Symphony Ihatov
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Symphony Ihatov is a symphony composed by Japanese composer Isao Tomita, inspired by the world of works by Kenji Miyazawa and the singing voice of a vocaloid, Hatsune Miku. It consists of seven movements, being scored for large orchestra, solo virtual singer, mixed choir, children's choir. Tomita extensively used musical quotation from past classical pieces. Symphony Ihatov was so well-received that, unusually as a contemporary music, it has been reperformed many times.
Isao Tomita, known as one of the pioneers of electronic music, was born in 1932, the year before Kenji Miyazawa died in 1933.[1] Tomita is said to have first read Kenji's works during World War II.[1] Kenji was unknown during his lifetime, but his works got started to become famous when one of his children's story collections was designated a recommended book by the Ministry of Education.[1] Kaze no Matasaburo (Matasaburo of the Wind), made into a film by Nikkatsu and released in October 1940, was the first children's film in Japanese history to be also recommended by the Ministry of Education.[1] Tomita, later over 80 years old, said in an interview that the first Kenji work he came across was this 1940 film.[1][2] Tomita describes the Kenji works he read as a boy as having a metallic, sparkling quality.[1]
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In March 2012, Tomita first met Hatsune Miku,[3] who is a virtual character configured by the system that generates synthetic singing voice developed by Yamaha Corporation and Crypton Future Media in 2007.[4] Ever since he started using Moog synthesizer, Tomita had wanted to get a machine to sing, and he went through a process of trial and error to get a machine to sing.[3] Hatsune Miku had the potential to make his long-held wish come true.[3]
There was another motivation for him composing the symphony.[4] It is the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.[2][4] Iwate Prefecture, where Kenji envisioned a utopia called Ihatov, suffered great damage from the earthquake.[4] Tomita saw a parallel between the victims of the earthquake and Kenji's younger sister Toshi, who died of illness at a young age.[2][4]
The composition was completed and premiered in November 2012.[4]
Instrumentation
Description
Symphony Ihatov consists of seven movements.[5] Each movement has a title, which is taken from the title of one of Kenji's literary works.[5]
- Great Eagle on Mt. Iwate (Taneyamagahara Idylls)
- Sword Dance / Song of Circling the Stars
- Restaurant of Many Orders
- Matasaburo of the Wind
- Night on the Galactic Railway
- Ame ni mo makezu
- Great Eagle on Mt. Iwate (Taneyamagahara Idylls)