Taka Komagata, tenor
Hana Omori, soprano
Rui Urayama, piano
Balcony Series presents, うた: Japanese Song Night. Enjoy select songs from traditional and modern Japan as sung by Taka Komagata and Hana Omori with pianist, Rui Urayama.
Experience, the premiere of “Boston Sky’s Red Dragonfly” an arrangement of “Amazing Grace” with “Aka Tombo”, by Rui Urayama.
Admission is free/donation but seating is limited so please register your tickets on this page or from the link below.
バルコニーシリーズの今年最初のコンサート「Japanese Song Night」
日本歌曲からジブリ映画曲、歌謡曲まで駒形貴之（テノール）、大森花（ソプラノ）,浦山瑠衣 (ピアノ）が心を込めて演奏します。浦山瑠衣オリジナルアレンジ曲「ボストンの空と赤とんぼ」も初披露。ぜひ遊びに来てください。
Program
野の羊 Sheep in the Field 2:00
たあんき ぽーんき Taanki Pōnki 2:00
待ちぼうけ 2:30
サルビア Salvia 2:00
さくらさくら1:00
さくら横丁(中田) Sakura Ally 3:00
さくら横丁(別宮) 4:00
九十九里浜 Kujyukuri Beach 2:30
かんぴょう Kanpyo 1:15
ボストンの空と赤とんぼ 2:00
夢見たものは(木下) Yume mita mono wa – What I dreamed of 3:00
夢見たものは(高田) Yume mita mono wa – What I dreamed of 2:19
小さな空 Small Sky 4:00
うたうだけ I Just Sing 3:00
いのちの名前 The Name of Life 3:30
見上げてごらん夜の星を Look up at the stars in the night 4:00
アンコール
上を向いて歩こう I Look Up As I Walk “Sukiyaki” 4:00
Bios
Tenor Taka Komagata brightens classical music internationally with his sincere vocal style. His colorful voice and genuine expressions bring new life to his repertoire. He recently made his European debut as Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi conducted by Gregory Buchalter from the Metropolitan Opera in Varna, Bulgaria. This coming spring, he will perform the role of Curzio (Le nozze di Figaro) with Vox New England. Recent selected engagements include Ferrando (Così fan tutte), Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), King Kasper (Amahl and the Night Visitors), Baron Zsupán (Countess Maritza), the title role in Der Zwerg, and the leading male role of Charles in The Finishing School.
Mr. Komagata is the co-founder of Balcony Series, an artistic troupe delivering timeless classical compositions to unsuspecting listeners through impromptu performances. The series builds spontaneous bridges between everyday life and the experience of classical music by catering to audiences who would otherwise not seek out the genre.
Hana Omori, soprano, born in New York, grow up in Kobe Japan, made the move from Japan to Boston to pursue her artistic dreams 3 years ago. Having received a masters degree in vocal performance from Kyoto City University of Art and studied at graduate performance diploma in Opera at Longy school of Music where she studies with Robert Honeysucker and Donna Roll. Recent credits include Cendrillon (Spirits, Cendrillon cover) Don Carlo (Celestial Voice, Tebaldo), Carmen (Frasquita, cover) with Connecticut Lyric Opera, Giulio Cesare (Cleopatra) with Connecticut Virtuoso Summer Opera Institute, Les Contes d’Hoffmann (Antonia) with Longy School of Music, La Clemenza di Tito (Servilia) with Promenade Opera Project, Carmen (Micaëla/Frasquita) with Shunzyuza Opera, Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Berta) with Syunzyuza Opera, L’elisir d’amor (Adina) with Kyoto University of Art, Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 Soprano Soloist with KiraKira Boshi Symphony Orchestra. Tanglewood Festival Chorus singer. Visit her at https://hanaomorisop.wixsite.com/hanaomori.
Japanese pianist Rui Urayama’s gifts were recognized at an early age, winning the Silver medal in the Chopin Competition in Japan at the age of 12. By the age of 18, she had already won prizes at many of the main competitions, with some of her performances being broadcast on radio and TV. She has played in many countries include Italy, Austria, Poland, and France, etc. In 2011, she moved to America to study at the Boston Conservatory where she earned her Master’s of Music and Artist Diploma on a full scholarship. Currently, she is a staff accompanist at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, also she is a faculty member of the Key Notes School of Music and Coolidge Corner After School Music Program. As her new project, she composes piano solo arrangements of the World’s folk songs and children songs. Her first album will be released this spring.
Program
Animal Set:
野の羊 No no Hitsuji, Sheep in the Field (1941) 2:00
服部正 Tadashi Hattori (1908-2008)
Taka
| Japanese | English |
| 野っぱらはいいないつ来てみてもいいなおや 羊がいるな放ち飼いだなだが独りだないい毛なみだな見てやるものもないのだな飢じ（ひもじ）そうだなだが恨まない目だな俺も羊のうまれだなおや 羊の背（せな）に紫の斑（まだら）が揺れたなああ 辛夷（こぶし）の花の影だな野っぱらはいいなさびしくていいな | I like the field Every time I come here I love it Oh there is a sheep No leash But it’s by itself It has great furNo one takes care of it It seems hungryBut it has pure eyes Oh I was born in the sheep year too Oh purple dots of its back just waved Yeah that is a shadow of a magnolia flower like the field love the loneliness of it. |
たあんき ぽーんき Taanki Pōnki, 2:00
Composed by: 中田 喜直 Yoshinao Nakada (1923-2000)
Text by: 山村暮鳥 Bochou Yamamura (1884-1924)
Hana
待ちぼうけ Machibouke, Waiting in vain,
Composed by: 山田耕筰, Kosaku Yamada
Text by: 北原白秋, Hakushu Kitahara
Hana
Flower Set:
サルビア Saruvia, Scarlet sage 2:00
Text by: 堀内幸枝, Yukie Horiuchi
Hana
さくら横丁(中田) Sakura Yokocho, Sakura Alley (1950) 3:00
Composed by: 中田 喜直 Yoshinao Nakada (1923-2000)
Text by: 加藤周一 Shūichi Katō
Taka
spring night
when cherry trees blossom
flowers everywhere
cherry street
I remember the love of yesterday
you are no longer here
always the queen of the flowers,
smiling in the home of dreams
spring night
when cherry trees blossom
flowers everywhere
cherry street
the time will never come
to see you again
“how have you been,
it has been so long”
I know there is no use in talking this way,
I may as well look at the flowers
spring night
when cherry trees blossom
flowers everywhere
cherry street
さくら横丁 Sakura Yokocho, Sakura Alley 4:00 (1950)
Composed by: 別宮, Bekku Sadao (1922 – 2012)
Text by: 加藤周一 Shūichi Katō
Hana
さくらさくら, Sakura Sakura, Cherry Blossom, Cherry Blossom 1:00
Hana
| Standard | Hiragana | Romaji | Translation |
| 桜 桜野山も里も見渡す限り霞か雲か朝日に匂う桜 桜花ざかり 桜 桜弥生の空は見渡す限り霞か雲か匂いぞ 出ずるいざや いざや見に行かん | さくら さくらのやま も さと もみわたす かぎりかすみ か くも かあさひ に におうさくら さくらはな ざかり さくら さくらやよい の そら はみわたす かぎりかすみ か くも かにおい ぞ いずるいざや いざやみに ゆかん | sakura sakuranoyama mo sato momi-watasu kagirikasumi ka kumo kaasahi ni niousakura sakurahana zakari sakura sakurayayoi no sora wami-watasu kagirikasumi ka kumo kanioi zo izuruizaya izayamini yukan | Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms, In fields, mountains, and villages As far as the eye can see. Is it mist or clouds? Fragrant in the rising sun.Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms, Flowers in full bloom. Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms, Across the spring sky, As far as the eye can see. Is it mist or clouds? Fragrant in the air. Come now, come now, Let’s go and see them! |
Landscape Set:
九十九里浜 Kujyukurihama, Kujyukui Beach (1935) 2:30
Text by: Shihoko Kitami
Taka
かんぴょう Kampiyou, Dried Gourd (1:15)
Composed by: 福井文彦 Fumihiko Fukui (1909-1976)
Text by: 北原白秋 Hakusyu Kitahara (1885-1942) (Same poet who wrote the rabbit song)
Hana
ボストンの空と赤とんぼ, Bosuton no sora to aka tombo, Red Dragonfly in the Boston Sky, 2:00 (2020)
Arrangement by: Rui Urayama
Duet
Dream Set
夢見たものは, Yume mita mono wa, What I Dreamed Of, 1991 (3:00)
Composed by: 木下牧子Makiko Kinoshita (b. 1956)
Text by: 立原道造, Michizō Tachihara (1914-1939)
Taka
夢見たものは, Yume mita mono wa, What I Dreamed Of, (2:19)
Composed by: 高田三郎, Saburō Takata (1913-2000)
Text by: 立原道造, Michizō Tachihara
Hana
What I dream of is one joy
What I wished for is one love
Over the mountain folds is another quiet village
With a brilliant Sundays blue sky
Where holding parasols,
Country maidens
All dressed up and singing
Draw a great round ring
Country maidens are dancing
Proclaiming in a clear voice is
One winged bird
On a low brand singing
What I dreamed of is one love
What I wished for is one joy
They are all here indeed
うたうだけ, Utaudake, I Just Sing, (1992) 3:00
Composed by: 武満徹, たけみつ とおる, Takemitsu Toru（1930-1996)
Text by: 谷川俊太郎, Syuntaro Tanikawa (1931-)
Hana
Sky Set
小さな空 Chisana sora, Small Sky, (1962) 4:30
Composed and Text by: 武満徹, Takemitsu Toru
Taka
いのちの名前 Ino chino namae, The Name of Life, 3:30
Composer: 久石 譲, Joe Hisaishi (1950 -)
Text by: 覚和歌子, Kaku Wakako (1961 -)
Duet
| Japanese | English |
| 青空に線を引く 飛行機曇の白さは ずっとどこまでも ずっと続いてく 明日を知ってたみたい 胸で浅く息をしてた 熱い頬さました風も おぼえてる 未来の前にすくむ手足は 静かな声にほどかれて 叫びたいほど懐かしいのは 一つの命 真夏の光 貴方の 肩に 揺れてた 木漏れ日 つぶれた白いボール 風が散らした花びら 二つを浮かべて 見えない川は 歌いながら流れてく 秘密も嘘も喜びも 宇宙を生んだ神様の 子供達 未来の前にすくむ心が いつか名前を思い出す 叫びたいほど愛しいのは 一つの命 帰りつく場所 私の 指に 消えない 夏の日 | The whiteness of the clouds left behind by a plane Draw a line across the blue sky Always, no matter to where, always continuing As if it knew tomorrow In my chest, I breathed in a shallow breath I remember the breeze that blew on my hot cheek The hands and feet which are bound before the future Are freed by a quiet voice So nostalgic that I want to scream out, is One life, the midsummer light At your shoulder, swaying, the sunbeams streaming through leaves The white ball at rest The petals which have been scattered by the wind The invisible river which carries both Singing while flowing on Secrets and lies and joy Are the children of the gods who created this universe The heart which is bound before the future Someday, will remember its name So loved that I want to scream out, is One life, the place to return to At my fingertips, the summer day which doesn’t disappear |
見上げてごらん夜の星を Miagetegoran yoruno hoshiwo, Look up at the stars in the night (1960) 4:00
Composed by いずみたくIzumi Taku
Text by: 永六輔 Ei Rokusuke (1933-2016)
Duet
Detailed Script
Welcome Everyone. Thank you for coming. Minasan Konbanwa. Kyou wa goraijyo Arigatou Gozaimasu. Yokoso Japanese Song Night e. We would like you to join us on a brief journey of poetry set to music. Art song and Japanese art song especially because it’s so descriptive, allow us a rare intimacy with the vocalists and collaborative pianist as they work together to deliver the essence of each piece. For me, being here with you at this moment reminds me of the Japanese idiom, ichi-go ichi-e, or, ‘one time, one meeting’.
I hope you’ll take a moment to relax. Whether we understand the text or not, I know we will gather meanings from the music and the artist’s performances.
Our first set is the Animal Set – (Green Lighting)
In the first piece, [ No no Hitsuji ] or ‘Sheep in the Field’ from 1941, the poet observes a lone sheep in a field without anyone to take care of it. He marvels that he himself was born in the year of the sheep and feels an affinity with the animal as he wonders at it’s self-sufficiency and loneliness.
[ Tanki Ponki ], the resonant chorus of the second piece, is an onomatopoeia that describes the sound a crow makes pecking at a snail. Here, the poet sees a crow in a rice field in spring. He wishes he could save the snail but realizes it’s all just part of the circle of life, so the song’s mood is light-hearted.
In the third piece, [ Machibouke ], we hear the story of a farmer working in his field. A rabbit bounds up, trips on a root, and gets knocked out. The lucky farmer takes the evening meal home to his family. For the coming days he waits by the tree root for the miracle to happen again. Day after day it does not. His fields start to wither away. The poem is based on a Chinese moral story that advises us not to rely on blind luck, but to work for what we want. Ironically perhaps, the song was composed in the 1930s as a pick-me-up for the soldiers invading Manchuria in China.
Next is our flower set (Pink Lighting)
In Japanese poetry and art song, point of view can be considered more objective or observational. Observe something in nature and it reminds us of something in life.
In [ Saruvia ] or ‘Scarlet sage’, the singer sees the red flowers and reminds her of when they fell in love. The summer’s wind is really hot and it reminds her of the time that their love was ending. She now wants the scarlet sage petals all over her body. As many as possible so she can remember that time when they were still in love.
In [ Sakura Yokocho ], Sakura Alley
While seeing the spectacle of a small city street lined with blossoming cherry, The poet laments that he will never be able to again say, “It’s been so long” or, “So nice to see you again.” We will hear two versions of the same lyrics set to different music. But as you listen to the two, you may be able to feel the delicacy of the cherry blossoms as they bloom then quickly fall.
[ Sakura Sakura ], Cherry Blossom, Cherry Blossom
While not an art song in the truest sense, we close the set with what may be the most famous Japanese folk song. It originated in the Edo period. Hana mentioned that this song makes her feel connected to being Japanese. The Sakura blooms for a short time. Ephemeral. A single moment that can give insight into something eternal. Sakura represents the feeling of Hakanai. Something once great that is fading away. Sorrow and joy together.
Next, Landscapes (Sunset orange Lighting)
[ Kujyukurihama ] or Kujyukuri Beach
In 1935, when Shihoko Kitami wrote this poem her lover had been sent away to France to study, because he was 12 years younger than she was. Very inappropriate. The verse is about rough waves as they crash on kujyukuri beach in Chiba. The poet is far from home, viewing the longest beach in Japan, facing the Pacific. She sees the sunrise and feels powerless. Fortunately, some time after writing the poem, they were married.
In the second song [ Kampiyou ] or Dried Gourd. A traditional gourd is being dried on lines in the yard. Long, thin white strips wave in the wind. From a carriage leaving town the poet sees someone walking behind the shadows of the drying plants. The poet hates to leave his parents’ home, but knows they have to go on with their lives as he sets out on his own path. Here the feeling in Japanese can be called Setsunai. The closest we have in English is melancholic or bittersweet.
[ Boston no sora to Aka Tombo ] Red Dragonfly in the Boston Sky
A few years ago, Rui was on her Boston balcony listening to Jazz and watching a summer dusk fade to red. She saw a lone red dragonfly and was reflecting on being an artist far from home. She told me that even while enjoying life in Boston, her heart remained in Japan. While she composed this piece for piano in 2017, tonight we are fortunate to have the world premiere of an arrangement for duet. Rui combines Aka Tombo, a Japanese childrens’ standard with an American hymnal I am sure you will recognize. It is part of her Blooming Project, where she combines folk and art songs from distant lands together into arranged concert pieces.
Dream Set (Purple or turquoise lighting)
Before we get into the dream set, I would like to extend a hearty thank you to Mark David Buckels Music Director here, and to the Arlington Street Universalist Church for their warmth and generosity in hosting this event. It feels to me like tonight we are aligned with their mission to ‘gather in love and service for justice and peace’.
[ Yume mi ta mono wa ], What I Dreamed Of
For the first piece in the dream set, I would like to ask you to close your eyes for a moment. Travel back in time 100 years. We are in the highlands of central Japan in what is now Nagano prefecture. Mountain towns and freshwater lakes. A young architect and poet Michizō Tachihara calls up scenes of young country maidens holding parasols singing together in a great ring. Even as the poet arrives prematurely at the end of his own life because of tuberculosis, he uses the scene to express his own feeling of completeness in life. We will hear two versions of the poem set to music by different composers. See if you can hear these lines as you listen. “What I dreamed of is one love, What I wished for is one joy. They are all here indeed.”
Then in , [ Utaudake ] I Just Sing, we have
a dream where we see balloons of many colors. The song reminds us that there are no difficult words if you just sing. Sadness gets lighter as the air expands and fills the room with color. The poet proclaims, “I don’t need a word of worry from you”. “Just sing!”
Sky Set (Blue lighting)
Also tonight I’d like to thank Luisamaria Hernandez, Patrick Kwon, and Jeremiah Barcus for their help setting up, checking in, and recording. The Balcony Series brings Opera and Art Song to new audiences. It’s only through the passion of the artists, dedication of volunteers, and curiosity of the audience that this project exists. Thanks to everyone for your vital role in making this art form possible.
For our last set we look toward the sky.
[Chiisana sora], Small Sky
The poet looks up and remembers childhood. ‘Cotton clouds remind me of sadness’. At the evening church window’s stained glass is burning red. At night small stars twinkled like tears and reminded me that I was a bad kid…but it’s just a beautiful memory now.
[ IInochino namae ], The Name of Life
Originally instrumental, this is thew theme music from Hayao Miyazaki’s “Spirited Away”. The unifying theme is summer. According to the poet, summer light and sky always makes us feel the future. Sometimes the future can be scary. But a quiet voice quenches our anxiety. A summer sun is reassuring.
[ Miagetegoran, yoruno hoshiwo ] Look up at the stars in the night
We end tonight’s performance in the night with a 1963 hit that is still popular today. It’s so popular in fact that it has been embedded in one of Japan’s 30 “melody roads”. You may be asking yourself,. “What is a melody road?” Melody roads are roads with grooves in the pavement spaced just right to play a melody as you drive over them in a car. This song is embedded in a road in Wakamaya prefecture and reminds us, “Look up at the stars in the sky, The small light from a small star, Is singing of a small happiness.”
Thank you so much for coming out. The performers did bring one last piece for us tonight. Before we get to it, I’d like to ask you to consider making a donation to the artists.
The arts are a labor of love. Hopefully the performance tonight made it appear effortless, but a great deal of dedication and preparation are needed for this form. Please show your appreciation in any way you can.
Introduce: [ ue wo muitte aruko ] I look up as I walk.
This song topped the charts in several countries including the U.S. Billboard top 100 in 1963. It was sung by Kiu Sakamoto.
It grew to become one of the world’s best-selling singles selling 13 million copies worldwide.
The title Sukiyaki does not appear anywhere in the text or is not referenced in the song at all. But it was deemed to be approachable for an international audience.