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Ablutions: Reflections on Marimba Music by Composer Keiko Abe (安倍 圭子, Abe Keiko), and
Waka Poetry by Otagaki Rengetsu (太田垣蓮月) (1791-1875)
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This page combines the waka poetry of the Japanese Buddhist
nun, calligrapher and potter, Otagaki Rengetsu (1791-1895), with
reflections by the modern woman composer and Japanese marimba master,
Keiko Abe (b. 1937). Visit Keiko Abe's HOMEPAGE.
Citations from Abe's beautiful, religio-aesthetic nature
reflections are quoted here from the liner notes of her amazing CD recording, MARIMBA FANTASY: THE ART OF KEIKO ABE, translations by Robin Thompson: WERGO, WER60177-50, 1990.
Also here is an mp3 audio sample of PRISM (770K) by Keiko Abe from Joseph Gramley's Global Percussion CD.
English translations of Rengetsu's
poetry can be found in JAPANESE WOMEN ARTISTS 1600-1900 (Kansas: Spencer
Museum of Art, 1988) by Patricia Fister, also John Stevens' LOTUS MOON (new edition from White Pine Press, 2005) and a fully illustrated catalogue of her art and poetry, BLACK ROBE, WHITE MIST. For more on Otagaki Rengetsu's sound poetry, see online: Idiophonics. (Note: Otagaki is Rengetsu's first name in Japanese, but last or the family name in English. Rengetsu means “Lotus Moon”)
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Preface
Life in the Mountains
by Otagaki Rengetsu
Living deep in the mountains
I've grown fond of the
Solitary sound of the singing pines;
On days the wind does not blow
How lonely it is!
Introductory Notes
by Keiko Abe
"When I first realized that the marimba was the instrument
through which I could best express myself musically, I set about
exploring the unknown musical possibilities of this instrument
to the farthest limits within my reach...The most important thing
for me was that the marimba was rooted in my everyday life. When
happy or when sad, I would by nature reach out for my mallets
and discourse with the instrument...
"In the present recording I am performing entirely pieces
which were originally no more than fleeting moments of my everyday
musical life, put into notation when time permitted."
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1
The Paper-Doll Festival (March 3)
by Otagaki Rengetsu
As an offering today
To this lord and lady
Freshly opened peach blossoms
The joy of countless springs
Is once again ours.
Variations on Japanese Children's Songs
by Keiko Abe
"Flutes and drums echoing from a distant summer festival,
the sound of my wooden clogs clacking along an empty street --
the sounds and memories of my childhood, linked with traditional
children's songs, are constantly in my mind. I have tried to
portray these songs not just as melodies providing fond memories
of the past but as my own music, music of great vitality with
its roots in the earth and the present."
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2
Ablutions
by Otagaki Rengetsu
In this world
People from all walks of life
Go to the shallows of a stream
And perform ablutions
To purify their minds.
Mi-chi
by Keiko Abe
"The title "Mi-chi" indicates the different
paths which people must tread, and at the same time refers to
the path representing the pursuit of cosmic truth in Eastern
philosophy. At the time I composed this piece, I saw photographs
and read an article relating to the excavation of footprints
dating from more than two thousand years ago, and was strongly
impressed. In the context of human history as a whole, I remember
thinking that my own life is nothing but a droplet in the ocean,
a speck of sand on the seashore. One day, when I was feeling
in a sultry mood, a performance beginning with a simple melody
played with one hand, each tone picked with great care, blossomed
naturally into an improvisation. My spirit flew free, transcending
the restrictions of everyday life. This piece is a transciption
of my performance on that day."
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3
Handmade Pottery
by Otagaki Rengetsu
Taking the fragile
little handmade
thing to sell —
how lonely it looks
in the market place!
Ancient Vase
by Keiko Abe
"The image of this piece came to me while I was admiring
an ancient vase at a friend's house. The vase carried away a
mysterious impression with its ambivalent appeal of dynamism
and elegance, either or both of which is conveyed depending upon
the direction and angle it is viewed."
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4
Fallen Blossoms
by Otagaki Rengetsu
The blossoms have fallen,
The fetters of my heart
Have also loosened,
And it has become summer;
A rivulet murmurs cool and clear.
Dream of the Cherry Blossoms
by Keiko Abe
"I invariably make a trip once a year during the spring
to view the cherry blossoms. I was standing once beneath a cherry
tree whose blossoms were past their prime when the petals began
to scatter with increasing rapidity, enveloping me in a blizzard
of blossoms goaded on by the spring breeze, and transporting
me far away from the real world. This world into which I was
carried, detached from the world of appearances, was one of beautiful,
fantastic and mysterious tranquility."
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5
Singing Pines
by Otagaki Rengetsu
Like a zither, plucked
To create rhythms and melodies --
At the eaves of my house
The evocative voice of the wind
Sings in the pines.
Wind in the Bamboo Grove
by Keiko Abe
"In the early morning haze as I stood in the middle of
a bamboo grove, I became enwrapped in a rich medley of sound.
Listening to the bamboo leaves rustling against each other in
the occasional whip of the breeze, I seemed to hear the song
of the wind...I sensed the dynamic and powerful nature of life
forces. I took out of my pocket a marble and threw it into the
grove. The blue marble disappeared into the morning haze, leaving
behind it beautiful echoes as it rebounded from stalk to stalk."
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6
Naniwa Bay
by Otagaki Rengetsu
Naniwa Bay --
as the night is deepening
through the mist and waves,
not clearly distinguishable
the hazy evening moon.
Memories of the Seashore by Keiko Abe
"Many beautiful memories of the sea exist quietly in
my mind as a single poetic entity. These memories, which resemble
peaceful and tranquil moments amidst solitude, have led me to
bring out the gentility as well as the richness of the instrument."
(see note below on how to make a marimba from driftwood)
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7
A Frog Leaps In
by Otagaki Rengetsu
As I reach to gather
some fallen blossoms --
a frog leaps into the stream
and then floats about
the water in protest.
Frogs by Keiko Abe
"I composed this peice during my student days as an exercise
in double-striking with the left hand using four mallets. The
theme came to me naturally once when I saw the sight of small
frogs moving along a shore pavement in the direction of a pond
during the rainy season. The piece was inteneded as descriptive
music providing a comical portrayal of the frogs as they leaped
on to the lotus leaves, swam about, and poked their heads up
from beneath the surface of the water."
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Note on reflections #6: "How to make
a marimba from scattered driftwood" by Bart Hopkin,
from
Experimental Musical Instruments: VOLUME 7 #1, JUNE 1991
In describing
how to choose the wood to build the marimba, Hopkin says:
"...Begin auditioning driftwood pieces to serve as sounding
bars. An easy way to test a piece of wood for its musical properties
is to toss it in the air and strike it near the center in free
fall. Some pieces will ring with more resonance than others...Some
driftwood rots and softens after long exposure to the elements,
and other pieces may be waterlogged. These will probably sound
dull. Some become dry and brittle, and produce a correspondingly
bright sound. Others may be rich and mellow. Some pieces have
checks, visible or concealed, which cause rattles and snaps and
buzzes. In spite of these general expectations, many pieces will
surprise you, revealing an acoustic personality you would not
have guessed at based upon appearance...the sound, especially
in its native environment can be very appealing."
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Women Composers Early Music & Ragtime MIDI
Idiophonics (Natural Sounds) in Early Japanese Women's Poetry
Women Zen Masters Mt. Fuji Goddesses
Emily Dickinson's Nature Mysticism: A Photo Poetic Labyrinth
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Illustration (TOP): Camouflaged Frog, from Wikipedia Commons
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