MUSIC AND THE OLYMPICS

By ELOISE CUNNINGHAM

When the American swimmer, known as “The Duke,” won the gold medal in the 100-meter free style at the Stockholm Olympic Games in 1912, an electric timing system was used for the first time in history. It figured to one tenth of a second. But when Don Schollander won the same event for the USA at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, the electronic “judge” was capable of measuring time up to one hundredth of one second and also of automatically announcing the order of arrival of the swimmers at the finish line. This advance in electronic computers was one of the reasons a member of the Japanese Organizing Committee predicted, “The Tokyo Olympics will probably go down in history as a festival of science and technology.”

Another reason was the use, for the first time in Olympic history, of electronic music. Prepared in the electronic studios of NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) with the most advanced equipment known today, the synthetic music was broadcast over more than 24 loudspeakers in the National Stadium during the opening ceremony.

But let’s visit the huge stadium in Tokyo and hear how it sounds. 75,000 people are waiting expectantly—His Majesty, the Emperor of Japan, is entering the royal box. Suddenly the air is filled with sound. It seems to come from all around, enveloping the stadium. Unlike any music ever heard at the games before, it sounds as though it might be the “music of the spheres” the ancient Greeks talked about. Deep, reverberating tones alternate with a brisk cacophony of higher tones, suggesting the melancholy tolling of Oriental temple bells and the joyous clamor of Western church bells.

This stunning effect was created by combining the recorded tones of Japanese temple bells with the pure electronic sounds produced in the NHK studios. The sounds were recorded separately on magnetic tape recorders and then the tapes were processed electrically and made into one. A variety of oscillators was used to alter or amplify the tones to suit the composer and electronic engineers who worked together.

In explaining his use of bells, composer Toshio Mayuzumi said, “I wanted to try and express the spirit of the Japanese people, a spirit derived from Buddhism. Since bells are a symbol of the Buddhist religion,” he continued, “I recorded the sound of sacred bells at temples at Nara, Kyoto and Nikko. These were then fused with the pure tones produced electronically.”

As the games were being held for the first time in Asia, the Japanese committee wished to give them an Oriental atmosphere. This accounted for the two mammoth drums in the stadium. They had a diameter of three feet and were over 20 feet high. Similar drums have been used in the “gagaku” orchestra on ceremonial occasions for more than 1,000 years, and they were used at the opening ceremony during the singing of the Tokyo Olympic hymn.

The composer tried to suggest the ancient “gagaku” music by employing the dissonant chords of the “sho” (Chinese mouth organ) in the vocal parts and the deep, booming sound of the big drums in the accompanying music.

Shimizu is well-qualified to incorporate “gagaku” effects into his music, for he was born in a temple where his father served as a “gagaku” musician. When he was a boy he learned the ancient “bugaku” dances. Today, Shimizu is known principally for his 300 choral works and his unique opera, “Shuzengi Monogatari.” This work combines elements of Kabuki music and drama with Western styles and has been performed in Salzburg and Los Angeles as well as Japan.

Ikuma Dan, also well-known as a composer of opera and symphonies, was commissioned to compose the Olympic overture for the opening ceremony. Unlike Shimizu, Dan avoids local color effects, for he says he feels music should only be Japanese in its deeper, inner content. He spoke for a number of the younger generation of composers when he said: “Since the Japanese people now wear Western-style clothes and ride in subways, why should they write music in the idiom of the Japan of hundreds of years ago?”

Dan’s overture, written in Western style, was based on two contrasting themes and effectively employed five sets of tubular bells in the opening and closing sections. Composed for symphony orchestra and arranged for band, it was performed by the massed bands of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces. In spite of a good amplifying system, however, neither the overture nor the hymn were as effective in the large outdoor stadium as the electronic music.

Spirited march music accompanied the 6,541 athletes and officials of the 94 participating countries as they paraded behind their national flags past the royal box. Then the Emperor rose and declared the opening of the XVIII Olympiad and a fanfare of 30 trumpets blared from the top of the stands.

This little fanfare—lasting 35 seconds—was used throughout the games and brought sudden fame to an unknown musician. Matsuya Imai, the composer, is an engineer for a company specializing in the production of music boxes. He also conducts the company orchestra. Imai’s entry in the nation-wide contest for a suitable fanfare for the Olympics was chosen, according to the judges, “because it combined excellent harmony and musical style that reflected traditional Japanese taste.” In andante tempo and the minor-like mode of Japanese music, it made use of intervals of the fourth, a characteristic of traditional music.

As part of the Olympic program, the “Tokyo Olympic Arts Exhibitions” were held concurrently. In addition to fine arts, they include traditional Japanese theatre arts: Noh, Gagaku, Bunraku and Kabuki, a Folk Arts festival and four special concerts by the NHK Symphony Orchestra.

One of the purposes of the concerts, as stated by the president of NHK, Yoshinori Maeda, “was to help introduce to overseas listeners the high level of Japanese music.” He referred to the tremendous strides Japan has made in Western music—as performer and composer.

Three young Japanese conductors and the works of four Japanese composers were featured at these concerts. Held in the magnificent Tokyo Municipal Festival Hall, all were gala affairs. At every concert the hall was filled with an enthusiastic audience, not, however, with overseas listeners, but mainly young Japanese.

Excitement was particularly high at the opening concert, which was held after the stirring opening ceremony of the Olympics. The NHK Symphony Orchestra was conducted by Hiroyuki Iwaki and played Beethoven’s Lenore Overture No. 3, Brahms’s Symphony No. 2, and “The Birth of Music” by Toshiro Mayuzumi.

Although only 32 years of age, Iwaki is already considered one of Japan’s leading conductors. He has not only served as conductor of the NHK Symphony for the past four years, but has led principal European orchestras such as the Vienna Symphony, Berlin Philharmonic and Leningrad Philharmonic. He divides his time between conducting in his home land and in various countries in Europe and hopes eventually to visit the Americas.

Under his authoritative leadership, the string section of the NHK orchestra sounded rich and expressive with meaningful phrasing, especially in the Brahms. But solos by members of the wind sections were less satisfactory.

Iwaki says, “I like to conduct new compositions,” and he has introduced the astounding number of 235 modern works to Japanese audiences, including those by contemporary composers Stockhausen, Messiaen, and Dallapiccola.

He proved his mettle by guiding the orchestra safely through Mayuzumi’s extraordinary composition, “The Birth of Music.” This is a 20-minute work in three movements dealing with the birth of rhythm, melody and harmony, respectively. It requires a big orchestra, including a large variety of percussion instruments. The Birth of Rhythm—disregarding the findings of musicologists—commences with a faint scratching sound produced by a wire-brush against a suspended cymbal. Various other sounds follow tentatively. But gradually one instrument after the other enters, piling sound upon sound, as a definite pattern of accents emerges, and Lo! Rhythm is born.

The Birth of Melody and Birth of Harmony follow a similar procedure, but the birth pangs of harmony are the most severe. One voice after the other enters contrapuntally until every instrument in the orchestra is playing—each one a different part. But the climax is reached when a “chance operation” is introduced and, according to the score, “All performers are to play any note freely in any rhythm.” From the standpoint of the listener, the effect is utter chaos—resembling a violent tuning-up session—while the conductor is left ticking off the required number of seconds until he can restore order.

Either the composer was demonstrating the horrible disintegration of Western harmony, or else, as Iwaki suggested later with a grin, “Perhaps Mayuzumi was playing a joke on me.” At any rate, no one in the audience—not even the critics smiled visibly.

At the second concert, Hiroshi Wakasugi made his debut as full conductor of the NHK Symphony. He had been assistant conductor for several years, and is regarded as “one of the most promising young conductors of Japan.” Having studied in France, he chose selections from Rameau’s “Castor and Pollux” and Berlioz’ “Symphonie Fantastique.” He also conducted the Symphony No. 2 by Yoshio Irino, who has been nicknamed the “prize winner” because of the many awards he has won.

Irino was the first Japanese composer to adopt the 12-tone technique, and he has clung consistently to this method of writing. In 1957, he won the prize offered by the German ambassador at the annual festival of modern music sponsored by “The 20th-Century Music Institute.” The judges at that time stated Irino’s entry “clearly reflected the spirit of modern music as laid down in works of Webern.” His Symphony No.2 has five movements lasting 20 minutes. According to the notes, “The symphony is based on two series, A and B, which appear throughout the work and are developed in each movement.” The work is a remarkable, intellectual achievement and results in a highly complex texture and in arid sound.

Iwaki was again the conductor for the third concert. He presented Stravinsky’s “The Fire Bird Suite” and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 in E minor, but he created the impression that he was less attuned to the style of the Russian composers than the German romanticists. The Japanese work on the program was “Textures,” a movement of about eight minutes duration taken from a longer work, “Arc for Orchestra,” composed by Toru Takemitsu. The Japanese critics regard Takemitsu as one of their most talented and original composers. They claim his music has subtle esthetic qualities that are characteristically Japanese. These qualities are difficult to define, but suggest quiet, peace and unobtrusiveness. Also, they say, Takemitsu has developed his own distinctive style in which he shows a deep interest in sound.

In the score of “Textures,” Takemitsu indicates special effects, such as raising or lowering notes by one-quarter or three-quarter tones and knocking the body of the violin with the finger-tips. They were too difficult, however, for the players to perform and for the casual listener to appreciate.

The final concert of the series was conducted by Yuzo Toyama, who presented Dvorák’s “New World” Symphony and de Falla’s suite from “The Three-Cornered Hat.” Toyama is a composer as well as a conductor and has made great contributions to orchestral literature by his charming arrangements of Japanese folk music. His “Rhapsody” and “Divertimento,” both based on melodies and rhythms of popular folk songs and dances, are very popular with audiences in Japan and Europe.

Akira Miyoshi’s “Concerto for Orchestra” was also presented on the final program. Having studied at the Conservatory of Paris, his compositions reflect the French style and are less pretentious and more pleasing than those in other avant-garde styles. His “Concerto for Orchestra,” a work about 10 minutes in length, shows an angular melodic line and contrasts of tonal color. His compositions have received awards in Japan and Europe, and his radio drama “Ondine,” in which electronic music is used with the orchestra, won the Italia Prize. Miyoshi enjoys the reputation of being an eccentric. He wore a shaggy hair-cut long before the “Beatles” adopted it, and he lives on a strict diet of fruit and vegetables.

In summarizing the four Japanese composers whose works were featured on the special NHK concerts, it may be said all showed very high level of ability. Their mastery of the technique of composing and understanding of orchestration was outstanding. But they are still searching for a way of communicating, or perhaps they are searching for something to communicate. The problems they face are tremendous, because they are living between two worlds and two cultures that cannot readily be fused. The cliché, “Music is an international language,” cannot apply to Western and Japanese music, except superficially. The two systems are diametrically opposed and what is more important, the two are expressions of diverse cultures.

When the French composer André Jolivet was in Tokyo, he advised young Japanese composers to “create music international in character but based on traditional Japanese music.” And when Wolfgang Fortner, the German composer, was here, he admonished them saying they would not gain anything by “merely imitating Western modern music.”

What is the answer? That is what the Japanese composers are trying to find out.