Music Department of the Imperial Household

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Music Department of the Imperial Household · The music department of the Japanese Imperial Household Agency takes care of Japan's court music, called gagaku. The Imperial Household Agency is a government body that manages the affairs of the imperial family. The institution goes back to institutions from the Taihō codes of 701 and 702 and, until the Second World War, was called the Ministry of the Imperial Household. Its headquarters stands on the grounds of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. Within that institution, court musicians preserve a tradition that is centuries old.

Music and breakthrough

Gagaku is Japan's oldest court music. An orchestra of wind instruments, string instruments and percussion plays slow, solemn pieces, in which the music changes slowly and long sounds are given plenty of room. A well-known piece is Etenraku, which appears in School of Rock in the mode Hyōjō. The musicians play instruments such as the sho, a mouth organ, the hichiriki, a double-reed flute, and the ryūteki, a transverse flute.

Influence

The influence reaches beyond Japan. The Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu wrote In an Autumn Garden for gagaku orchestra in 1979, in which he combined the traditional sound with a contemporary composition. In this way the music department shows how a court music could be maintained without interruption and yet inspire new compositions.

Listening

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  Etenraku (Hyōjō) · Music Department of the Imperial Household
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  Takemitsu: In an Autumn Garden · Music Department of the Imperial Household, 1979