Baroque of Autumn 「村祭り」| Masaaki Hayakawa | NUS Guitar Ensemble

Details

Description

Baroque of Autumn (3rd movement - “Village Festival”), performed by NUS Guitar Ensemble at Kaleidoscope, held at University Cultural Centre, Singapore, on 9th March 2019.

バロック風「秋」より「村祭り」
Composed by Masaaki Hayakawa
Arranged by Hiroki Niibori
Conducted by Robert Casteels

Alto Cembalo: Han Wei Tian
Prime Cembalo: Zachary Ong

This piece features a celebratory folk tune titled “Village Festival”, and is from a suite of traditional Japanese tunes depicting the four seasons. Arranged by the father of Niibori guitar - Hiroki Niibori - himself in a Baroque style, this piece takes us to a far-flung Japanese village in the midst of autumn.

As you experience this fast-paced festival procession with us, look out for the rhythmic knocking of the guitarrons, which are the large fretless guitars on the right. Percussion using the guitars, also known as the Niibori Rhythm Method, is a technique often used in Niibori repertoire. As for the guitarrons, despite having Latin American roots and resembling those played by Mexican mariachi groups, our version of a guitarron is played upright by plucking the strings outwards, and is truly unique to Niibori guitar ensembles!

Notice also the distinctive metallic tones of the 12-stringed alto and prime cembalo guitars, which have a unique timbre, allowing them to imitate the sounds of the ​harpsichord, an​ instrument integral to Baroque period works. The smaller alto cembalo guitar is usually played with needles attached to the player’s fingers, while the larger prime cembalo guitar resembles a modern 12-stringed acoustic guitar, and can be played using a pick.

About us 🎸
NUS Guitar Ensemble (GENUS) is a student-run guitar ensemble located in the National University of Singapore, and a member of NUS Centre For the Arts. With a nearly 40-year-long history, the group boasts a wide repertoire ranging from major classical works to Japanese anime themes. In accordance with the Niibori method, GENUS utilises a set of guitars with varying pitches to produce an orchestral effect. For more information on us and our family of Niibori guitars, do check out our social media: NUSGuitarEnsemble on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. We’ve recently concluded our 2019 annual concert, Kaleidoscope, a celebration of our vibrant musical culture and the diversity of the pieces we’ve performed over the years - find videos from Kaleidoscope and all our past concerts on our YouTube channel! ✨

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