AKIRAIFUKUBE.ORG - Triptyque aborigène

TRIPTYQUE ABORIGÈNE
(1937)

A group of Ainu from Hokkaido

During his 1936 visit to Japan, Alexander Tcherepnin suggested that Akira Ifukube write a small-scale work in contrast to the large-scale Japanese Rhapsody. Following his advice, Ifukube composed a chamber piece, Triptique aborigène, for 14 soloists (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, two horns, trumpet, timpani, piano, two violins, viola, cello and contrabass).

The composer stated the following regarding this work: "After trying to express Japan's image comprehensively with Japanese Rhapsody, I wanted to directly portray the familiar world experienced in everyday life. It is due to my belief that using the familiar world, which one knows well, is most essential for artists. Through this work, I attempted to show how the sensibilities gained from my life in Hokkaido, a northern island characterized by a colonial and mixed residence, where the Ainu and Japanese streamed in from various places of the country to coexist, as well as his innate Japanese sensitivities endowed in my own blood, conflict and interact."

While composing this piece, Ifukube was serving as a forestry official at Akkeshi, a remote region in eastern Hokkaido. Triptyque aborigène consists of three tone picture inspired by Akkeshi's landscapes, customs and its people.

The first movement is called "Payses: Tempo di jimkuu." The title is French, loosely meaning "women of the same hometown," according to Ifukube. The music begins with an energetic, sharp motif by the oboe and violin, and follows by depicting the vitality of both Ainu and Japanese women living and working along the northern shore.

The second movement has the title: "Timbe: Nom regional." The title denotes the name of a small cape on the outskirts of Akkeshi. On this cape, there had once been a group of Ainu who were cornered and killed by Japanese forces. The muted horn plays the melody of an elegy or a lullaby and this melody is repeated by different instruments.

The third movement is called "Pakkai: Chant d'Aino." The title is the name of a song which old Ainu men sang and danced to when they were drunk. Frequent appearances of the descending phrase C-H-A-G # in a gypsy-like mode is a recreation of the melody the old men sang. The piece repeats the sense of pushing and pulling as if a drunken old man is babbling.

Triptyque aborigène was first performed on an NHK broadcast on March 13, 1939. This premiere performance was conducted by Kojiro Kobune. Ifukube dedicated Triptyque aborigène to Mr. and Mrs. Tcherepnin.

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Acknowledgments:

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