Printed set (Score & Parts)
1st Marimba
2nd Marimba
[Mallets] Vibraphone, Xylophone, China Cymbal, 4 Temple Block
[1st Percussion] Suspended Cymbal, Crotale, Wood Block, 2 Small Bass Drums, Mokusho
[2nd Percussion] Suspended Cymbal, 3 Toms, Floor Tom, Tambourine, Cymbal, Glockenspiel, Rain Stick
[3rd Percussion] 3 Gongs, Bongo, 2 Cymbals, Conga, 2 Small Bass Drums, Tam-tam, Marimba
[4th Percussion] Tam-tam, Chime, Hi-hat, Wind Chime, Mokusho
[5th Percussion] Maracas, Bass Drum, Timpani
The title quotes Wataru Osako's poem engraved on a monument of Takamori Saigo. This work was written based on historical facts of the Seinan War. I referred to Tsunemitsu Yamaguchi's "History of the Army Band: A Tale of the Brass Band" as he describes the following circumstances regarding the final fierce battle of the Seinan War (1877), the Battle of Shiroyama. "On the 24th day of September, the dawn of the day before the start of a general offensive by the government forces. Suddenly, from the positions of the government forces, the sound of powerful and sorrowful military music was swept away by the wind and covered the whole Shiroyama area. (...) This was a performance that paid tribute to Saigo Takamori, who possessed great virtue. Without a twitch, Saigo and his bodyguards, as well as the officers and soldiers of the expeditionary force, stood with arms folded, heads bowed and listened intently. The conductor of the army and navy band and musicians performed, and each one of them held their own emotions. Among them, some may have been unable to hold back tears, and others sobbed." Tsunemitsu Yamaguchi (1973) History of the Army Band: A Tale of the Brass Band: Sanseisha Publishing. The above is only eight years after John William Fenton began teaching brass band music to Satsuma Domein Military Band (Satsuma Band) for the first time in Japan. If this story is true, it is an indescribable tragic tale for musicians and performers. What kind of music they played at that time is unknown. In light of the significance of the civil war and the later history of modern Japan, I quoted "Kimigayo" (National Anthem) by Fenton at the end of the piece, with the hope and imagination that the music played would have been a national anthem that symbolized the dawn of a new Japan. Commissioned by Tamana Girls High School in Kumamoto and Usui High School in Fukui, 2009. I would like to express my gratitude to Mr. Ryota Morishige of SHINCHOSHA Publishing Co., Ltd. for giving me the opportunity. I would also like to dedicate this piece to Kenji Miza, a friend in Kagoshima, who passed away while I was composing.
(Jerry Grasstail)
