Tadao Sawai

Some of Tadao Sawai’s early works were characterised by melancholic themes. However his wish was also to weave more uplifting melodies into his works. This particular piece shows this, though it retains passages that still reflect the darker side of his character. As he says himself the title “Longing” refers to his objective to achieve a more positive outlook as a person.

Form: two kotos

This piece was composed in the winter of 1954 and it is Tadao Sawai’s first composition. It was originally written as music for children to dance to and later on, it was performed with the narration of a story about a father and daughter in a snowy country. This music consists of five parts; Scenery, Dancing, Lullaby, Dreaming and Blizzard.

Form: koto, 17-string koto, shakuhachi

The piece, Chidori no Kyoku, was originally for voice and koto and is based on a classical Koto piece. The composer uses 13 & 17 string Kotos in a new arrangement to express a beautiful scene with the call of the plovers, flying to and fro.

Form: koto, 17-string koto

The first time I encountered the flower called ‘Datura’, it was on a late summer evening in Kagoshima, Japan. Its white flowers looked like a dappled pool of shimmering light in the humid summer dusk. In that moment I was transported to another world.

Form: two kotos, 17-string koto

In this piece a gorgeous development of rhythm appears first, but in the middle flows a decadent and sad melody. It is there I catch a glimpse of myself unexpectedly, the place where a clown lives…

Form: koto, 17-string koto, shakuhachi

Sakura Sakura and Koujo no Tsuki are two of Japan’s most famous folk songs. After a short introduction section, the piece starts with the first variation. Sakura Sakura has 5 different variations and although both songs are arranged independently of each other, depending on the performer’s preference, it’s possible to continue with the Koujo no Tsuki medley after Sakura Sakura. Koujo no Tsuki has 3 different variations, the second variation is used again in the Coda.

Form: koto

This piece was composed for Tadao Sawai and Kazue Sawai’s joint recital series in Osaka and Fukuoka.
With the solo koto and solo bass koto as the center, the other kotos and bass kotos form 2 armada. This piece takes up the concept of contrast, and the intersecting and combination of sound. In the first and second movement, a conscious effort was made to avoid traditional playing techniques and musical structures. Instead the aim was to create a sense of modernism using the instrument itself as a subject matter. However, in the third movement, this is turned around as more traditional musical structures and playing techniques are used, in an experimental attempt to further develop the concept of Contemporary Traditional Music.

Form: solo koto, three kotos, solo 17-string koto, two 17-string kotos

1. Perpetual Motion / 2. Variations / 3. Rondo
The character ‘GAKU’ here takes on the double meaning of “Music” and ”Pleasure” or “Fun”.
Pleasure in sound…… Pleasure in rhythm…… flowing… captivating….. dancing…. This work is overtaken with beauty of music, the gentleness of music and at the time it shakes with the passion of music.
“ Fresh and Green the delicate young leaves / One by one they sprout / with the brilliant resonance / They move forward spring “

Form: koto

Ginga (The Galaxy) is a piece for koto & shamisen. “Many people call the koto a Japanese harp, but I’m not very fond of that description. However, it is true that the koto produces a sound very similar to the harp because of its construction. I believe that the different musical directions and sounds that are produced by these instruments depend on the individuals who foster the instrument, and it is their daily lifestyle and experiences that affect those sounds. It is like comparing ballet, a dance reminiscent of lightness and flight, and Japanese dance which is more rooted to the earth. With those things in mind, I intentionally used the koto to create a harp like sound, and paired it with the shamisen, which carries a more folk like sound to draw contrast and bring those two opposing worlds into one piece.” -Tadao Sawai, Translated by Darin Miyashiro / Mika Miyashiro

Form: koto, shamisen

It is said that the Gosechi no Mai, a type of dance performed at the Toyoakri-no-sechie Festival. began with the dance of heavenly maidens who waved their sleeves five times. They were brought down to each by the sound of the koto of the Emperor Temmu (reigned 673-686), as he played it at his detached palace in Yoshino. I was fascinated by this fantastic scene, 2nd borrowed the name of the dance for the title of this composition. The content of this piece is not, however , a simple description of the legendary event, but rather my own mental image of the phantasmagorical part of the myth itself. The piece begins with an explosion of energy on the two jushichigen (17-string koto), from which the classically-phrased koto part is born quietly. The sound of this koto part entices those of the two jushichigen, developing gradually into an ardent dance. (commissioned by Ritsuko Koda) [translation: Wakana Hamada]

Form: koto, two 17-string kotos

Although originally created by Michio Miyagi as a bass accompaniment for ensembles, the bass koto is quickly becoming a solo instrument. Of course, it also thanks to the efforts of various performers, composers, and makers, but the beauty of its profound strength and reverberation will even now continue to capture the hearts of many. And from here on onwards, I believe that the bass koto will be the flower of the Japanese music world.

Form: 17-string koto

The flower raft courses down the river, pausing at the water’s edge, then streaming down again rapidly to come to stand still in a quiet eddy. Translated by Dr. Bernice Hirai

Form: two kotos

Sawai’s response to a moving short story about a young boy and his infant sister starving in an air-raid shelter after losing everything near the end of the last world war, fire flies were captured for light. After death of his sister, the boy created a funeral pyre. When the fire was just ashes, he was surrounded by many, many fire flies. The boy was to die in the year the war ended.

Form: 17-string koto

Although this work is divided into four sections (spring, summer, autumn, and winter), it is played without pause. The spring portion begins with hundreds of flowers in wild disarray which is expressed by the changing meter in the koto and 17-string koto. As the colors are explored, the season changes to summer. Sawai explains, “The summer and winter sections of this work have a special meaning for me. We used to have a Taishan tree at our house with big heavy, white flowers. On hot and humid summer evenings, the listless scent of those flowers floated through the air, quite a contrast from the brazen weather. It is not that oppressive summer, but rather the summer of the gentle scent of the flowers that speaks to me.” To the Japanese, autumn is a season which has a special musical and pictorial connotations. The sounds of the insects and the brocade of red leaves, music and pictures, make our heart strings tremble. I was seeking this very Japanese autumnal beauty. And then winter – this winter is a particular past season which welled up within me. During that winter, the camellias were blooming. The whiteness and lightness of the feather-weight snow dressed the flowers in warmth and the snow fell in heaps on the deep green leaves and the red flower petals. Within that wall of whiteness, the glimpses of deep red which peeked through burned as if shouting out with the strength of life. -English Notes: Anne Prescott

Form: koto, 17-string koto

This piece was written while pondering about the ancient people who might have prayed to the mysterious moon and it would give you a feel for typical traditional sound of Japan. Starts with the free talking of koto and shakuhachi, then shift to duet. The combination of the sound will lift gradually and reach a climax at the part of ostinato at the end, then end with the refrain of the beginning talking.

Form: koto, shakuhachi

The composer reveals the sentiments in his heart in the three segments: Uneri (wind blowing to and fro), Yasuragi (peacefulness) and Dokoku (Grief, lament) [Sawai Koto Kai Hawai]

Form: koto

The title To-i-kin refer to the highest 3 notes in the koto, they are often used and played in many koto pieces. Tadao Sawai composed this piece and dedicated it to his daughter Kanako. From the beginning, it sounds like a conversation between an adult and a child due to the contrast between a very deep sound of the bass koto and the high pitch of the koto.

Form: koto, 17-string koto

This works by Tadao Sawai was commissioned by photographer Hiroshi Tanaka in 1985. The final collection of his “Wind” series was entitled, “Kazagoromo: the Dawn of Koto Music”. This collection of photographs is a representation of 73 koto works, covering the history and development of koto music. [Falconer Translation Inc.]

Form: koto, 17-string koto

Practically all traditional Japanese art and music are influenced by and in tune reflect nature as experienced by the Japanese people. This piece expresses the poetic nature of the wind through the sounds of the koto and the shakuhachi. Nature is not merely pretty or refined, but can also be rough, unpolished even violent. Consequently, rough and unpolished sounds also feature in this piece.

Form: koto, shakuhachi

The first and third movements of this piece combine the traditional “kinuta-ji” motif with interweaving rhythms by the three koto parts. Kinuta refers to the fulling blocks used to beat cloth in an ancient fabric making processes. Through time, the term became synonymous with the constant regular beating sound made by the kinuta and similar rhythms in musical works, especially for koto and shamisen. The more dramatic second movement depicts late fall, with the chirping of insects and a chill in the air.

Form: two kotos, 17-string koto

It is an indoor concerto with solo koto and koto group, each part uses quite traditional, classical motifs and techniques. This piece can be roughly divided into three. The first part is the part of the allegret sparkling the Soloist Koto sound, the second part is the rent developed in 3/4 beat, the third part is the development of the first motif and the solo performance of the Cadenza , Followed by the coda to glitter the overlap until the end of the music.

Form: solo koto, three kotos, 17-string koto

Composed while still a student at the Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music, this piece based on the folk melody “Kuroda-bushi”, captures the splendor of the “new Japanese Music’ movement. Michio Miyagi’s “Etenraku Hensoukyoku”, one of Tadao Sawai’s favorite pieces, served as a motive to compose a smaller-form that could still exhibit the enjoyable aspects of that large ensemble piece. [Sawai Koto Hawaii]

Form: solo koto, two kotos, 17-string koto, shakuhachi

Manjushaka is generally known as the name of the cluster amarylilis . However it is originally a Buddhist term meaning imaginary flowers blooming in the heaven. The Manjushaka that blooms on earth are as beautiful as the one in the heaven. They gregariously burst into blossom and turn the fields red. When you pick them up the deep red of the delicate petal is as passionate as one’s heart.

Form : koto

In recent years, the bass koto’s possibility as a solo instrument has been gaining recognition and attention. However, duet pieces for two bass kotos are still very rare. This is because not only it is hard to make the sounds of two bass kotos harmonize and produce a beautiful resonance, by having two bass kotos, the unnecessary noise produced from the picks hitting the strings will also be doubled. Being able to cleanly resolve these two aspects is the main challenge in composing for two bass kotos.
When I composed this piece, I kept these facts in mind but I feel that they were not fully resolved. In the end, this piece was finished based on my own comprehension of this instrument.
The first movement of this piece uses a simple 4 bar chord progression that is repeated a series of 24 times.

Form : two 17-string koto

The first paraphrase is the suite songs, taking the motif from classical accompanying tunes of the songs. The second one is the tune composed of five parts, the arrangement based on ancient sound and rhythm. Lastly the third one shows various kinds of “pick” techniques of koto.

Form : two kotos

This piece is based on the composer’s childhood memories of a kaleidoscope and his fascination with the brilliant colours and endless patterns they produce. The piece also conveys the relaxing sensation produced by the faint tinkling of glass fragments playing off one another.

Form: two kotos, 17-string koto

Raden’ is the name given to the traditional Chinese method of decorating wooden items by covering them in black lacquer and mother of pearl inlay. The music represents the contrast and variations of light and colour as it reflects off the mother of pearl.

Form: two kotos, 17-string koto

Sanka begins with a lyrical section, which mimics the singing of a song of praise, followed by a highly intricate passage in which both the left and right hands play independent melodies. An expressive slow section in a free tempo provides contrast, and the work ends with a return to a faster tempo. A multitude of playing techniques, from tone bending to glissandos to tapping on the strings are used in unique ways to explore the world of sound. Sanka may emerge in response to the beauty of nature, love of humanity, and depth of art. When the experience of the sublime within oneself overflows, dreams and poems are produced.

Form: koto

The bass koto takes the lead in opening this work for a three-part koto ensemble. In the composer’s words “the piece is not necessarily attempting to depict the actual sekijun, or stalagmites one envisions rising from the floor of a dark cave.” Instead the it is hoped that the music evokes something of the expanse of history that one feels in such places and our enchantment with the tremendous beauty of nature.

Form: solo koto, two kotos, solo 17-string koto, 17-string koto

“Sōga” consists of two movements as well as several adlib sections to make it more demanding for the performers. Sawai says he wrote this piece for a couple (a koto player and a shakuhachi player) who had recently married. The title refers to his wish that the piece could become the cover of the history that they were about to create together.

Form: two kotos, 17-string koto, two shakuhachis

This song captures the power and beauty of a bird of prey flying on the distant horizon. It embodies its graceful elegance and effortless majesty of the sky.

Form: 2 kotos

Tadao Sawai explained that the music in this piece was about dreaming of flying. How would it feel to fly? Not like humans do, in noisy airplanes, but completely free, like birds do…

Form: koto

This piece describes the composer’s recollection of traditional clay dolls which are made in his hometown in the Aichi prefecture. This composition was inspired by the vivid colours of the dolls.

Form: two kotos

This is an ensemble piece for Koto and Shamisen, each instrument has a relatively long solo in the middle section.
TSURUKAME is one of the well-known Japanese traditional terms. Literally Tsuru refers to crane and Kame is turtle. These two are treated as symbol of good fortune in Japan. The composer named this piece TSURUKAME without any direct reference. However, it is fascinating how this simple term can fully express felicitation.

Form: koto, shamisen

“Several months before writing this piece, I read Ishimuro Michiko’s autobiographical novel, Memories of the Camellia Sea. I’m not a well-read person, however my wife likes books, and around the bed and in the toilet, books are piled up, so that when I can’t sleep or am bored in the toilet, I pick up a book in my vicinity and gradually read them. The book I mentioned before, Memories of the Camellia Sea also came into my hands this way, but I continued reading it. The beauty of the composition made it impossible to put down. Sometimes I even took it away on trips. This beauty from the beginning of the first chapter tempts the reader’s spirit with its tenderness. The tempted spirit then begins to float comfortably in the book’s moving descriptions. Also at the end of the book is a commentary by ‘oka Shin which is brilliant.”
“In the novel there is a paragraph that one could say was just like a verse of a prose poem. It came to life with its realistic description. It had in short the essence of the ‘poem’. I read the Japanese word for ‘poem’ as ‘uta’ and borrowed this character for my piece.” – Tadao Sawai

Form: solo koto, three kotos, two 17-string kotos

Five Songs of Youth revised_x000D_Compose by Sawai Tadao in 1979, this suite is based on five short poems written by the composer’s son Hikaru at the age of thirteen. Upon reading the verse, which relate something of the overpowering emotions and uncertainty of youth, it was as if Sawai were reliving a part of his own youth. [translation: Curtis J. Patterson]

Form: koto

This piece was composed in the winter of 1954 and it is Tadao Sawai’s first composition. It was originally written as music for children to dance to and later on, it was performed with the narration of a story about a father and daughter in a snowy country. This music consists of five parts; Scenery, Dancing, Lullaby, Dreaming and Blizzard.

Form: koto, 17-string koto, shakuhachi