[2021-01-16] Junko Sakimura and Yukako Ihara marimba recital

Although a state of emergency is in effect, this concert will proceed with the following measures: (1) attendance limited to one quarter of capacity; (2) temperature checks and hand sanitising on admission; and (3) a request to use the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s COCOA COVID-19 contact-confirmation app.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation with these safety arrangements.

Programme
1. Thomas Marceau: Seascape (approximately four minutes)
2. Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances (approximately five minutes)
3. 平吉毅州: 虹のリズム (Rainbow Rhythms), complete set of 25 pieces (approximately 40 minutes)

Programme notes
Thomas Marceau『Seascape』
Thomas Marceau’s Seascape is a marimba solo of constantly changing moods, moving between stillness and energy through frequent shifts of tonality and rhythm. Its long, flowing musical phrases range across the entire instrument.
Béla Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 56
Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 56, is a suite of six short piano pieces composed by Béla Bartók in 1915. It draws on folk tunes from regions of Romania that were then part of the Kingdom of Hungary. Like his other arrangements, its distinctive yet approachable harmonies give new life to familiar folk material. Alongside its technical demands, it requires a folk-music character not explicitly written in the score, making it musically challenging. Today it is performed on the cimbalom, a folk instrument widely used in Romania and Hungary.

1. Stick Dance (Romanian: Jocul cu bâtă; Hungarian: Bot tánc; collected in Voiniceni). Allegro moderato, in A.
2. Sash Dance (Brâul; collected in Igriş). Allegro, in D. Some pianists add octaves on the repeat.
3. In One Spot (Romanian: Pe loc; Hungarian: Topogó; collected in Igriş). Andante, in B.
4. Horn Dance (Romanian: Buciumeana; Hungarian: Bucsumí tánc; collected in Bucium). Moderato, or Molto moderato in some editions, in A. It is sometimes repeated.
5. Romanian Polka (Romanian: Poarga Românească; Hungarian: Román polka; collected in Beiuş). Allegro, in D. This rhythmically interesting movement suggests Czech influence. Bartók carefully notates its distinctive eight-beat polka phrases in alternating duple and triple metre. The original was played on violin by a young man from the village.
6. Fast Dance (Romanian: Mărunţel; Hungarian: Aprózó; collected in Beiuş and Neagra). Allegro–Più allegro, or L’istesso tempo–Allegro vivace in the orchestral version, in A. It combines two unrelated dances collected in different places; the same construction appears in Fifteen Hungarian Peasant Songs.
平吉毅州: 虹のリズム (Rainbow Rhythms)
Rainbow Rhythms was composed by 平吉毅州 (1936–1998) between 1977 and 1979 as a collection of short piano pieces for children. In this album they are performed on marimba, bringing out further aspects of their appeal. Listening to the crescendos and diminuendos achieved through tremolo, one might almost imagine that the pieces had originally been written for marimba.

The collection consists of 25 short pieces in varied styles. The first, The Dandelions are Flying, is charmingly childlike, but from the second, Memories, the atmosphere changes completely and a deeply expressive musical landscape opens up. No. 8, The Revenge of the Cat that was Stepped on, may make anyone who knows Neko Funjatta smile, while suggesting the refinement of an afternoon cake made with fine brandy. At the midpoint, No. 13, Lullaby, forms a climax overflowing with a mother’s love for her child.

The collection then sees off The Pampas Grass Funeral Procession, travels to South America during the Japanese winter for The Sea Breeze Samba and Summer Night Habanera (Japan’s winter is South America’s summer), and returns to Japan in spring to feel The May Breeze. Then comes the second half’s climax, A Lake in the Rays of the Sunset, No. 21. Can you sense the lake’s gentle movement in the low register, with the reflected sunset shimmering in the high notes?

It is now autumn. The Falling Leaves Dance in the Autumn Rays unfolds just that scene before us. In the season for sports, we watch A Field Day for White Mice and pass through The Midnight Fire Festival. The 38-minute journey that began with flying dandelions reaches its finale in A Line Dance of Tulips.

1. The Dandelions are Flying
2. Memories
3. The Ballerina’s Sorrow
4. The Rusty Swing
5. The Waves’ Tale
6. The Voyage of the Bamboo Boat
7. Distant Africa
8. The Revenge of the Cat that was Stepped on
9. A Chat
10. The Curious Chases
11. The Frog Takes a Walk
12. A Lonely Waltz
13. Lullaby
14. The Legend of the Sea
15. The Marionette Dances Alone
16. The Pampas Grass Funeral Procession
17. The Mischief that was Found Out
18. The Sea Breeze Samba
19. Summer Night Habanera
20. The May Breeze
21. A Lake in the Rays of the Sunset
22. The Falling Leaves Dance in the Autumn Rays
23. A Field Day for White Mice
24. The Midnight Fire Festival
25. A Line Dance of Tulips

Performers

Junko Sakimura
Junko Sakimura graduated in percussion from Kunitachi College of Music. She studied marimba with 鈴木明子, 草刈とも子, 上野信一 and 岡田知之, and cimbalom with 加納靖子. After graduating, she began with a recital in 1990 and has been active in performances including Japanese premieres of Stravinsky’s Renard in Japanese, Kurtág’s Stele and Concertante, and Costello’s “IL SONGO” [spelling in source]. In 2017 she appeared as a guest on BS TV Tokyo’s Music Intersection. Internationally, she represented Japan at the Third Cimbalom World Congress in Slovakia in 1995, appeared on Slovak television and in publications including Pravda, and has performed to favourable reception in the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, Canada, Mexico, China and elsewhere. Her orchestral appearances include Dutilleux’s Mystère de l’instant with the Saito Kinen Orchestra conducted by Seiji Ozawa, broadcast nationwide on NHK, and performances with major orchestras including the New Japan Philharmonic, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra and Nagoya Philharmonic.

Yukako Ihara
Yukako Ihara graduated in percussion from the instrumental music department of Kunitachi College of Music. She studied general percussion with 齋藤美絵, 岡田知之, 植松透, 新谷祥子, 上野信一 and 百瀬和紀, and marimba with 鈴木明子 and 高田直子. She won second prize at the First Japan Junior Wind and Percussion Competition, fourth prize at the 19th Japan Wind and Percussion Competition, and a newcomer award at the 19th newcomers’ concert organised by the percussion association. She was a semifinalist in the First Southern California Marimba Competition. She has performed in the United States since 2009 and in Italy since 2014. Edizione ETS publishes the score and an Italian-language picture book with CD of Nicola Segatta’s Gauche the Cellist, a project in which she participated as a performer in 2012. She is a member of こぶしぶらす and Ensemble du Couleur. Alongside performing as a percussionist, she teaches younger musicians.