AKIRAIFUKUBE.ORG - Prélude du soldat

PRÉLUDE DU SOLDAT
Overture to the Soldiers
(1944)

Imperial Japanese Army tank unit in Saipan, World War II

In 1940, Ifukube, as he had hoped, moved from Akkeshi to Sapporo and worked at his alma mater Hokkaido Imperial University's Department of Experimental Agriculture. From 1943, at the height of the Pacific War, he was engaged as a scientist developing timber reinforcements for wooden airplanes.

Even during this time, he spent a busy creative life as a nightly composer. Among his composition during the war are Symphony Concertante for Piano and Orchestra (1941), Ballata Sinfonica (1943), Arctic Forest (1944), Overture to the Nation of the Philippines (1944), Kishi Mai (1944) and Prélude du soldat (1944).

Prélude du soldat (Overture to the Soldiers) was commissioned by the Japanese army. Its first performance is thought to have been through a broadcast in Tokyo.

The main characteristic of the work is a marching allegro.

Prélude du soldat is one of the featured works included on The Artistry of Akira Ifukube 3 (KICC-177); it had not been performed in any capacity since the Second World War.

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Acknowledgments:

The Artistry of Akira Ifukube 1 (KICC-177) by Motohide Katayama and translated by Junko Nonoyama.