Entwine – finding music within a poem.

Natasza Kurek

Entwine – finding music within a poem. Exploring musical interpretations of Japanese Tanka by Yosano Akiko What can be the contemporary musical expressions of tanka poetry from a standpoint of an improvising jazz vocalist? What are the elements that constitute tanka’s character and can they trigger a vocal inspiration? What could be the place of Japanese poetry within other artistic disciplines? In my research I have explored Japanese aesthetic sensibilities and have tried to find their translations into my own musical experimentation. After initial study of the relevant literature and listening to the existing works of both classical Japanese music and Western contemporary compositions influenced by the Japanese arts, I have proceeded with my own vocal- instrumental Sketches in which I have experimented with improvised and written music. My source material was tanka of an early 20th century poet Yosano Akiko. The improvisations and compositional sketches are based on some specifically chosen elements: the imagery and meaning of the tanka poem, layered Ukiyo-e printing technique, sound associations derived from the paintings, Japanese language sonority, Japanese scales and harmony used in the traditional gagaku ensemble and other inspirations. The final research document contains audio examples of the recordings that led to the final audio-visual presentation and an extensive paper documenting the process of discovery.

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Love Dances

He tempted me to

Come in and say goodbye

I hesitated to respond

And he brushed my hand away

But yet-the smell of his clothes

In the soft darkness

“Tangled Hair” /” Midaregami” Yosano Akiko

Not speaking of the way

Not thinking of what comes after

Not questioning name or fame

Here loving love

You and I look at each other

“Tangled Hair” Yosano Akiko

I have played with both sung and spoken sound of my voice, in English and Japanese. The Japanese language version adds certain freshness to the general sound (as the whole project is mostly sung in English) and the fact that Japanese lacks word stress, exposes the regular flow of the rhythmical 57577 pattern.

He Tempted Me - in Japanese, rhythmical aspect

Ingredients:

Tanka in Japanese and English, electronics, drums, percussion, wind instruments, double bass, voice.

I have chosen to play with the combination of the sho sounds re-established by the voices, strengthened by the saxophones and the flutes, supported by the steady rhythmical pattern of a drum. The continuity of the sho’s presence was to serve as a silver thread in the musical narrative, and the kakko-like sounding membrane drum (here: Irish bodhrun) was to bring out the tension suggested in the poem. The atmosphere of the anticipation of battle, seduction in the air, the containment of passion, and mystery had to be translated into music following the requirements of yugen.

He Tempted Me - song fragment

Reciting the text of the second poem by two voices, male and female, accentuates the intimacy of the poem and its sensual nature. To achieve that, the soft-spoken voices have been recorded very close to the microphone.

Not Speaking of the Way - song fragment

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