Music 4th Quarter

• Refers to the time period when the traditional form of Japanese theater began

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• Japanese Theater


  • One of the most important Japanese contributions to the world of theater
  • A genuine expression of the Japanese spirit and culture
  • Unique
• Japan is rich in culture and tradition
• One of the traditions that is very popular until today
• The traditional form of theater began at the end of the 16th century
• Noh and Kabuki


  • Most important Japanese contribution to the world of Theater
  • Genuine expression of the Japanese spirit and culture
• Sakura (Cherry Blossom)


  Traditional song that produces distinct characteristics in the Asian style of making melodies, known as pentatonic
• Pentatonic Scale


  • A musical pattern developed by pentatonic style, adopted from China
  • Mostly used in the performance of Noh and Kabuki
• Ipponchoshi


  • A vocal pattern and technique that requires an extraordinary breath control that only few experts succeed in achieving
  • Very sensitive capacity of riding the rhythms of the shamisen, declaiming each accompaniment
• Yaku hara


  The subtle delivery of poetical text written in the form of alternating 7-5 syllables
• Japanese Shamisen Music


  • Gagaku - classic court music imported from China during the 18th century
  • Kagura - performed in Shinto shrines
  • Noh chant derives from Shomyo, the sophisticated and rich tradition of Buddhist chanting
  • Nagauta - a love song that reached a golden age in the first half of the 19th century, low dance music for the henge mono or quick change place
• Role of Music in Wayang Kulit

  • Gamelan music, with players reacting to the Dalang narration
  • The three acts - Pathet Nem, Pathet Sanga, and Pathet Manyura - symbolize the story's hero's spiritual stages and progression
• Role of Music in Peking Opera

  • Uses traditional songs and two tunes - Xipi for ecstatic emotions and Erhuang for low-key ones, such as sadness, grief, or melancholy
  • Recitation or "Changbai" tells stories using a unique technique involving raising and muffling the actor's voice and lengthening syllables, unlike real-life conversation
  • Actors' lines are regulated by a community, with each component having its own vocal pitch and timbre
  • Conversations often omit syllables, while dialogues follow strict tempos and rhythms
• Role of Music in Kabuki Theater

  • Categorized into "Geza-ongaku" (Off-Stage Music) and "Sharongaku" (On-Stage Music), with terms like Ki and Tsuke serving as "signalling accents"
  • Geza-ongaku, an off-stage percussion instrument, plays background music and sound effects, setting the mood with popular tunes, often using minimal vocals
  • The Shamisen and Hayashi ensemble plays the Shosa on-stage, accompanying actors in scenic settings and dancing, synchronizing their lines with the rhythm of the music
• Wayang Kulit


  A popular Indonesian theater
• Dalang


  • Makes ready all the facilities used like cloth and the bright light for the shadow
  • Sings the mood songs (suluk) at regular intervals during performances
• Wayang Kulit was performed in the royal court and widely performed in public on religious occasions so that knowledge of wayang became widespread among all classes in Java
• Music in Wayang Kulit theater

  • Accompanies the singing/chanting
  • Accompanies stage actions including dance
  • Entrances, exits, and fight scenes are executed in time to gamelan music
  • Suluk is never accompanied by the full gamelan ensemble
• Performances of shadow puppet theater are accompanied by a gamelan orchestra in Java, and by gender wayang in Bali
• The dramatic stories depict mythologies, such as episodes from the Hindu epics, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata as well as local adaptations of cultural legends
• Kabuki


  A popular Japanese theatre form that combines acting, singing, and dancing
• Kabuki

  • Highly playful actors who demonstrate their wide range of visual and vocal performance skills
• Debayashi


  An onstage segment of Kabuki divided into two songs (nagauta and joruri) or a chant with highly dramatic recitation with the accompaniment of shamisen
• The most popular shamisen music in Kabuki was called Nagauta (long song)
• One of the performance music in Nagauta could be the song "Sakura", which is also widely performed in Kabuki
• Peking Opera


  The most leading form of Chinese Opera that combines singing, mime, dance, and acrobatics
• Peking Opera performers


  • Their goal is to make every performance exceptionally beautiful in every movement they will make
  • Their vocal techniques, as well as rhythms and melodies, vary depending on his or her thoughts and feelings adhering to a basic, strict convention that is based on real-life experiences presented in an artist's and symbolic manner
• Peking Opera make-up


  • The distinct make-up faces of Peking Opera actors and actresses show their outstanding roles in the play
  • Their make-up differs in color representing many emotions and roles
• Musical accompaniment in Peking Opera

  • Aria (solo accompaniment portraying a character)
  • Qupai (fixed-tuned melody)
  • Percussion Pattern (provides context to the music according to the character by his/her rank or personality)