The choral works on this album were all composed after 1950, a period when many Japanese composers began to develop individual styles, moving away from European and American models.
Compositional Technique
Jo Kondo's 'Motet under the Rose' for twelve voices creates a multi-layered, changing tonal texture reminiscent of 15th-century motets, inspired by Johannes Ockeghem's work.
Performer Biography
The SWR Vokalensemble, a top professional choir, has premiered over 250 new choral works and is known for its instrumental tonal culture and vocal flexibility.
Historical Context
Japan, with over 2000 years of history, developed its own independent music, characterized by single tones, tonal color, and references to nature.
Historical Context
In the mid-19th century, Japan began integrating the Western music system into its own culture as part of a modernization effort.
Composer Biography
Michio Mamiya, born in 1929 on Hokkaido, studied Japanese folk songs and, like Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály, collected and transcribed orally transmitted melodies for his compositions.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Toshio Hosokawa, initially a 'Western' avant-garde composer, found inspiration in traditional Japanese music and aims to create tonal settings of energies found in nature and the cosmos.
