Vocal music

Kiyose’s piano pieces already provide a sufficient perspective on how pentatonic scales and simplicity take form in his work. Therefore, this section on his vocal works focuses more on other approaches to Japanese-style composition. The most obvious difference between piano and vocal works is, of course, the existence of a text in songs. Based on his interest in folk songs (Kiyose 1933b, 18), one could assume that Kiyose was the composer of shin min’yō. However, whereas many of Kiyose’s piano works refer to Japanese customs in their titles, programs associable specifically with Japanese culture are virtually non-existent in his songs. This suggests that Kiyose did not need a program to “justify” Japanese-style composition: the qualities that he considered “Japanese” were fundamental to his musical language in general.

Of the 19 songs that Kiyose wrote between 1922 and 1925, only one is not based on pentatonic scales at least in the melody.²¹³ A perfect example of Kiyose’s early style is Travel Sleeping (Tabine, 1922)—the song that caused him a shock when he noticed that he had unconsciously adopted a pentatonic

213 The 19 songs were later compiled as Song Collection No. 1. Four songs contain some deviations from pentatonic scales, however very minor. These songs are: When Night Has Fallen, I Can Sing My Song of Grief (Yofukashite utaeru waga nageki no uta, 1922), Days of my Youth 3 (Shōnen no hi 3, 1922), Tears (Namida, 1922), and Night Has Fallen, I Can Sing (Yofukete utaeru, 1924). The song not adopting pentatonic scales is From the Open Sea (Oki no hō kara;沖の方から, 1923). Even in this case, Kiyose (1972a, 154) reminisced that he wanted to compose a song adopting scales reminiscent of Okinawan and Romany music—meaning that the choice to use a non-Japanese scale was conscious. The melody resembles the ryūkyū scale of Okinawan music, but does not follow it consistently. The character for oki (open sea) is used also in the name of Okinawa.

scale.²¹⁴ Travel Sleeping suggests elements of functional harmony, but presents them with pentatonic melodies in a somewhat confusing manner.

This is apparent already in the opening of the song (ex. 5.41).

Example 5.41Travel Sleeping, mm. 1–9; words omitted (Kiyose 1972b, 39). © Zenon gakufu shuppansha

The first four measures suggest B minor, but the tonic triad with B as its root is presented only in measure four, which also ends with a dominant chord—

however lacking the third. From measure five onward, open chords become fewer, suggesting that the piece is in B minor. This confirms that the pentatonic scale adopted is yonanuki, and indeed, the song alternates between B minor and E minor yonanuki scales.

Travel Sleeping also shows sensitivity to the use of scales in traditional Japanese music, however. B minor yonanuki is composed of two miyakobushi tetrachords F♯-G-B and C♯-D-F♯. And indeed, the very beginning of the song emphasizes F♯—the “first degree” of the traditional scale—instead of B. The song also ends on an open chord on F♯ (ex. 5.42). Although Kiyose added the

214Travel Sleeping was not the only one: Child and Mother (Warabe to haha, 1922) also adopted pentatonic scales. Kiyose (1972a, 152) later suggested that noticing this was also part of the shock that he experienced.

piano part only later (Komiya 1995, 104), it is this later version that perfectly reflects the contradiction and shock he experienced: Travel Sleeping fluctuates between two different musical logics without being based on either one entirely.²¹⁵

Example 5.42Travel Sleeping, mm. 33–34, words omitted (Kiyose 1972b, 41). © Zenon gakufu shuppansha

Travel Sleeping and other early songs exemplify the style in Kiyose’s works of the 1930s. Of the 25 pieces compiled as Song Collection Vol. 2 (works from 1928–1941), only eight do not adopt pentatonic scales.²¹⁶ However, examining the years of composition more closely leads to an interesting observation: of the eight songs not adopting pentatonic scales, six were composed after 1932.

To be more exact, of the nine songs composed between 1932 and 1941, only two adopt pentatonic scales—signifying a change in Kiyose’s style.

Furthermore, some pentatonic melodies in the vocal parts are accompanied by piano parts based on modal practices rather than scales of traditional music.

This further shows that the role of pentatonic scales became altogether less important in Kiyose’s vocal works.

Let us first examine those works where Kiyose uses elements we are already familiar with. Whereas Mitsukuri’s Bashō’s Travels pays very careful attention to conveying contents of the poems in musical terms and suggesting interpretations of the texts, Kiyose’s vocal works are more like character pieces.

They do pay attention to the program, but do not introduce changes in the musical material upon changes in the poem. An example crystallizing this approach is Marble (Nameishi, 1930), based on a poem by Kitahara Hakushū

215 A similar approach is met in some songs in Komatsu Kiyoshi’s collection Nine Tanka Poems (Neuf tankas, 1924–1931), for example in the second poem. Komatsu, however, uses this as a “musical translation,” that is, presenting Japanese poems translated into French in a musical language combining both Japanese and European aspects. Other songs in the collection, as well, synthesize French Impressionism with Japanese scales.

216 Even these eight songs do adopt pentatonic scales in many passages; they do not, however, adopt them consistently. Examples of songs adopting pentatonic scales only partially are Yokusen Melancholy (Yokusen shūjō, 1928) and Flute (Fue, 1932). The songs not adopting pentatonic scales are: Grass Leaves (Kusa no ha, 1930), Spinning Doll (Rasen ningyō, 1932), Letter from the Sea (Umi no tegami, 1932), Play (Asobi, 1933), Loneliness of Ten Thousand Men (Mannin no kodoku, 1935), and Ancestor’s Blood (Sosen no chishio, 1941).

(北 原 白 秋, 1885–1942).²¹⁷ The piano part consists of a descending and ascending gesture in the right hand, which retains its character throughout the piece with only minor variation, which always signifies the beginning of a new verse (examples 5.43–5.45). This is a natural approach to the poem, which is divided into three verses that begin with the same words each time. The vocal part—which remains almost unchanged throughout the song—is based on the min’yō scale from E♭ (E♭-G♭-A♭-B♭-D♭-E♭).

Example 5.43Marble, mm. 5–8; piano part same as in mm. 1–12, words omitted (Kiyose 1972c, 76). © Zenon gakufu shuppansha

Example 5.44Marble, mm. 13–16; piano part same as in mm. 13–20, words omitted (Kiyose 1972c, 77). © Zenon gakufu shuppansha

Example 5.45Marble, mm. 21–24, words omitted (Kiyose 1972c, 77).

© Zenon gakufu shuppansha

217Nameishi means a polished stone. Kitahara’s poem, however, uses the writing大理石 (dairiseki), meaning marble. Kitahara also uses the reading “nameishi” for大理石in other poems, such as Inside My Dreams (Yume no oku).

The song echoes the observations previously made about Kiyose’s piano pieces: the material is repetitive and its use is sparse, and the sung melody is based on a pentatonic scale. The music focuses on conveying its atmosphere rather than following its content word by word. From 1930 onward, however, Kiyose’s works introduce more versatile approaches. In many songs, the piano part receives more independence, not being solely an unchanging element accompanying the vocal part. This approach is met in works such as Candy Shop of the Old Man (Yōrō ameya; 養 老 飴 屋, 1930) with its long piano interludes and Bear Cubs in the Park (Kōen no kuma no ko, 1930), in which the playful opening of the piano introduces musical ideas not later encountered in the vocal part (ex. 5.46).

Example 5.46 Opening of the piano part in Bear Cubs in the Park, mm. 1–

4 (Kiyose 1972d, 78). © Zenon gakufu shuppansha

Some songs contain more complex approaches, to the degree that it is difficult to consider them “monotonic.” An example is The Youths by the Sea (Umi no wakamono, 1933), composed to a poem by Satō Haruo (佐藤春夫, 1892–1963).

It is a work which even Kiyose (1972a, 164) described as “dramatic.” The beginning introduces a ponderous mood, which is in contrast with the poem’s light-hearted contents describing young persons raised by the sea (ex. 5.47).²¹⁸ However, the seemingly cheerful poem ends with the death—possibly suicide—of one among them. The mood of the opening is explained in measures 35–42: they present the same gesture in the left hand of the piano with a heavier manner, while describing how one of the youths walked into the sea (ex. 5.48)—revealing that the gesture symbolizes heavy steps.

218 Compare with Ōnaka Megumi’s (大中恩, b. 1924) choir composition to the same poem, which begins with a light-hearted character but ends in a grave mood.

Example 5.47The Youths by the Sea, mm. 1–8; words omitted (Kiyose 1972e, 106). © Zenon gakufu shuppansha

Example 5.48The Youths by the Sea, mm. 39–41; words omitted (Kiyose 1972e, 108). © Zenon gakufu shuppansha

Kiyose’s way of conveying the poem musically in The Youths by the Sea is much more detailed than in his earlier songs, but it also raises a question considering Japanese elements. The sung part faithfully adopts pentatonic scales throughout the piece; in the beginning, for example, the melody is based on min’yō scale from C♯ (C♯-E-F♯-G♯-B-C♯). The piano part, however, follows modal practices. In the beginning, it is based on Lydian mode from D and later on Dorian from E. Later, the pentatonic scale adopted in the sung melody (E-F♯-G-B-C♯-E) makes a deviation from Koizumi’s tetrachords. The scale could be formed with tetrachords as a disjunctive combination of miyakobushi (F♯-G-B) and min’yō (C♯-E-F♯), but the use of the scale clearly suggests E as the fundamental instead of F♯. Therefore, it is a “yonanuki” scale on Dorian mode from E—with yonanuki defined here with its literate meaning: omission of the fourth and seventh.

Above all, The Youths by the Sea is a musical work situated in-between different tonal practices, in the same manner as Travel Sleeping. Whereas the

latter synthesizes elements of Western harmony with pentatonic scales, however, The Youths by the Sea discards functional harmony and suggests a musical approach between Japanese scales and church modes—an influence which Kiyose (1932c, 14) stated interest in. In a sense, it opens a new path deviating from Western tonality altogether—something that takes place in many of Kiyose’s vocal works of the 1930s. Spinning Doll (Rasen ningyō, 1932), for example, is chromatic to the point of becoming atonal.

In general, Kiyose applies more complex harmonies than in his earlier songs from 1932 onward. This is exemplified in Flute (Fue, 1932). The song begins with a gesture imitating flute playing and resembles Kiyose’s earlier pentatonic works as the vocal part enters in measure two (ex. 5.49). However, it becomes more chromatic in the middle and ends in a manner with no connection to Kiyose’s earlier, pentatonic style (ex. 5.50).²¹⁹

Example 5.49Flute, mm. 1–3; words omitted (Kiyose 1972f, 114).

© Zenon gakufu shuppansha

Example 5.50Flute, mm. 11–13; words omitted (Kiyose 1972f, 114).

© Zenon gakufu shuppansha

One explanation for this change is that Kiyose became more interested in modernist composition; he was, after all, among the founders of the highly avant-gardist School of New Music in 1934. However, I do not find this explanation altogether satisfactory, as the change is not that apparent in

219 Another similar piece is Loneliness of Ten Thousand Men (Mannin no kodoku, 1935), which contains many pentatonic passages but then changes to a more chromatic style.

Kiyose’s piano works. For example, he was still writing piano pieces such as Spring in the Hills, adopting a consistent pentatonic approach, in 1932; the style of Kiyose’s piano music changed only in 1937. Based on this, it seems that vocal music was simply the first medium in Kiyose’s work suggesting a general change of style. Later vocal works, such as Ancestors’ Blood (Sosen no chishio, 1941), contain complex forms, dramatic devices, and the use of declamation.

In this sense, Kiyose’s vocal music follows the same stylistic development as his piano pieces eventually did: whereas his earlier songs are character pieces like his piano works, the later ones demonstrate more complexity and sensitivity to the poems. Before this general change can be discussed further, there is still one work type that needs to be discussed, as it again introduces a new aspect of Kiyose’s music.