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Happy continuation of 2008!
Time flies. We have already used over a month of the new year.
Satoko Berger-Fujimoto
About the year that passed
2007 was an eventful year for Musica Rediviva. For the first time we were able to publish no less than four (4) CDs:
The height of the year however was a concert tour in Japan. Here follows a short report from that.
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The tour was made on the 1st–16th of October 2007. This does not mean that I was playing some sort of instrument, but that I brought two musicians there, playing nyckelharpa and harpsichord (cembalo) respectively. In the spring we had released a CD, called "From Castle and Cottage" with Torbjörn Näsbom (nyckelharpa) and Andreas Edlund (harpsichord/cembalo). So I had the role of manager, tour conductor, interpreter and confrencier etc.
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The October tour schedule
| 3rd – 4th | Two concerts in the Nakata Art Museum, Onomichi |
| 5th | Two concerts in the concert hall of Kadoma, Osaka |
| 9th | A concert in Marugame |
| 10th | A concert in Kochi |
| 11th | A concert in Kurashiki |
| 12th | Inauguration of the "Society for the Nyckelharpa in Japan",
which took place at the Swedish Embassy in Tokyo |
| 13th | A concert in the Tokyo-Gakugei University |
| 14th | A concert in the Roba-House, Tachikawa, Tokyo |
Andreas & Torbjörn
Andreas and Torbjörn practise for their concert in Tachikawa
We made 10 concerts totally. Except two events in Osaka and three in Tokyo, we visited small towns, mainly to the west of Osaka. Shortly before our departure for Japan, Andreas had had to go to a hospital with a sudden slip disc. We were almost forced to cancel the whole project. Only just, however, we managed the flight and arrived in Onomichi in the evening before our first concert. Next morning Andreas came to breakfast with a very pale face. His back had failed, and he was in a terrible pain. Fortunately, we succeeded to get in touch with a skilled chiropractor, who appeared to be quite marvellous. After two treatments, Andreas' back was cured enough to let him cope with ten days' work. We were all quite amazed.
Now we were able to give concerts. Onomichi, Kadoma (Osaka), Marugame, Kochi, Kurashiki – so far still in the west of Japan – and finally the three concerts in Tokyo. The music was always interfoliated with a comment. Sometimes, using a projector, we even offered a pictorial show. Three of the concerts were also combined with a dinner, before or after. The concerts took place in rather small rooms (200 listeners at most). One concert was given in the lobby of a public library, one in the exhibition hall of an art museum, and one in the large entrance-hall of an art museum. The rest of the concerts took place in the assembly-hall of a school, in a lecture room of a school, in restaurants and in larger private homes. The most problems we expected at a matinée performance in Kadoma, for we knew that 100 tickets of 200 had been reserved for kindergarten children. We would then have to entertain adults and children at the the same time, but could not concentrate just on children. A 20-minutes' baroque suite would not do, but still we wanted to introduce really good classical music to the children.
Finally we got the good idea that I should interview the musicians. The nyckelharpa-player Torbjörn has got four children, the harpsichordist Andreas two. "What sort of music do you play for your children?" Andreas answered: "When my first child, Julia, was still lying in her mother's womb, I was frequently practising Bach's Goldberg variations. Already shortly after her birth, we noticed that little Julia reacted particularly positively, when she heard this work." The children, the women, the men, all the concert visitors, were quite impressed and showed the utmost concentration when listening to a movement from the Goldberg variations.
The nyckelharpa ("keyed fiddle") was a surprise to everybody: an instrument similar to the violin but provided with keys! It has existed in Europe since the Middle Ages but, curiously enough, has survived just in Sweden. The more I told the audience, the more intrigued they seemed to be. Because of the sympathetic strings, the sound becomes lighter and more overtone-rich, and its key mechanism makes it quite normal to play without vibrato. Therefore this instrument gets on so well together with the harpsichord, and except its ordinary repertoire of folk tunes, baroque music suits very well to be played on it. The audience was listening with great interest. The sound seemed to please the ear of the Japanese public and find its way directly to their hearts.
Nyckelharpa
During the tour we (and particularly Andreas) had to get aquainted to different harpsichords. Tokyo-Gakugei had hired an instrument of von Nagel. In Osaka, Marugame, Kochi and Kurashiki, we got access to a Zuckermann-harpsichord. In Onomichi and Tachikawa the instruments offered to us, were built by Akira Kubota. The museum in Nakata, which often arranges classical concerts, had just taken a step forward and had acquired a harpsichord from Kubota. It had been delivered only a couple of days before our arrival, so at our concerts, Andreas had the honour of being the first player on it. Kubota, who met up at the events, told us "the museum gave me a free hand as to shaping and design, so I found a special pleasure in building this instrument." The harpsichord, which had got its placing in the exhibition hall, looked so beautiful, that, at first sight, it took our breath away. Of course, its exquisite sound pleased our ears too. The cover is painted in a style that reminds of both the Murimachi era (1336-1573) in Japan and the 18th century in Europe. If you come to this area, you should really use the opportunity to visit the museum!
Nakata Art Museum's brand-new harpsichord
The first concert in Tokyo took place at the Swedish Embassy to celebrate the founding of "The Society for the Nyckelharpa in Japan". There may be more than 30 nyckelharpa-players in Japan already. Ten of them came to our concert. They had brought their own instruments, so after the concert they tuned their "harps" and started a Swedish folk music jam session together with Torbjörn. In Sweden, this kind of common playing is a rather usual thing. I thought that this was a really efficient method for music education. Everybody, irrespective of skill, starts playing together in unison. After a while, the teacher leaves the tune and begins to improvise a second part. Because of the appearance of chords, everybody now enjoys the music-making still more. For pure delight, they go on playing, at the same time learning how to handle the instrument as to intonation, bowing technique, accents, agogic etc.
At the Swedish Embassy
Torbjörn and Andreas can play both folk music and classical music with excellent technique and are very good improvisers, but also show a humble attitude. Therefore they aroused a thunderous acclamation from the audience. And for me, as a matter of fact, every concert was a new, fresh experience.
Besides the playing, the two musicians were very agreeable as travelling companions. Their interest for food was great. Immediately after the landing at Osaka's airport, Torbjörn exclaimed, "Sushi, sushi!" After about three days, though, he stopped calling for sushi. Probably he had begun to realize that there is plenty of good food to be found in Japan, and the arrangers literally competed taking us to the finest restaurant in their town. When we got sashimi, Torbjörn discovered and praised the tremendous harmony between the raw fish and its browned outside. Of course the Japanese arrangers appreciated his enthusiasm and ordered more dishes for him to try (or to try on him). In the middle of the tour, we had three days free.
We had the opportunity make a home-stay at my good friends in Nara. There we looked at the famous deer and their fawns in the park and visited the Kasuga shrine. In the evening, we were invited to family-sushi by our hosts. In this family they are also specialized in early (European) music. The husband plays the viola da gamba (and, as a matter of fact, has also started on the nyckelharpa), his wife plays the recorder and their son is a skilled lute-player. The next day the Swedes made music together with the father of the family. From him they got useful ideas and information about suitable repertoire for their duo combination. On the third day we had to say sayonara to Nara and took the train to Kotohira, an old spa, health resort with a hot spring. The two Swedes stayed in the bath as long as two hours. In the evening we had a fantastic and typically Japanese meal.
Torbjörn in Nara-park
After the concertn
Marugamw-castle
The following week, we travelled round to different places and gave at least one concert a day.
Kurashiki
Before leaving Japan after a well accomplished tour, we had still another day free. The two musicians were satisfied just with using the morning for buying some souvenir in the vicinity of the hotel, and in the afternoon we visited a musician-friend, Genzo. When I phoned him the day before, he had told me, "I have something to show to Andreas". The "something" turned out to be an interesting instrument, a replica of a very special forte-piano from Bach's time. Its sound is rather similar to today's piano, and, as its name indicates, it is possible to be played both loudly and softly. For me it was a surprise that already Bach had been familiar with this type of sound. Genzo told us, "The original of this instrument is to be found in Germany, but not so many have shown an interest in it. My curiousity, though, has always been excited by it, but it has been difficult to figure out its true nature. I must probably have a copy of it built to get a clear understanding of it (a typical statement from Genzo). When the copy was ready for use, I began to comprehend some things. I am now convinced that Bach used this kind of instrument, and I have lots of ideas how to prove it practically." Genzo looked really happy, when telling us this. He is now planning to make a recording together with Andreas of Bach's music for two harpsichords, using this forte-piano in one of the roles. After having listened to and discussed this "new-old" sound, all three started jamming together. Different sounds intertwined, went apart and came together again. I lay down on a sofa and listened. It seemed a waste that not more people could enjoy this. Genzo finds that the sound of the nyckelharpa reminds him of viola d'amore. "It would be interesting to let Torbjörn with his double background as folk-fiddler and classical musician tackle the viola d'amore-repertoire with his nyckelharpa", suggested Genzo. "The next time we meet, we must really try that!" Such moments are quite exciting and enriching, and I am full of gratitude for having been there.
Jam session with Genzo in his studio
Our tour, this time, had been possible thanks to a financial support from the Swedish board for cultural affaires, but of course the Japanese arrangers must have had a really hard work. Thanks to all help, we were able to accomplish a successful concert tour. By initiating, preparing and leading this project, I have got new experiences and acquired a taste for such activities. I am already planning the next project, i.e. to introduce the "Maria combo" (MRCD-015) in Japan.
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Visit also the website: www.nyckelharpacembalo.info.se
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Musica Rediviva's plans for 2008
| February | Releasing MRCD-017 containing Bach, "Die Kunst der Fuge" with Bengt Tribukait playing the 1728 Cahman-organ at Leufsta Bruk |
| August |
Recording of a mixed program with Ensemble Pegasus (a brass group from Japan) |
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