationalism, Westernization, and Modernization in Japan,” East Asia: China, Japan, and Korea, Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, vol. 7, Edited by Robert C. Provine, et al, (New York: Routledge, 2007), 777. Girgenti 8 Many of the delegations sent from Europe were accompanied by military bands, providing the 41 Japanese people with their first experience of Western music.” Band music, in general, began to popularize during the early twentieth century and today there are bands in Japanese schools, 42 along with bands outside of the school system.” The early twentieth century also constituted the spread of Western music through mass media, such as magazines. Ongaku zassi (Music Magazine), was the first periodical of its kind, making debut in 1900; however, “by 1912…there were seven periodicals devoted to music; and 43 by the end of the Taisyô era the number had increased to forty.” Even though Western music was peaking in popularity, during the period of World War II Japan did not allow music, musicians, nor composers from nonallied countries. After World War II, the once prohibited were allowed back into Japanese society and “perhaps in reaction to wartime austerities, mass communications burgeoned and foreign culture was introduced once again, now at an even more 44 rapid pace.” The main reason for the rapidity in the spread of Western music is modernization. As Japan had radio and other forms of media, a variety of things could be spread quickly and to a large amount of people, music included. Modernization, rather than musical developments, caused Western music to spread widely into Japanese culture and thus created “‘modern’ popular 45 culture.” As Western music popularized in Japanese society, Japanese composers were beginning to emulate Western theoretical practices in their own works. For example, “Tōru Takemitsu Kosuke, 727. Kosuke, 728. 43 Kosuke, 729. 44 Kosuke, 729. 45 Luciana Galliano, Yōgaku: Japanese Music in the Twentieth Century, Translated by Martin Mayes, (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press Inc., 2002), 105. 41 42 Girgenti 9 (1930–96)…wrote scores for 100 films,” using a technique long used in Western music known as “‘distorted iconism,’ in which an aural resemblance is altered so as to suggest transcendence.” 46 Although a scientific technique, the idea of semiotics gives music a more aesthetic approach to 47 analysis. It is true that Japanese artists were adopting Western ideals and incorporating them into their own works. Yasser Mattar argues in his article, "Miso Soup for the Ears: Contemporary Japanese Popular Music and its Relation to the Genres Familiar to the Anglophonic Audience," is that “while Japanese hip hop and rock are affinitive to Anglophonic hip hop and rock, this affinity is due to both Japanese and Anglophonic artists’ conformity to a stylistic formula, rather 48 than Japanese artists being clones of their Anglophonic counterparts.” However, when pop singers began to emerge in Japan, the singers were “singing Anglophonicsounding pop tunes 49 with lyrics that were often a mixture of Japanese and English.” Even in Japanese popular music today, “many Japanese artists increasingly sport English names as stage names, use 50 English song titles, and sing partially in the English language.” Even though Japanese music has been tremendously shaped over the past decade and a half, the Japanese do not refer to their traditional genres of music when using the term music; to the Japanese, the term music strictly refers to Western music. However, many of today’s 46 Christopher I. Lehrich, “Hearing Transcendence: Distorted Iconism in Tōru Takemitsu’s Film Music,” Signs and Society 2, S1 (Supplement 2014): S215, Accessed September 21, 2014. 47 Lehrich, S217. 48 Yasser Mattar, "Miso Soup for the Ears: Contemporary Japanese Popular Music and its Relation to the Genres Familiar to the Anglophonic Audience," Popular Music & Society 31, no. 1 (February 2008): 113, Accessed September 15, 2014, http://web.b.ebscohost.com.portnoy.wingate.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=5&sid=5f4b8bf5787942 198c6e15591d7104c9%40sessionmgr113&hid=101&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d %3d#AN=28552268&db=a9h . 49 Mattar, 113. 50 Mattar, 114. Girgenti 10 Japanese composers incorporate both Japanese and Western elements into their compositions. For example, a modern Japanese composer may “write music using Japanese traditional instruments but with compositional techniques associated with the conventions of European art music; such compositions are, despite their crossbreeding, regarded as ‘Western 51 music’ in Japan.” Eta HarichSchneider, one of the great scholars of Japanese music, has claimed that the best Japanese music is its folk music—that is, when it hasn’t been tampered with! And indeed it is true that every region of Japan…has its own lively and colorful repertoire of music and song that deeply reflects all aspects of Japanese culture, with its love of nature, its feeling of gratitude for the beauty of nature and the emotions it evokes, and the thoughtfulness and care that 52 characterize social behavior. The amount of blending between Japanese traditional music and Western music creates a 53 problem as it is now more difficult to define Japanese music. The Meiji Restoration caused Western influences to spread rapidly and now there are more Western influences than Japanese influences. Japanese music in its beginnings was very distinct, but Japanese music today is becoming blurred in terms of its Japaneseness because of the amount of Western elements. Kanzawa, 284. Galliano, 104. 53 Kanzawa, 284. 51 52 Girgenti 11 Bibliography Deva, Dharma. “Underlying SocioCultural Aspects and Aesthetic Principles that Determine Musical Theory and Practice in China and Japan.” 1999. Accessed October 5, 2014. http://www.rawa.asia/ethno/Aesthetics%20of%20Chinese%20&%20Japanese%2 0Music%20essay.pdf Galliano, Luciana. Yōgaku: Japanese Music in the Twentieth Century. Translated by Martin Mayes. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press Inc., 2002. Haruko, Komopa and Nogawa Mihoko. “Theory and Notation in Japan.” East Asia: China, Japan, and Korea, Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, vol. 7. Edited by Robert C. Provine, et al. New York: Routledge, 2007. 565584. Kanazawa, Masakata and Yasuko Todo. "Collections of Western Music in Japan: An Introduction." Fontes Artis Musicae 56, no. 3 (2009): 282286. Accessed September 25, 2014. http://web.b.ebscohost.com.portnoy.wingate.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=5f 4b8bf5787942198c6e15591d7104c9%40sessionmgr113&hid=101&bdata=Jn NpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=44921542&db=a9h . Kosuke, Nakamera. “Western Musics Introduced in Japan in Modern Times.” East Asia: China, Japan, and Korea, Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, vol. 7. Edited by Robert C. Provine, et al. New York: Routledge, 2007. 727730. Lehrich, Christopher I. “Hearing Transcendence: Distorted Iconism in Tōru Takemitsu’s Film Music.” Signs and Society 2, S1 (Supplement 2014): S215S245. Accessed September 21, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/674697 . Malm, William P. Japanese Music and Musical Instruments. Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1959. Mattar, Yasser. 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