自然と音楽と人をつなぐ、ヴィブラフォンとテノールのコンサート
Popular music celebrating nature for tenor and vibraphone
curated from Japanese songs, Ghibli, Disney, and elsewhere.
Welcome to One Nature
21 Aug 2022, 3:00 pm. Gedatsu Church, Honolulu
Program
- 小さな空 (Chiisana sora), “Small Sky” (1962). Music & lyrics, 武満徹 Takemitsu Toru.
- “Go the Distance” (ゴー・ザ・ディスタンス) from Hercules (1997). Music, Alan Menken; Lyrics, David Zippel.
- いのちの名前 (Inochi no Namae), “The Name of Life” (2001). Music, 久石 譲 Joe Hisaishi; Lyrics, 覚 和歌子, Wakako Kaku.
- ホームタウン”Home Town” (2021) 三村未佳 Mika Mimura Erickson
- O sole mio, “私の太陽” (Watashi no Taiyo), “My Sunshine” (1898). Music, Eduardo di Capua; lyrics, Giovanni Capurro
- “On the street where you live” from My Fair Lady (1956). Music, Frederick Loewe; lyrics, Alan Jay Lerner
- 夢見たものは (Yume Mita Mono Wa), “What I Dreamed Of” 1991. Music, 木下牧子Makiko Kinoshita; lyrics, 立原道造 Michizō Tachihara
- プレシャス”Precious” (2008) 三村未佳 Mika Mimura Erickson
- 千の風になって (Sen no Kaze ni Natte), “Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep” (2006). Music、 秋川 雅史, Masafumi Akikawa; Lyrics are a Japanese translation of a bereavement poem written by Clare Harner in 1934.
- “You Raise Me Up” (あなたは私を奮い立たせる) (2002) Music, Rolf Løvland; lyrics, Brendan Graham.
Encore: 上を向いて歩こう,(Ue o Muite Arukō) “I Look Up as I Walk”, Lyricist Rokusuke Ei; Composer: Hachidai Nakamura.
Program Script
Minasan Konichinwa, aloha. Kyou wa goraijyo Arigatou Gozaimasu. Yookoso One Nature e.
With this afternoon’s set, our accomplished musicians bring us songs from Japan and the world on the theme of nature. Today, let’s consider nature to mean both our natural surroundings and our innate disposition.
In Japanese we have, 自然 Shizen (Surroundings) and 本質 Honshitsu (Predisposition).
Yamada sensei arigatou gozaimasu. Soshite, Gedatsu kiyōkai no minasan, Domo arigatou gozaimasu. Thank you Gedatsu Church for hosting all of us today in this simple and natural place. Also, I would like to acknowledge and thank all of the native people who stewarded this kuli’ou’ou Ahupua’a before us. Mahalo
I invite you to join me arriving her together in this place by taking a deep inhale and exhale together.
Minasan, Shinkokiyu shimashō. Gesture it.. Inhale and exhale
And thank you, each of you, for coming.
Performance is empty without an audience. As audience we play a vital role. Mikasan and Takasan have dedicated endless hours to their practice. It’s now our turn to practice our audience skills. Show up with open ears and hearts to listen. Get comfy, get ready.
My name is Arthur. I am part of the Balcony Series troupe. Along with fine musicians everywhere, we bring classical and popular music to new venues and audiences……. I am here today to move us from one song to the next. I may ask you questions, just for fun.
Minasan mo, zehi, sankashite kudasai. Humming ok. Uta-u ok! Wonderful! Aloha!
Today, it’s ok to participate. Sing along if you’re moved. Moan, speak out.
Watashiwa A-Sa- desu. Mikasan no tomdachi, Taka no pātona desu.. Soshite ichi ban no fan desu. Anata wa ni ban…. Anata wa san ban….. ?
With the first four stops on our musical tour we look inward. 質 honshitsu our nature, predisposition.
_________________________________________________________
[Chiisana sora], “Small Sky”
First we remember back to a previous nature. In Chiisana Sora, the poet looks up to the sky and remembers childhood. ‘Cotton clouds remind me of sadness.” The poet recalls a mischievous act they were scolded for back then. Does anyone remember? What did it feel like? Back then?
Minasan, Kodomo no koro o oboete imasuka? Itazurashite. Otousan ni shikarareta hinokoto o. Donna kimochi deshita ka?
When you took a joke a bit too far… What do you recall? What was your physical reaction? (red face, sinking stomach, lump in throat.) But later, looking back the song says, “At night, small stars twinkle like tears and remind me I was a bad kid…but it’s all just a beautiful memory now.” Listen here in the music for a folk melody as if sung to a child.
Please welcome Mika Mimura-Erickson, and Taka Komagata!
Go the Distance
Next we search for our future inner nature. A nature we are becoming. How many of us know deep down who we really are? Is there one aspect of you that you’ve always known to be true?
Minasan, anata no honshitsu wa nandesuka, … wakarimasu ka?
From the 1997 movie Hercules, composer Alan Menken created a powerful anthem. He originally thought he would be a dentist like his father, but had always loved music. After attending a composers workshop he claims, “I walked into a room with other composers and I knew this was it.” “Go the Distance” was written 20 years and 7 academy awards into Menken’s famous composing career.
Even if the path is unknown, or even if it takes a lifetime, our hero already believes he will end up right where he belongs. Our Hercules knows that by following his heart he will arrive.
[ Inochi no Namae ], “The Name of Life”
This next song is from the soundtrack to “Spirited Away” or “Sentochi Hiro”. The 2001 film is a hand drawn animation that for 20 years held the highest grossing film in Japan, and the only foreign animation to win an academy award in the U.S. In the story, Ten-year-old Chihiro Ogino, finds herself in a strange spirit world after stopping at a deserted roadside attraction with her parents. Her hosts attempt to take her name from her thereby keeping her there forever. According to director Hayao Miyazaki, “this is not a story in which the characters grow up, but a story in which they draw on something already inside them, brought out by their particular circumstances.”
“The heart which is bound before the future someday, will remember its name.”
Minasan, watashitachi minna namae o motte imasu. Namae wa jibun jishin wo tsukutteimasu.
“Hometown”
Mikasan spoke to me about writing this piece in 2021 to prepare for a concert in Osaka, her hometown. Returning home can tell us a lot about our own nature. Mika first studied Marimba and Vibraphone in Osaka. She shared that in the beginning music study and career was hard. Looking back caused a feeling of Kuyashii. There’s no English translation, but it seems to be something between frustration and disappointment sometimes in yourself. Feelings often felt by artists early in their careers.
Listen closely to this piece to see if you can hear Kuyashii and then something more hopeful in the second part. Hometown was requested by and composed for some of Mika’s early mentors. Now she was returning home with pride to present this new piece
Minasan Furusato wa doco desuka? Osaka no hito. Tokyo no hito? Chicago no hito?
__________________After Hometown________________
Thank you Hitomisensei Uriu for helping us create this concert and coaching my beginner Japanese.
Thank you Kazue Anapua for bringing your fine cookies for our reception. And for helping greet everyone.
Kazue brought cookies and cupcakes after the show. And she is also selling her delicious treats. Please visit her.
For the next stops on our journey we look at Nature. Mother nature, tangible nature. The nature around us and outside of us. The reflections of us.
O sole mio
With O Sole Mio, “私の太陽” (Watashi no Taiyo), “My Sunshine”, a famous song written in the Neapolitan language in 1898, we hear the singer proclaim of the beauty of a sunny day after a storm. He compares this brilliance with the face of is lover, “who’s window panes shine in the bright sunlight.”
Who in your life shines like the sun?
Minasan anata no taiyo wa dare desuka? Pātona desuka? Kodomo desuka? Petto desuka?
On the street where you live
Again on the theme of love and admiration… In My Fair Lady, the 1951 musical, at the end of the first act, Eliza’s high society suitor, Freddy, is falling in love with Eliza and pining away outside her front door. The song is a powerful declaration of love from a minor character barely involved in the story. “On the Street Where You Live” was nearly dropped from “My Fair Lady” during previews because audiences had difficulty identifying the character. However, it is such a great rendition of the nature of fondness and affection, that it’s gone on to be recorded by dozens of artists and become an American classic.
What does it feel like? To be waiting outside someone’s house when you have so much affection?
[Yume mi ta mono wa], What I Dreamed Of
I would like to ask you to close your eyes for a moment. Travel back in time 100 years. We are in Japan’s central highlands in what is now Nagano. Nature here is mountain towns and freshwater lakes. A young architect and poet Michizō Tachihara calls up scenes of young country maidens holding parasols and singing together in a great ring. This poet, only in his 20s, arrives prematurely at the end of his own life because of tuberculosis. He uses the scene to express his own feeling of completion. See if you can hear these lines as you listen. “What I dreamed of is one love. What I wished for is one joy. They are all here indeed.”
Welcome taka to explain the song in Japanese.
Precious
Mikasan told me about writing this song first for xylophone. She wrote it for a life-long friend who helped her to produce her first album, which consequently is for sale after the show. Precious is on the album. In the recording it is purely instrumental. Precious recognizes how precious our time is. How precious each moment living in nature is. Last year Mika added lyrics! And today, we are all invited to sing.
Taka starts with Arthur to join.
[ Sen no Kaze ni Natte ] “Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep”
Do not stand
By my grave, and weep.
I am not there,
I do not sleep—
I am the thousand winds that blow
I am the diamond glints in snow
I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle, autumn rain.
As you awake with morning’s hush,
I am the swift, up-flinging rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight,
I am the day transcending night.
Do not stand
By my grave, and cry—
I am not there,
I did not die.
You Raise Me Up
After hearing this beautiful somber piece we will end on a hopeful note… But before we do, thank you for joining One Nature today and being a part of this performance.
Minasan, kyoo wa hontoni tanoshikatta desu ne? Domo arigatou gozaimashita.
I hope we’ve been able to share some emotions and moods together and connect with the music. If you like what you’re hearing…. Mika will be performing at the August 27th new moon sound bath with Kaori Isomura and Sound Healing Hawaii at Ala Moana beach park. These sound baths happen along with the moon phases and are so cleansing to attend. Taka will be performing the lead, Colin Craven in the Hawaii Opera Theater production of The Secret Garden on the 14th and 16th of October at Blaisdell Hall. Scan the QR code for links to today’s program, notes and these upcoming dates.
Now, back to our hopeful note! Here the poet reaches outside of themselves for guidance and inspiration. They proclaim, “You Raise me Up”. Are they speaking to a friend, a teacher…or to a lover, or a higher power? Written by the musical duo “Secret Garden,” this music swells and grows with each measure. I challenge you to try not to let it move you. I don’t think it will be possible.
Encore
上を向いて歩こう,(Ue o Muite Arukō) “I Look Up as I Walk”
Lyricist Rokusuke Ei; Composer: Hachidai Nakamura.
The following song topped the charts in several countries including the U.S. Billboard top 100 in 1963. It was sung by Kiu Sakamoto. It grew to become one of the world’s best-selling singles selling 13 million copies worldwide. The lyrics tell the story of a man who looks up and whistles while he is walking so that his tears will not fall, with the verses describing his memories and feelings. Ei wrote the lyrics while walking home from the 1960 Anpo protests against the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty, expressing his frustration and dejection at the failed efforts to stop the treaty. However, the lyrics were purposefully generic so that they might refer to any lost love.
References:
Opening. https://jisho.org/search/%E8%87%AA%E7%84%B6
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_the_Distance
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirited_Away https://lyricstranslate.com
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Street_Where_You_Live
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/’O_sole_mio
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sen_no_Kaze_ni_Natte
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Raise_Me_Up
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukiyaki_(song)
Lyrics
小さな空 (Chiisana sora)
What I dream of is one joy
What I wished for is one love
Over the mountain folds is another quiet village
With a brilliant Sunday blue sky
Where holding parasols,
Country maidens
All dressed up and singing
Draw a great round ring
Country maidens are dancing
Proclaiming in a clear voice is
One winged bird
On a low-brand singing
What I dreamed of is one love
What I wished for is one joy
They are all here indeed
___________________________________________________
Go the Distance
I have often dreamed, of a far off place
Where a hero’s welcome, would be waiting for me
Where the crowds will cheer, when they see my face
And a voice keeps saying, “This is where I’m meant to be”
I’ll be there someday, I can go the distance
I will find my way, if I can be strong
I know every mile, will be worth my while
When I go the distance, I’ll be right where I belong
Down an unknown road, to embrace my fate
Though that road may wander, it will lead me to you
And a thousand years, would be worth the wait
It might take a lifetime, but somehow I’ll see it through
And I won’t look back, I can go the distance
And I’ll stay on track, no, I won’t accept defeat
It’s an uphill slope, but I won’t lose hope
Till I go the distance, and my journey is complete
But to look beyond the glory is the hardest part
For a hero’s strength is measured by his heart
Like a shooting star, I will go the distance
I will search the world, I will face its harms
I don’t care how far, I can go the distance
Till I find my hero’s welcome, waiting in your arms
I will search the world, I will face its harms
Till I find my hero’s welcome, waiting in your arms
_______________________________________________________
| いのちの名前青空に線を引く 飛行機曇の白さは ずっとどこまでも ずっと続いてく 明日を知ってたみたい 胸で浅く息をしてた 熱い頬さました風も おぼえてる 未来の前にすくむ手足は 静かな声にほどかれて 叫びたいほど懐かしいのは 一つの命 真夏の光 貴方の 肩に 揺れてた 木漏れ日 つぶれた白いボール 風が散らした花びら 二つを浮かべて 見えない川は 歌いながら流れてく 秘密も嘘も喜びも 宇宙を生んだ神様の 子供達 未来の前にすくむ心が いつか名前を思い出す 叫びたいほど愛しいのは 一つの命 帰りつく場所 私の 指に 消えない 夏の日 | The Name of LifeThe whiteness of the clouds left behind by a plane Draw a line across the blue sky Always, no matter to where, always continuing As if it knew tomorrow In my chest I breathed in a shallow breath I remember the breeze that blew on my hot cheek The hands and feet which are bound before the future Are freed by a quiet voice So nostalgic that I want to scream out, is One life, the midsummer light At your shoulder, swaying, the sunbeams streaming through the leaves The white ball at rest The petals which have been scattered by the wind The invisible river which carries both Singing while flowing on Secrets and lies and joy Are the children of the gods who created this universe The heart which is bound before the future Someday, will remember its name So loved that I want to scream out, is One life, the place to return to At my fingertips, the summer day which doesn’t disappear |
You Raise Me Up
When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary
When troubles come and my heart burdened be
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence
Until you come and sit awhile with me
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up… To more than I can be
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up… To more than I can be
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up… To more than I can be
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up… To more than I can be
You raise me up… To more than I can be
O Sole Mio (Il Mio Sole in Italian)
| Che bella cosa na jurnata ‘e sole,n’aria serena doppo na tempesta!Pe’ ll’aria fresca pare già na festa…Che bella cosa na jurnata ‘e sole. Refrain:Ma n’atu sole cchiù bello, oi ne’, ‘o sole mio sta nfronte a te! ‘o sole, ‘o sole mio sta nfronte a te, sta nfronte a te! Lùceno ‘e llastre d”a fenesta toia;’na lavannara canta e se ne vantae pe’ tramente torce, spanne e canta,lùceno ‘e llastre d”a fenesta toia. (Refrain)Quanno fa notte e ‘o sole se ne scenne,me vene quasi ‘na malincunia;sotto ‘a fenesta toia restarriaquanno fa notte e ‘o sole se ne scenne. | What a beautiful thing is a sunny day! The air is serene after a storm, The air is so fresh that it already feels like a celebration. What a beautiful thing is a sunny day! But another sun, even more beauteous, oh my sweetheart, My own sun, shines from your face! This sun, my own sun, Shines from your face; It shines from your face! Your window panes shine;A laundress is singing and boasting about it; And while she’s wringing the clothes, hanging them up to dry, and singing, Your window panes shine. When night comes and the sun has gone down,I almost start feeling melancholy; I’d stay below your window When night comes and the sun has gone down. |
上を向いて歩こう,(Ue o Muite Arukō) “I Look Up as I Walk”
| 上を向いて歩こ. う涙が零れないように思い出す春の日一人ぼっちの夜上を向いて歩こう滲んだ星をか数えて思い出す夏の日一人ぼっちの夜幸せは雲の上に幸せは空の上に上を向いて歩こう涙が零れないように泣きながら歩く一人ぼっちの夜思い出す秋の日一人ぼっちの夜悲しみは星の影に悲しみは月の影に上を向いて歩こう涙が零れないように泣きながら歩く一人ぼっちの夜一人ぼっちの夜 | Ue o muite arukōNamida ga kobore nai youniOmoidasu haru no hiHitoribocchi no yoruUe o muite arukōNijinda hoshi o kazoeteOmoidasu natsu no hiHitoribocchi no yoruShiawase wa kumo no ueniShiawase wa sora no ueniUe o muite arukōNamida ga kobore nai youniNakinagara arukuHitoribocchi no yoruOmoidasu akino hiHitoribocchi no yoruKanashimi wa hoshino kageniKanashimi wa tsukino kageniUe o muite arukōNamida ga kobore nai youniNakinagara arukuHitoribocchi no yoruHitoribocchi no yoru | I look up while I walk So the tears won’t fallRemembering those spring days But tonight I’m all alone I look up while I walk Counting the stars with teary eyes Remembering those summer days But tonight I’m all alone Happiness lies beyond the clouds Happiness lies above the sky I look up while I walk So the tears won’t fall I cry while I walk For I am alone tonight Remembering those autumn daysBut tonight I’m all aloneSadness hides in the shadow of the starsSadness hides in the shadow of the moon I look up while I walk So the tears won’t fall My heart is filled with sorrow For tonight I am aloneFor tonight I am alone |