Style and Politics in Kosaku Yamada's Folksong Arrangements, 1917-1950
David Pacun, Assistant Professor of Music, Ithaca College
Between 1917 and 1950, Kósçak Yamada composed twenty-seven Japanese folksong arrangements for voice and piano, including several with obbligato parts. While Yamada initially favored simple, syllabic melodies (“Sakura,” 1918), he later turned to more complex and florid folksongs, often going to great lengths to transcribe their complex ornamentation, and taking care to compose accompaniments that were responsive to the original melodies. While these later settings are all together more successful, it will be observed that during this same period, Japan witnessed a powerful rising tide of nationalism. Dividing into two parts, this paper explores the relationship between Yamada's deepening exploration of Japanese folksong and Japan 's own budding militarism. Part 1 traces Yamada's growing sensitivity to the modal and rhythmic shadings of Japanese folksong. While Yamada's earliest settings parallel contemporaneous arrangements undertaken by Western composers (with the original Japanese folksong placed in a tonal framework), his later arrangements display greater flexibility in rhythm, harmony, and tone color. In “Hakone Hachiwa” (1927), sustained and gently syncopated chords, many situated in divergent registers, project an evocative sonic space, one that anticipates the explicit spatial characteristics of some post-war Japanese composition. Part 2 then locates Yamada's stylistic growth within the context of Japan 's evolving social and political life, most importantly the shift from Taisho Democracy (1912-1926) to Showa nationalism (1926-1945). As a prominent composer and member of the famous pen-brigade that traveled to Manchuria in 1937, Yamada certainly participated in this shift. Drawing upon a broad range of historical material, including primary source documents, the paper will consider whether is it possible to link changes in musical style to changes in society, and in this way explore the paradox that Yamada's deepening compositional sensitivity to Japanese folksong, and thereby success in this genre, may reflect Japan 's own rising militarism.
David Pacun is currently Assistant Professor of Music Theory at Ithaca College . His most recent publications include an article on Yamada's visit to the United States in 1918 (American Music), and a monograph on dancer Michio Ito written in collaboration with Midori Takeishi (Tokyo College of Music).