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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Acknowledgements

The perfomers that made recording sessions and artwork of the Research Presentation possible are:

Christof May- flutes and saxophones

Ignas te Wiel- percussion and shakuhachi

Gulli Gudmundsson- double bass, electronics and recording

Natasza Kurek- voice, piano, percussion

Anna Glinka - photography

Yukari Sawaki - Japanese language consultations

My gratitude to wonderful people whose feedback has greatly helped me in my research project:

Christof May, Ignas te Wiel, Johan van Kreij, Justin Bennett, Milena Mizgiert, Anna Glinka, Renee Jonker, Yukari Sawaki, Master Circles Fellowship of 2017 and 2018, Henk Borgdorff, Gerda van Zelm, Paul Craenen, Joanna Zbikowska, Agata Markowska-Szczupak, Antonina Reben and Gulli Gudmundsson.

... and last but not least, thank you to all my friends an family who have for years patiently listened to my stories of fascination with Japan. Verbalizing my infatuation has led me to commencing this project. Arigato.

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