Toshiro Mayuzumi: Divertissement pour 10 instruments (1948)

Toshiro Mayuzmi [黛敏郎] (1929~1997, Japan)

10楽器のための喜遊曲

Divertissement pour 10 instruments

00:00 1. Allegro
02:39 2. Adagio
07:02 3. Allegretto
12:27 4. Vivace

Yasukazu Uemura, flute & piccolo
Seizo Suzuki, oboe
Hiroshi Uchiyama, clarinet
Muneo Tozawa, fagotto
Kaoru Chiba, horn
Genzo Kitamura, trumpet
Kiyoshi Ito, trombone
Yoko Hayashi, violin
Hiroaki Naka, contrabass
Jun Date, piano
Recorded: August 28, 1969

Ikuma Dan (1924-[2001]), Yasushi Akutagawa (1925-89), and Toshiro Mayuzumi (1929-97), all members of the "Sannin no Kai (Group of 3 composers)," made their debut soon after the war. Dan's "Symphony in A" and Akutagawa's "Music for Symphony Orchestra," which both won special prizes at NHK's 25th anniversary orchestral prize competition in 1950, were also works in which the composers took control of modern Western orchestral techniques to produce their own music. The works can be said to sing spontaneously and freely. However, rather than inspiring postwar music, these works are more aptly described as prewar achievements.

In 1946, Mayuzumi wrote "Sérénade fantastique" for flute, string orchestra, and piano, a relatively large piece, but this "Divertissement pour 10 instruments" is the first work he wrote for multiple instruments.[*] It was written as a graduation work for Tokyo Music School, and was first performed at the Students' Association Concert on December 4, 1948. It was performed again at the graduation concert on February 25, 1949, by the same members who performed it for the first time: Tadashi Mori (fl), Seizo Suzuki (ob), Risei Kitazume (cl), Kazutsugu Nakata (bsn), Kaoru Chiba (hrn), Fujio Nakayama (trp), Koichi Kawabe (trb), Kazuko Yamada (vn), Motoi Kubota (cb) & the composer (pf).
In a review of the concert in "Ongaku Geijutsu (Musical Arts)," Yamane Ginji commented, "Many techniques that are not typical of Ueno are used, and pieces of everyday, plain music are frankly incorporated without any particularity or appearance, and yet artistically utilized, showing extraordinary skill." This is the definitive debut work that left a strong impression on Mayuzumi's style.

by Yoko Narasaki from 20-21CD-010 "Concert:20-21 Japanese Composition: Progress in the 21st Century, Vol. 10 'Emergence of a New Generation II' " booklet

[Quoter's note]
*The orchestral piece "Rumba Rhapsody" was actually completed about eight months before this work, but had not been confirmed at the time of writing (1999).

******

The first movement, Allegro, is composed of four main melodies as follows:
A-B-C(B')-D [development (variation) of D]-[development of A and preparation for recapitulation]-A
A, played crisply by the woodwinds, and B, consisting of two elements, are each accompanied by a secure development. C is the expanded form of B. D, which appears on the violins, develops and transforms, and the development of A follows. After the climax is reached, A is reappeared on p after a transition.

In the second movement, Adagio, a gradually shifting tonal background is set up by the piano, which plays the same note pattern throughout, and fragments of melody by various instruments drift over it. These are placed in different tonal relationships to the counter-melody and the piano. (For example, the piano in F major, the oboe in B minor(?), and the clarinet in A flat major.)
Then, from the kind of atmosphere created by this demodulation and the blurred tonality of the piano, A-flat major is gradually revealed like a shape beyond the clearing fog, and the main element is recapitulated in variation after an exuberance.

The third movement, Allegretto, consists of two parts: exposition - variation repetition - development - recapitulation.
First, there is a short introduction with a gypsy-like passage on the piano, and then the piccolo plays an unrestrained melody on the characteristic piano rhythm. Then, the music changes to a jazz-like piano interlude, followed by a section reminiscent of a habanera or a slow tango. These two melodies are related to each other. After both parts are varied and repeated with the main melody transferred to different instruments, a passionate culmination is established by the development of the former. In the recapitulation, the piano plays the piccolo melody, and there is a short coda.

The fourth movement, Vivace, has a very symmetrical structure: Intr. A-B-A(minor development) | C-A+B(development)-C | A-B-A Coda
The piano plays the beginning of the first movement. Then, A is played by oboe, and B played by violin is related to A.
In the middle section, a beautiful waltz in C appears after the development of A and B. In the presto coda, the beginning of the first movement is played again in the glorious sound of the whole ensemble.

by Atsuo Kaneko from NKCD-6570/2 "Tomojiro Ikeuchi's Music and Its Schools" booklet, partially omitted and modified