NAGUATA: THE HEART OF KABUKI MUSIC allows the viewer to appreciate a masterpiece of the concert tradition developed from the music of Kabuki theater. Dr. William P. Malm, Professor of Ethnomusicology at the University of Michigan and host for the program, explains the subtlety of structure and style in SUE HIROGARI, composed in 1854 by Kineya Rokuzaemon X. Dr. Sidney Brown, Professor of Japanese History at the University of Oklahoma, reviews the long tradition of the Sue Hirogari, as it evolved from a comic kyogen in medieval noh drama. Artist students of Professor Ajimi Tooru at the National University of Fine Arts and Music in Tokyo demonstrate the expressive variety of vocal and instrumental style in Nagauta.
Produced and Directed by Eugene Enrico and David Smeal.
DVD, 30:00