Introduction to Rhythm and Pulse
This event was a unique opportunity to experience demonstrations and participate in a hands-on workshop led by renowned Noh musicians. The audience Learnt about the unique rhythm, pitch, kakegoe (drum call), ma (space), and orchestration of Noh music, and joined the Noh musicians using their voices and air drumming to perform highlights from the Noh Play ‘Kinuta’, which was performed later in the evening.
For over a century, Noh has inspired composers such as Benjamin Britten, Stockhausen and Iannis Xenakis. Pierre Boulez, in his essays, praised Noh as the pinnacle of non-Western art highlighting its unique solutions to transcending the spoken and the sung, surpassing the limitations seen in Baroque recitative and Schoenberg’s Sprechstimme.
Workshop leaders:
Tatsushi Narita, kotsuzumi shoulder drum
Tetsuya Yamamoto, otsuzumi hip drum
Yasuhiro Sakoh, nohkan flute
Yasuki Kobayakawa, Noh chant
This event is presented thanks to the support of The Hinrichsen Foundation.
