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Chapter 15: Japan: 15-2 Gagaku: Ancient Court Orchestral Music

Book Title: Music of the Peoples of the World
Printed By: Stephen Fox (foxs@hawaii.edu)
© 2013 Schirmer, Cengage Learning

15-2 Gagaku: Ancient Court Orchestral Music

The ancient court orchestras of China found their way to Korea, where they still exist, and
on to Japan, where beginning in the sixth century, the art of gagaku (Japanese court
orchestral music) , the ancient orchestral court music of Japan, took root. With the
introduction of Indian Buddhist melodies and indigenous Japanese compositions, the
repertory of Chinese and Korean melodies expanded into two basic genres: togaku
(repertory of gagaku) (“music of the left,” or old melodies), a repertory that includes Chinese
and Indian influences, and komagaku (repertory of gagaku) (“music of the right”), a
repertory that includes Korean, Manchurian, and indigenous melodies. The distinctive
choreography and costumes for bugaku (Japanese dance accompanied by gagaku) , the
graceful and controlled dances that sometimes accompany gagaku, also distinguish the two
repertories. Probably the oldest continuous tradition of orchestral art music in the world,
gagaku has survived apparently with little change for more than a thousand years. Many of
the musicians of today's imperial gagaku orchestra in Tokyo (see Figure 15.3 on) can trace
their ancestry back through hundreds of years' membership in gagaku orchestras.

Figure 15.3

In the gagaku court orchestra, the front row includes (left to right) the shoko, the
tsuri daiko, and the kakko. Behind them are the string players, two gaku so (a
version of the koto zither) on the left and two gaku biwa on the right. In the back row
are the aerophones, including (left to right) ryuteki (three), hichiriki (usually three,
although only one is visible here), and sho (usually three, although only two are
visible here) .

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© Mitsuru Kanamori/HAGA/The Image Works

The gagaku orchestra divides its instruments into three main groups—wind instruments,
string instruments, and percussion—as shown in the Instrument Gallery. The wind
instruments include three ryuteki flutes and three hichiriki double reeds, all of which have
the responsibility of carrying the melody. Players of both of these instruments can bend their
pitches substantially. Carefully coordinated scoops up to a pitch and slides between pitches
are characteristic of their performance style. Another aerophone, the sho, is a mouth organ
that plays extended background chords. The bottom notes of these chords form a skeletal
version of the melody. The string instruments consist of two each of special forms of the
biwa and koto, which interpolate short fragments between phrases of the melody. The
percussion instruments include the large tsuri daiko hanging drum and the small shoko
gong, both of which divide the melodic phrases at regular points. Another drummer who
plays the kakko, an hourglass drum, sets the tempo.

A gagaku piece, which may last from five to twenty or more minutes, is generally performed
in three large sections, a tripartite division common in Japanese arts. Different melodic
phrases rather than dramatic changes in texture distinguish the three sections. These
sections are called jo (introduction), ha (exposition), and kyu (ending), and each section
repeats. Gagaku music unfolds so slowly that it may at first seem nonpulsatile, but when
you becomes attuned to its extremely slow tempos, it can envelop the listener, producing an
experience of weightless refinement, balance, and serenity.

Instrument Gallery

Instruments of the Gagaku Orchestra

Sho, Hichiriki, Ryuteki

The sho (Japanese single reed mouth organ) (left) is a collection of 17 single-reed
pipes connected to an air chamber.The player manipulates fingerholes to allow air
into the pipes, usually creating chords consisting of up to seven notes. Like a
harmonica, the sho can be played by both inhaling and exhaling, enabling it to
sustain chords for a long time. It is the Japanese counterpart to the Chinese sheng
(see Chapter 14, Instrument Gallery). The hichiriki (Japanese cylindrical double
reed aerophone) (second from left) is a small cylindrical-bore double reed similar to
the Chinese guan but much louder. The ryuteki (Japanese transverse bamboo

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flute) (third from left) is a transverse bamboo flute used in gagaku. In some
repertories, it may be replaced with the slightly smaller koma bue.

© Photo Japan/Alamy

Biwa

The biwa (Japanese pear-shaped lute) is a four-string, fretted, pear-shaped lute.

Although similar in form to the Chinese pipa (see Chapter 14, Instrument Gallery), it
is held horizontally and constructed so that the relatively loose strings rattle against
the neck. It has long been used to accompany narrative songs and epics. However,
the version of the instrument pictured here, the gaku biwa, is used exclusively in
gagaku. Periodically, the player forcefully plucks the strings with a very large
plectrum, resulting in a loud, dry tone. The black leather strap extending across the
resonator protects the wood of the body from these powerful hits.

Bill Shozan Shultz

Kakko

The player of the kakko (Japanese cylindrical drum) , a small double-headed

cylindrical drum, is the conductor of the gagaku orchestra. The drummer plays the
kakko with two mallets, one for each side, and the drum rests on a stand in front of
the drummer, who sits cross-legged in front of it. By playing accelerating rolls and
carefully timed taps, the kakko player controls the tempo and coordinates the
performance. In some repertories, a slightly larger hourglass-shaped drum called
the san-no-tsuzumi replaces the kakko.

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Courtesy of Gilbert Blount

Tsuri-Daiko

The tsuri-daiko (Japanese hanging bass drum) is a large vertically suspended bass
drum with an elaborately painted drum head. Some gagaku repertories use other
sizes of hanging drums, which regularly interpunctuate the melody.

Courtesy of Gilbert Blount

Shoko

The shoko (Japanese small metal gong) is a small metal disc hung vertically from a
stand. The player strikes the shoko on the concave side (the side opposite that
shown in this picture) with two metal-tipped mallets, one slightly ahead of the other.
Its high, dry sound punctuates the melody just after the beginning of every four-beat
metrical unit.

Courtesy of Gilbert Blount

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Listening Guide

Etenraku, Nokorigaku Sanben, excerpt, Imperial Court Ensemble of Tokyo.

The work Etenraku, Nokorigaku Sunben is one of the oldest and best-known pieces
in the gagaku repertory. It is especially associated with New Year celebrations and
other symbols of new beginnings, and Shinto rituals also use its tune. Despite its
composition in hyojo, a ritsu mode with no semitones, the hichiriki and ryuteki parts
have gravitated over the years toward alternate pitches that allow the occasional
semitones so characteristic of Japanese music outside the gagaku court tradition.
Etenraku is a togaku piece from the old repertory “of the left.” A short prelude,
known as a netori (gagaku prelude) , not heard on our recording, sometimes
precedes a gagaku performance.

A section

Ryuteki flute establishes the extremely slow tempo and carries

the first melody, A. In this opening section, as each instrument
enters, the texture builds

The kakko (lead drum and conductor) and shoko (small metal
gong) enter with sudden strikes. Despite an extremely slow and
elastic tempo, the kakko conductor keeps the ensemble tightly
integrated throughout the piece. The shoko continues striking just slightly after each
of the strong beats.

The kakko accelerates the beat, still within the meter, as the
ryuteki continues the melody.

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The tsuri daiko hanging bass drum strikes with a resonant thud
halfway through the acceleration.

Just in advance of the next melodic phrase, the sho mouth organ
enters with an enveloping chord that forms a background
throughout the piece. The sho changes to certain standard
chords, called aitake, throughout the piece, generally chosen so that the lowest tone
corresponds to the main pitch of the melody at that point.

Hichiriki double reeds enter to carry the melody with the ryuteki. In this mode and
style, they always play a characteristic scoop up in pitch when the melodic phrase
begins on the tonic.

Tsuri daiko bass drum strikes mark the quarter and three-quarter points of the
section.

Gaku biwa (plucked lute) enters with a forceful plunk. The gaku
biwa plays a short gesture every eight beats. The long pauses
between its notes represent ma, the Japanese aesthetic principle
of space.

The gaku so zither enters—the last instrument to join—played at

this point by just one performer. During melodic gaps, the gaku so
plays one of two standard melodic fragments every eight slow
beats.

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The full orchestra now plays the melody. Note that the tempo has
become slightly faster, although the acceleration has been so
gradual we were hardly aware of it.

The graphic below shows the now complete texture, although the exact timings of
these beats are somewhat flexible, and not all instruments line up as precisely as
shown. The ryuteki flute and hichiriki double reed (in red) carry the melody; the
strings (green horizontal lines) interject short notes and patterns at the beginning of
each four-beat unit; the shoko gong (light blue) plays just after the beginning of each
four-beat unit; and the kakko drum (medium blue) controls the timing with an
accelerating roll around the middle of the phrase and a constant roll at the end of
the phrase. The sho mouth organ (pink) provides a constant chordal background
throughout with complex movements from one chord to another, indicated only
generally in the graphic.

© Cengage Learning 2013

B section

Ryuteki and hichiriki play the first half of contrasting melody, B, in

their lower range and the second half in their upper range.

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B melody repeats.

Percussion drops out of the texture as the B melody comes to a

close. From this point to the end, the texture thins as other
instruments gradually drop out.

C section

A new melody, C, enters and repeats. Unlike the previous

melodies, C ends with a prolonged note but not the tonic.

A section

The melody returns to A, which is again played twice. The tempo

keeps gradually getting faster. Compare the durations of each
section from the timings given above.

B section

The B melody returns and is again played twice.

The sho drops out of the texture. One by one the instruments will
depart, and their absence (keenly felt in the case of the sho) is
appreciated as much as their sound, in the same way as the
evocative empty space of ink paintings.

C section

The C melody returns and is played twice. Shortly after the last
ryuteki flute drops out, leaving a single hichiriki playing the
melody.

The last hichiriki drops out momentarily, leaving only the strings.
the main melody returns only in suggestive fragments.

A section

The A section returns for a final time.

Now, the hichiriki drops out completely, and we are left only with
the ghostly skeleton of the original texture made up of intermittent
plucked strings, which slow to the original tempo for the end.
®
Listen to this selection on the iTunes playlist, available at the Music of the

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Peoples of the World, 3rd Edition, CourseMate.

Listening Exercise 10

Etenraku, Nokorigaku Sanben

1. At the very beginning, the ryuteki flute plays.

a. a slight scoop up in pitch.

b. short ornamental notes (“grace notes”) before the main note.

c. a trill (quick alternation between two adjacent pitches).

2. At 1:38, the kakko leads the orchestra to the next emphasized beat by
playing

a. a steady series of short notes (roll).

b. an accelerating series of notes.

c. a single note on each of the beats.

3. The beat at 2:30 is emphasized by a forceful note on the

a. gaku-so (koto).

b. biwa.

c. shakuhachi.

4. After 3:08, what instruments have dropped out?

a. The ryuteki and the koto

b. The hichiriki and the biwa

c. The percussion instruments

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You can take this Listening Exercise online and receive feedback or email answers to your

instructor at the Music of the Peoples of the World, 3rd Edition, CourseMate.

Chapter 15: Japan: 15-2 Gagaku: Ancient Court Orchestral Music

Book Title: Music of the Peoples of the World
Printed By: Stephen Fox (foxs@hawaii.edu)
© 2013 Schirmer, Cengage Learning

© 2017 Cengage Learning Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this work may by reproduced or used in any form or by any
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