Maki Ishii: Mono-prism • Esprit Orchestra & Nagata Shachu

Maki Ishii (JP): Mono-prism (1976)
With Taiko Ensemble Nagata Shachu | Kiyoshi Nagata, Founder
nagatashachu.c...
Esprit Orchestra | Alex Pauk, C.M, Conductor
Recorded live at Koerner Hall, Toronto on January 25th, 2023
«In Mono-Prism, the orchestra is joined by seven players of Japanese drums performing on seven drums with heads attached to the body with cords (shime-daiko), one large drum with riveted heads (Ō-daiko), and three medium-size drums with riveted heads of the type known as Chichibu-daiko.
«The title Mono-Prism is a compound word consisting of the elements "Mono", which refers here to the monochromatic tonal quality of Japanese drums, and "Prism", referring to the prismatic tonal quality of the Western orchestra. "Mono" thus symbolises the Japanese musical element and "Prism" the Western musical element. The drum ensemble plays in the manner of a spiral, moving back and forth between determinate rhythm (simplicity) and indeterminate rhythm (complexity). For its part, the orchestra radiates in the manner of a prism acoustic and temporal elements qualitatively different from those underlying the motion of the drum ensemble.» - Maki Ishii

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phenomenal composition

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日本国内のオーケストラ作品の賞として有名な尾高賞がある。だが、尾高賞を受賞した作品のどれほどが海外で演奏され続けているだろうか。日本のオーケストラ作品の中の、真の傑作のひとつと言えよう。この作品は日本太鼓群とオーケストラのいわば協奏曲と考えることもできる。共演者として鬼太鼓座（鼓童）、御諏訪太鼓などが記憶にあるが、今回、カナダで活躍する永田社中の演奏でこれまでにない「カデンツァ」が聞けたことが喜ばしい。