Filed under: JAPAN
Here’s another great Japanese record on Columbia. This wild music is called Toori Kagura Tawamure, sacred music played at Shinto festivals for Kotobuki Jishi (Lion Dance). This particular piece is Edo Kanda Bayashi.
In and around Tokyo, there are many shrines which have seasonal festivals, mainly in autumn, at which Hayashi music and folkloric dance-dramas are performed for the public. The Hayashi is generally called Matsuri Hayashi (festival Hayashi). Kanda Bayashi is one of them, which is used in the Kanda district of downtown Tokyo. The ensemble usually consists of a flute, two flat barrel drums played with two sticks, a gong and a big drum.
Here’s some visuals for you:
Kanda Bayashi:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqVm3eMCjRc
Lion Dance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7mupjxzFbU
Thanks once again to Mary Mariko Ohno, director of the Kabuki Academy in Tacoma, Washington, for translation and other info…these Japanese posts couldn’t have been done without her help…thanks!
Filed under: JAPAN
Here’s one of my favorite shamisen records, and since spring is upon us I’ve decided to post both sides.
Tune in next week for one more Japanese record, after that we head down to Southeast Asia!
The first side is “Ume nimo Haru” (Plum Blossom in Spring), a well known “Hauta” song that accompanies a dance of the same name. Hauta is a type of song popular in Edo (Tokyo) in the 19th century.
“In a light mood it describes various sights of the New Year and connects them to the feelings of a woman in the pleasure quarters waiting for her lover. Instead of seeing the person she is awaiting so anxiously, she sees all these other things instead.” from http://jtrad.columbia.jp
Sung by Fujimoto Fumikichi with shamisen by Koshizu Kin.
>Ume nimo Haru (Columbia A32 – 1206182)
The second side is “Harusame” (Spring Rain).
“This song describes a warbler in the spring rain perfumed by the fragrant plum blossoms. While being a poetic description of spring, it also carries a faintly erotic atmosphere.” Again, from http://jtrad.columbia.jp
Sung by Kanda Fukumaru.
>Harusame (Columbia A32- 2206185)
Another big thanks to Mary Mariko Ohno, director of the Kabuki Academy in Tacoma, Washington, for translation and other info…thanks Mary!
Filed under: JAPAN
I’m a big fan of the shamisen and it’s ancestor the Chinese sanxian. Maybe it’s because the banjo was one of my first instruments? The shamisen and it’s family are typically three string fretless banjos with snake, cat, dog or calf skin stretched across the body.
The Tsugaru style shamisen is currently in vogue, thanks to the Yoshida Brothers. Tsugaru style is usually fast, virtuosic playing and it is a bigger, heavier instrument. Incidentally, Tsugaru has an interesting history, as told in comic strip form by California’s own shamisen monster ,Kevin Kmetz.
But these sparser, slower styles are sometimes more interesting to me, this one in particular reminds me how bluesy a lot of Asian and Southeast Asian music can sound…Chinese guqin, Vietnamese “Vong Co” and Khmer mahori music are some other examples
The song is the well known Yasuki Bushi which is associated with the “fish scooping dance” (see Excavated Shellac for another example). Here it is sung by Murano Koichi with shamisen played by Tachibanaya Kin-nosuke.
The label also indicates that this is a “ko-uta”; short songs typically sung by geisha.
(special thanks to Mary Mariko Ohno, director of the Kabuki Academy in Tacoma, Washington and Linda Kako Caplan. Also, thanks Excavated Shellac’s JW for some work on the audio restoration…cheers!)
Filed under: JAPAN
In January we heard an example of the Chinese zither called guzheng, and now I’d like to present one of it’s descendants; the Japanese koto.
The koto came from China to Japan sometime between the 7th and 8th century and was used primarily in the Gagaku ensemble, Japanese court music (see World Arbiter). Like the guzheng, the koto is a long zither with bridges and it went through many configurations over the centuries in terms of size, construction and number of strings. In the 17th century the gifted blind musician Yatsuhashi Kengyo (1614-1685) created a new style of solo playing and this record is one of his most famous pieces, Rokudan No Shirabe.
The Koto player featured on this recording is another famous blind musician, Michio Miyagi. He was something of a genius; teaching by age 13, creating new instruments such as the 80 string Hachi-Jyugern, making records, writing essays and exploring the music of the west. He published more than 500 compositions before he died in a train accident at the age of 62.
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Here is the full piece, Rokudan No Shirabe, from sides A and B.
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Thanks to Mary Ohno and Reiko Obata for help with this post.
Filed under: Mongolia
I’ve posted 27 Chinese records so far, representing most recorded styles of Chinese Opera and the majority of pre-WWII record labels (as well as a few odds and ends thrown in!) and now it’s time for a vacation. No, Dear Reader, I’m not taking a break from posting records, but instead embarking on a whirlwind musical tour of Asia and Southeast Asia …first stop Mongolia!
I picked up this record in a batch of 50+ Chinese and Japanese records. When I saw this strange label I knew I was onto something. My first guess was that it was Korean, even though the writing was in Japanese. Wrong! It turns out that this was part of a set called “The Ultimate Collection of Great East-Asian Empire’s Music” and was put out by Victor Japan, most likely in the late 1930’s. It seems to have been something of a propaganda piece as Japan was trying to promote the idea that all the areas under it’s control (Inner Mongolia, Manchuria, Taiwan, Korea, and others) were part of one great “East Asian” Empire. If anyone has further information on this set, please contact me!
The B side lists the song name as “Mongolian Royal Festival Music” performed by “Fa-Un” and “Shao-Tao-Nah-Mu” (approximate pronunciation) and features the Mongolian hammered dulcimer called Yoochin (or Yoochun), a version of the Chinese Yangqin and what sound likes a Kuuchir (aka Sihu), essentially a 4 stringed Erhu.
The A side is available on the amazing Secret Museum of Mankind: Central Asia listed as “Mon-Gu Tuul 1″, although my source calls it “The song of Genghis Khan’s Horse.”
(extra special thanks to youtube user transformingArt for help with this post!)
Filed under: Misc.
Friends, several of you have asked where to buy Chinese records and now I have a good answer….Shellac Head!
That’s right, Shellac Head is an adjunct of Haji Maji and is offering rare ethnic 78 rpm records for sale. All records are carefully graded and professionally packed.
But that’s not all! Shellac Head is also offering cds of this rare music…the first of which will be announced soon.
Filed under: Instrumental
The Guzheng, and the Guqin, are both descended from the ancient Chinese “Se”, the archetype of all Asian zithers. The instrument spread throughout Asia, carrying it’s pentatonic scale and wobbly vibrato wherever it went. More than the 2000 years old, the Guzheng and it’s relatives have undergone constant modification in terms of construction and number of strings.
One of the main differences between the Guzheng and the Guqin is that Guzheng, like most other Asian zithers, has movable bridges. This allows the player to create the characteristic vibrato by plucking the string with one hand and pressing on the same string but on the other side of the bridge thereby bending the pitch of the note.
Some other Asian zithers, past and present:
Japan: KOTO, WAGON, JUSHICHIGEN, NIJUGEN, SANJUGEN, ZOKUSO, SUMAGOTO
Okinawa: KUTU
Korean: GAYAGEUM, KOMUNGO, AJAENG
Monglolia: YATGA
Vietnam: DAN TRANH, DAN THAP LUC
Here’s a Guzheng piece on the Zhonggou Changpian label, probably from the 1940’s. This label featured a wide array of Chinese music styles, from Folk to Classical to Opera. Interestingly, this label, and the related Art Tune, seem to have been the first to seriously record Chinese music other than opera. The labels I’ve been featuring so far recorded Opera almost exclusively.
Even so, I’ve heard very few Guzheng solos on 78 rpm. This one is titled “Fang Zhi Mang” (Busy with Weaving) and was the only Guzheng piece by composer Liu Tian-Yi, a Cantonese composer and Gaohu player. Here he is playing his own composition.
Special thanks to Bei Bei He, a GuZheng player and teacher in southern California (www.beibeizheng.com) and Hong Wang for their help translating and information about Liu Tian-Yi.
Filed under: Misc.
A fellow in Holland has made a limited edition CDR from the first 21 tracks on Haji Maji, along with images in an attractive package.
(Clarification: This is not an official Haji Maji release and the producer is not affiliated with this site)
Here’s the info he sent me:
Limited CDR available (only 35 handnumbered copies including 5 inserts in A5 packaging)
Title: “General Zhao Zi Long, On Horseback Saves His Master All By Himself – Chinese 78RPM Records”
Includes the first 21 tracks from the Haji Maji site.
People interested can send an order to sonic-devil@hotmail.com, paypal only on the same address.
http://www.discogs.com/release/1522143
Price including shipping:
Europe: 10 euros
Holland: 9 euros
USA and rest of the world: 13 euros or around $16.50 (due to absurdly high shipping costs over 100 grams)
Filed under: cantonese opera
The 42000-43000 Victor series contains some of the most incredible Chinese music ever recorded. Predominately Cantonese, many of these recordings are reissues from the one sided 8000 series which were recorded in New York City and San Francisco as early as 1902. Because these were sold in the United States they are easier to find here, sometimes in great condition as leftover store stock.
This one has the classic Cantonese fiddle-banjo sound, that is, gaohu-sanxian sound.
A beautiful recording featuring the end blown Chinese flute called Xiao, reminiscent of Vietnamese and other Southeast Asian flute music.
Here’s another classic sounding Cantonese recording from the early 20th Century. This is a good example of the typical record from this Victor series.
I had decided not to post this recording because it’s pretty scratchy, but because it’s one of my all time favorite Victor records and I because you must be an intrepid bunch of music lovers to be here in the first place, I figured what the hell. Enjoy.
