Japan - Oda Nobunaga - Rokudan no Shirabe

War | View Score

Instrumentation:

Peace:

2 French Horns, 2 Trombones, Bass Trombone, Tam-Tam, Koto, Shakuhachi, Taiko Drums, Strings

War:

2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, 4 French Horns, 2 Trumpets, 2 Trombones, Tuba, Timpani, Tam-Tam, Bass Drum, Crotales, Suspended Cymbal, Tubular Bells, Snare Drum, Crash Cymbals, Koto, Taiko Drums, Harp, Piano, Strings

Notes:

Rokudan no Shirabe, meaning “Music of Six Steps” is one the most famous pieces by Yatsuhashi Kengyō, a blind Japanese musician from the 1600's. Yatsuhashi is an incredibly important figure in traditional Japanese music, credited with being the first musician to introduce and teach the koto to audiences outside the court, effectively making him the "Father of Modern Koto." Rokudan was composed in six columns - the first column with fifty-six beats, the last five columns with fifty-two beats. While the peace music is only loosely based on Rokudan, the war music is essentially an orchestrated version of the second half of Rokudan from 2:18 - end. Below is an image of an excerpt of the Japanese notation forRokudan (note the columns):

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