Matsudaira’s early work - Matsudaira Yoritsune: folk songs, gagaku, and the art of

5.4 Matsudaira Yoritsune: folk songs, gagaku, and the art of

5.4.1 Matsudaira’s early work

Interest in Japanese-style composition is not that apparent in Matsudaira’s first work, the piano piece collection Memories of My Childhood (Yōnen jidai no omoide, 1928–1930). Rather, it suggests an interest in French music: not only does the work have the additional French title Souvenirs d’enfance (Souvenirs from My Childhood), some of the pieces contain direct influences from works of French composers.²⁴³ For example, Poissons rouges (Kingyo;

Goldfish, 1928) is notably similar to Debussy’s Poissons d’or (Goldfish, 1907) from Images II—as has been previously noted by Hiramoto (2004, 8–9). Note, for example, the playful motives in Matsudaira’s work in the latter half of the piece (ex. 5.67), and similar characteristics in Debussy’s composition (ex. 5.68).

Overall, the mood of the pieces with their constant arpeggios and ornamentations resemble each other. It is also noteworthy that Matsudaira has chosen not to use bar lines at all; this was a peculiar approach in Japan at that time. For example, Akiyama (1975, 71) regarded the absence of bar lines—

something also seen in some of Itō’s work—as avant-garde.²⁴⁴

Example 5.67Poissons rouges, a passage in the work (Matsudaira 1991a, 11). © Zenon gakufu shuppansha

Example 5.68Poissons d’or from Images II, mm. 30–31 (Debussy 1908, 16). © A. Durand & Fils

243 Matsudaira gave French titles to many of his early works.

244 Matsudaira also used non-metrical time to reproduce Japanese perception of time in some of his postwar works, but this does not seem like a likely influence on Memories from My Childhood for the reason that Matsudaira was not yet really acquainted with traditional music at the end of the 1920s.

Memories of My Childhood, however, also shows the first signs of Matsudaira’s interest in Japanese elements. The first piece, Berceuse (Komoriuta; Lullaby, 1928) (ex. 5.69) resembles some traditional lullabies,²⁴⁵ although it changes so quickly to an adoption of the whole-tone scale that it does not seem like an attempt at composing in a Japanese style.

Example 5.69Berceuse, mm. 1–3 (Matsudaira 1991b, 8).

It was only later that Matsudaira began adopting elements from Japanese music into his work. His active creative period of the prewar years begins with his works written in the mid-1930s—after the encounters with Tansman and Tcherepnin had already taken place. Prelude in D (1934) for piano—a work published in the Tcherepnin edition in 1935—is among the earliest examples hinting at Japanese influences, and characterizes Matsudaira’s prewar style in general. Although the Tcherepnin Edition gives the title in French as Prélude (en Ré Majeur) (Prelude (in D Major)), a later publication (Matsudaira 1991c) presents it without any reference to mode, as Prélude en Ré or Zensōkyoku ni-chō (Prelude in D). This is much more in accordance with the contents of the work. While the key signature suggests D major, the beginning measures already indicate that the work is polytonal rather than in a major key (ex. 5.70).

Example 5.70Prelude in D, mm. 1–4 (Matsudaira 1991c, 28).

The work avoids presenting major and minor chords already in the first measures, which all end on an open fifth based on D. Hiramoto (2004, 10) has

245 Compare, for example, with “Hakata komoriuta” (“Hakata Lullaby” from Hakata, or Fukuoka) or “Nenne komorisan” (from Wakayama).

noted that the lower notes of the left hand follow A♭ major—limited, however, only to the first beat in each measure, as can also be seen in example 5.70. In my opinion, the left hand suggests E♭ rather than A♭ major, but whichever the case, Prelude in D does use polytonality. Hiramoto (2004) has seen this as an influence from Tansman, as there are no examples of such an approach in Matsudaira’s previous work, and Prelude in D was composed the year following Tansman’s visit in Japan.

What makes Prelude in D interesting in the context of Japanese-style composition, however, is that the right hand adopts Japanese scales. This has already been noted by Hiramoto (2004, 10), according to whom the melody is written mostly in the ritsu scale with some occurrences of min’yō and miyakobushi (see ex. 3.1). It is true that the first eight measures (ex. 5.70) adopt the ritsu scale from A (A-B-D-E-F♯-A). To be more precise, however, the melody is not based on fixed scales but tetrachords of traditional Japanese music, as defined by Koizumi. While they do not follow typical melodic movements of traditional music, they change too constantly to be fixed scales.

This becomes particularly evident in measures 9–12 (ex. 5.71).

Example 5.71Prelude in D, mm. 9–12 (Matsudaira 1991c, 28).

The passage can be analyzed with Koizumi’s theory, however with some inconsistency. The ascending melody in measures 9–10 is based on a min’yō scale from B, comprising two tetrachords combined conjunctively (B-D-E and E-G-A), G appearing on the second beat of measure 10. The descending melody in measures 11–12, however, cannot be analyzed entirely logically with Koizumi’s tetrachords. It would first seem logical that a new tetrachord begins from B in measure 10, but the second one (E-D-B♭) would then not contain a perfect fourth. Beginning from D on the second half of measure 11, however, the melody is easily analyzed as two tetrachords combined in a conjunctive manner: miyakobushi (D-B♭-A) and min’yō (A-G-E). The preceding pitches F♯

and E remain somewhat more difficult to place in any tetrachord. They would make sense if the preceding pitch at the end of measure 10 was A, not G, in which case they would form one descending ritsu tetrachord (A-F♯-E). While the passage in measures 9–12 suggests a melody based on a scale different when ascending and descending, it contains some lack of logic, and does not relate to Uehara’s theory of in and yō scales either (ex. 3.3).

More important than fitting the melody in Prelude in D to the theories of Japanese scales entirely logically, however, is noting that Matsudaira has clearly written a Japanese-type melody. The composer himself (Matsudaira 1991d, 2) later reminisced that he originally intended to compose a collection of preludes but had so much trouble combining Japanese melodies with Western tonality that he eventually gave up the idea. Prelude in D exemplifies this perfectly: while possibly initially intended to be in D major—as the initial French title suggests—the work constantly evades clear distinctions of harmony in terms of Western tonality.²⁴⁶ The only passage suggesting the Western concept of a major is the section beginning in measure 21, which uses harmonies reminiscent of French Impressionists (ex. 5.72). Note, for example, the occurrences of major seventh and ninth chords based on D.

Example 5.72Prelude in D, mm. 21–24 (Matsudaira 1991c, 29).

By comparison, the only other prelude that Matsudaira composed, Prelude in G (1940), suggests Western tonality more strongly. For example, the piece even ends on a G major chord—although the key signature does not suggest G major. Still, it can also be analyzed with Koizumi’s tetrachord theory. The tonal center simply changes in each measure—on some occasions on each beat, as is demonstrated already in the first four measures of the piece (ex. 5.73).

Example 5.73Prelude in G, mm. 1–4 (Matsudaira 1991e, 30).

246 Note, also, how describing the difficulty of bringing together Japanese melodies with Western harmony resembles Mitsukuri’s original motivation in creating his harmony system.

Matsudaira’s comment on combining Japanese melodies with Western harmony suggests that it was his intention to write the pieces using Japanese scales. His later works of the 1930s typically quote melodies of traditional music—as I will discuss below—which raises the question of whether this occurs in Prelude in D as well. Since Matsudaira had not yet encountered gagaku when composing this piece in 1934, the most likely inspiration would be folk songs from the Nanbu area. A further hint suggesting this is the performance direction “Andante cantabile (Rustique)” with its reference to the rural.²⁴⁷ There is, indeed, some resemblance to Sondeko, the sixth piece from Matsudaira’s Nanbu Folk Song Collection 1 (ex. 5.74), not only in the sung melody, but also in the piano part. The similarity, however, remains on a suggestive level.

Example 5.74Sondeko, mm. 1–5; words omitted (Matsudaira 1937a, 12).

While being based on Japanese scales, Prelude in D does not evoke a particularly Japanese mood compared, for example, with Kiyose’s or Hashimoto’s Japanese-style works. This results from the polytonal harmony.

The approach of combining Japanese melodies with modern harmony was to characterize most of Matsudaira’s Japanese-style works of the 1930s. While containing Japanese elements, they are, in a sense, “concealed”—or presented in a musical setting so different from the original that they do not emphasize a Japanese quality but rather diminish its presence. In this sense, Prelude in D indeed served as a “prelude” to most of Matsudaira’s work of the 1930s.

There are several examples of the same approach in Matsudaira’s prewar works.²⁴⁸ While many of them suggest the original influence in their titles, unlike Prelude in D, none of them is as explicit as Nanbu Folk Song Collection 1, which mentions the original songs in their titles. It is also an exception in that Matsudaira has paid more attention to presenting the melodies in a style

247 For example, Matsudaira (1991d, 2) has noted that another piano piece collection, Six danses rustiques / Muttsu no den’en bukyoku (Six Rural Dances, composed before and during the war)—referring to “rustic” and “rural” as well—was composed to melodies of folk songs from the Tōhoku area (encompassing the historical Nanbu area).

248 These include, among others, Nanbu Folk Song Collection 1, Pastorale (1935), Six Rural Dances (composed before and during the war), Sonatine for Flute and Piano (1936), and Theme and Variations on Nanbu Lullaby for Piano and Orchestra. The last work was composed as Kokuminshikyoku.

resembling folk songs, meaning, for example, the imitation of the melismata of the original songs.²⁴⁹ For example, compare Matsudaira’s Cow Herder’s Song No. 1 (Nanbu ushioi uta dai-ichi) from the collection (ex. 5.75) with a transcription of the original song “Nanbu Cow Herder’s Song” (Nanbu ushioi uta) (ex. 5.76), which does not contain the melismata at all.

Example 5.76 “Nanbu Cow Herder’s Song,” transcribed by Mikado Tenpū (2004, 167).

While the song collection does present melodies in a way close to the original songs, however, it is different from the shin min’yō by Hashimoto and other prewar composers. The harmonies have been influenced by French modernists rather than traditional music (for example in ex. 5.75). In this sense, the musical approach is somewhat similar to Mamiya Michio’s Japanese Folk Song Collection, who also uses similar harmonies in several songs.²⁵⁰ However, whereas Mamiya aimed at capturing the original spirit of folk songs (Mamiya 2009, 138), Matsudaira (1954a, 10) by contrast lamented

249 This, naturally, concerns only those songs that originally contain melismata—not all types of Japanese folk songs do.

250 For example, compare Matsudaira’s work with Mamiya’s Sasoribushi (1955) or Sansai odori (1957).

his inability to do so due to his lack of experience of the life that the original songs represented. For example, while being based on modern harmony and containing atonality, Nanbu Cow Herder’s Song (1957) in Mamiya’s collection makes use of kakegoe—small, rhythmic exclamations—typical of folk songs (Mamiya 2009, 30–33). Characteristics like these are absent in Matsudaira’s work.

In document "March from the Age of Imitation to the Age of Creation" : Musical Representations of Japan in the Work and Thought of Shinkō Sakkyokuka Renmei, 1930-1940 (sivua 168-174)