Gagaku
Gagaku (
雅楽, literally "elegant music") is a type of
Japanese classical music that has been performed at the Imperial court for several centuries. It consists of three primary bodies: native
Shintoist religious music and
folk songs,
saibara, as well as a
Korean form (more accurately songs of Korean and Manchurian origin) ,
komagaku, and a
Chinese form (specifically
Tang Dynasty),
togaku. By the
7th century, the
gakuso (a
zither) and the
gakubiwa (a short-necked
lute) had been introduced in Japan from China. Various instruments including these three were the earliest used to play gagaku.
Komagaku and
togaku arrived in Japan during the
Nara period (
710-
794), and settled into the basic modern divisions during the
Heian period (
794-
1185). Gagaku performances were played by musicians who belonged to hereditary guilds. During the
Kamakura period (
1185-
1333), military rule was imposed and gagaku was performed in the homes of the aristocracy, but rarely at court. At this time, there were three guilds based in
Osaka,
Nara and
Kyoto.
Because of the
Onin War which was a civil war from 1467 to 1477 during the Muromachi period, gagaku in ensemble had been stopped playing in Kyoto for about 100 years. In the Edo era, Tokugawa government re-organized the court style ensemble which is the direct roots of the present one.
After the
Meiji Restoration of
1868, musicians from all three guilds came to
Tokyo and their descendants make up most of the current
Imperial Palace Music Department. By this time, the present ensemble style which consists of three wind instruments i.e.
hichiriki,
ryuteki, and
(bamboo mouth organ used to provide harmony) and three percussion instruments:
kakko (small drum),
shoko (metal percussion), and
taiko (drum) or
dadaiko (huge drum), supplemented by
gakubiwa, gakuso had been established.
Classical dance (called
bugaku) also often accompanies gagaku performances. The
Tenrikyo religion uses gagaku music as part of its ceremonies.
Contemporary gagaku ensembles, such as
Reigakusha, perform contemporary compositions for gagaku instruments. Twentieth century composers such as
Tōru Takemitsu have composed works for gagaku ensemble, as well as individual gagaku instruments.
Related to gagaku is theater, which developed in parallel.
Noh was developed in the
14th century.
Gagaku, like
shomyo, employs the
Yo scale, a
pentatonic scale with ascending intervals of two, three, two, and two semitones between the five scale tones.
[Japanese Music, Cross-Cultural Communication: World Music, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay]*
Hichiriki (篳篥), oboe
*
Ryūteki (龍笛), transverse flute
*
Sho (笙), mouth organ
*
Gakubiwa (楽琵琶), lute
*
Gakuso (koto, 箏), zither of Chinese origin
*
Wagon ('琴), zither of Japanese origin
Beginning in the 20th century, several western classical composers became interested in gagaku, and composed works based on gagaku. Most notable among these are
Henry Cowell (
Ongaku, 1957),
Alan Hovhaness (numerous works),
Olivier Messiaen (
Sept haïkaï, 1962),
Lou Harrison (
Pacifika Rondo, 1963), and
Benjamin Britten (
Curlew River, 1964).
One of the most important gagaku musicians of the 20th century, Masataro Togi (who served for many years as chief court musician), instructed American composers such as
Alan Hovhaness and
Richard Teitelbaum in the playing of gagaku instruments.
*
Yayue*
Korean court music*
Aak*
Dangak*
Hyangak*
Gagaku Japanese Court Music & Dance*
Scholarly article about gagaku
