INTERVIEW: ROKUDAN’s Carnegie Hall concert inspired by WWII letters
Photo: Roppongi Male Chorus ZIG-ZAG (ROKUDAN) will perform The Last Message with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra Friday, June 8 at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Photo courtesy of ROKUDAN / Provided by Michelle Tabnick PR with permission.
The Voice of Mankind (Human Voice), a collection of letters written by soldiers from many nations in World War II, has inspired a new orchestral piece from composer Shigeaki Saegusa. The expansive work, entitled The Last Message, will have its New York premiere Friday, June 8 at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Performing that evening will be the Roppongi Male Chorus ZIG-ZAG (ROKUDAN) and Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra.
The Last Message is said to be imbued with a deep spirituality, highlighting the endurance of love and humanity in times of war. The orchestral work has been performed in Tokyo; Geneva, Switzerland; Rome; and a couple of cities in Russia. Prior to the premiere, ROKUDAN will join with the United Nations Staff Recreation Council to sing Japanese folk songs at Carnegie Hall. Naoto Otomo will conduct.
Recently, Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Saegusa through a translator. The composer is a graduate of the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts. His works include Chushingura, Jr. Butterfly and The Mad Day in Midsummer. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What inspired you to create and compose The Last Message?
I read the book Human Voice by Hans Walter Bähr when I was a student about 50 years ago, and it made such a big impression on me. I knew I would love to create music to the letters that appeared in the book someday. That dream came true in 2010.
Why is it important to focus on themes of war and peace in musical compositions?
For someone like myself who did not experience WWII first hand, the notes and letters are the only way we understand the cruelty of war. There was an idea to beautify the war by referring to it as the ‘holy war,’ but is there really such a thing as a ‘holy war’?
I believe that through wisdom, we can come together to find ways to avoid fighting. That is also a theme of my composition.
On working with ROKUDAN …
ROKUDAN was formed in 1999 at a bar in Roppongi, Tokyo. The origin of our name is inspired by Roppongi, which is spelled as ‘Six Trees’ in Japanese. We took ‘Six’ (ROKU) and combined it with ‘Group’ (DAN) in order to form ROKUDAN, which now has nearly 100 members.
Although most members are doctors, lawyers and company owners who are not classically trained in music, the combined effort and time of each and every member of the group enabled us to challenge ourselves with difficult pieces like The Last Message, and I’m continually impressed. I’m excited to share what the members of ROKUDAN have worked so hard on with the audience.
On the piece’s history …
This work was premiered by the Roppongi Men’s Chorus Club together with the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Naoto Otomo, at Suntory Hall in Tokyo in 2011, and re-performed in 2012 and 2013 at the same venue. In 2011, this work was performed at Victoria Hall in Geneva with Swiss Romado, conducted by N. Otomo as an event of International Red Cross and Red Crescent Congress. In 2013, the work was performed with Volgograd Philharmonic conducted by N. Otomo in Volgograd, Russia, and with the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra conducted by Seikyo Kim at Philharmonia, St. Petersburg, Russia, as a memorial concert of for the anniversary of the beginning of the Siege of Leningrad.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
ROKUDAN and the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra will perform Shigeaki Saegusa’s The Last Message Friday, June 8 at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Click here for more information and tickets.
