Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra conducted by Takuo Yuasa
In his Berlin days from 1910 to 1913, Yamada was absorbed in operas by Wagner and Richard Strauss. In addition to that, he showed interest in Russian ballet performances with music by Debussy and Ravel, and modern dance by Isadora Duncan. In 1912 he even took lessons himself at the dance school Jacques-Dalcroze founded in Dresden. After returning to Japan, he also became the leader of ballet and modern dancing in Japan. Japanese Noh and Kabuki integrate music, acting and dancing. Yamada was ambitious for such a composite art. In fact his operas Ayame (1931) and Dawn (1941) both contain important scenes for ballet.
The Choreographic Symphony ‘Maria Magdalena’, written in Yamada’s early days, is one of such works. In 1916 Yamada conceived a half-hour large-scale ballet, based on Maeterlinck’s play Marie-Magdeleine. The completed piano sketches, which are now lost, are said to have been made up of two acts: The Sermon on the Mount and Joseph’s House in Arimathaea. It was difficult to stage such a work in those days and the sketches were left as they were. The materials were used, however, during Yamada’s stay in the United States from the end of 1917 to spring 1919, when he orchestrated the sketches for Act II in New York and gave the first performance under the title of Choreographic Symphony ‘Maria Magdalena’ at Carnegie Hall on 16 October 1918. The work is scored for a large orchestra with triple to quadruple winds, two harps and percussion. The plot of Act II is as follows:
“On the night Jesus Christ was captured, his followers, including Mary Magdalene, assemble at Joseph’s house in Arimathaea. They feel uneasy and confused. A Roman officer, in love with Mary, urges her to accept his love, if she wishes to save Jesus. In anguish, Mary eventually turns down his proposal. The officer starts to threaten her, when the procession of the captive Jesus passes by the window. The procession is lit by torches, seemingly wrapped in an aura of divinity. Mary continues to reject the officer and tells him to leave. The officer goes, as if persuaded by the nobility of Jesus and Mary. Mary’s image shines in the light.”
The score carries no annotation, explaining the plot, but it seems the music and the plot coincide in detail. This symphony shows influences by Wagner and Richard Strauss, and affinities with Yamada’s works in his Berlin days. In any case, the music is restless, hectic, rich in dynamics and timbres, and silence and pauses are effectively used. This elusive quality reflects the Japanese aesthetic sense, where ephemerality and subtle changes of moments are preferred to logical construction.
Picture: “Penitent Magdalene” (c1590) by the Greek-Spanish painter Doménikos Theotokópoulos “El Greco”.
Sources from the booklet of the recording: https://www.naxos.com/mainsite/blurbs_reviews.asp?item_code=8.557971&catNum=557971&filetype=About%20this%20Recording&language=English#