Bring a Biwa to the Battle

I will never forget the first time I heard the stirring sounds of the biwa. It was while watching the third episode of the movie Kwaidan, "The Tale of Earless Hoichi," that I heard the otherwordly sound of the biwa. Even when strummed deliberately, there was an underlying intensity that sounded as if it could be unleashed at any time. Not long after, an intense battle scene from Dan no Ura was re-created in a highly stylized manner. The speed and intensity quickly ratcheted up to match the action on the screen. Then, when the battle was lost, the pathos of the vanquished was eloquently underscored by the music and oration of the biwa player.

Strangely, it took me a couple years to investigate where I could obtain biwa recordings. The quality choices in North America were limited to two, one of which I still highly recommend today for those seeking an introduction to traditional Japanese music, Japan: Kabuki and Other Traditional Music, by the Ensemble Nipponica. It contains only one biwa track, the classic “Atsumori” from the same Heike cycle featured in Kwaidan. Telling the story of a veteran warrior who becomes overwhelmed when the young victim reminds him of his own son, “Atsumori” is the perfect litmus test for your interest in the biwa.

If you pass this test, your only option is to look to Japan for a wider selection of recordings, some available on CD, others as downloads. Here’s a list to get you started.

(Disclaimer: Clicking on any of the album titles will open new pages where you can listen to samples of the music. I do not endorse or receive financial benefits from any of these retailers. The links are provided for your convenience.)

Heike Narrative by Blind Musicians of the Todoza Guild As any fan of samurai movies could tell you, the biwa was once one of the few vocations available to the blind in Japan. This CD gives a glimpse of one traditional school’s style, with minimal instrumentation and a heavy focus on the chanted narrative. For me, it’s more of historical interest than a choice for regular airplay, but if you want to hear what audiences heard hundreds of years ago, this is probably a more accurate representation. Unfortunately, I was unable to find a link to samples for this disc.

Heike Monogatari Mari Uehara basically inverts every biwa tradition found on the Todoza CD. Not only is she a sighted woman, but she plays the Tale of Heike with the same vigour found on the Kwaidan soundtrack and chants the story with a passion that makes the scenes from the centuries old story vivid in the listener’s mind. If you only want one biwa album in your collection, look no further.

Biwa: Meikyokushu Although the Tale of Heike dominates the biwa repertoire, there are other worthy, albeit lesser known, compositions available. The three recordings include one Heike selection, "Dan no Ura," a ghost story called "Ibaraki," and "Honnoji," which relates the fiery death of Oda Nobunaga at the eponymous temple in Kyoto. Given Nobunaga’s mercurial personality, the dramatic setting of his death, and the polarizing response to his actions as a leader, the subject matter is perfectly suited to an interpretation on the biwa. The stirring performance does not disappoint either, making the CD worth hunting for in the record shops of Ginza or Shinjuku. The male vocalists also offer an interesting point of comparison with the Uehara CD.

Of course if you don’t live in Japan, it might not be cost effective to fly over in search of a couple CDs in this age of downloadable music. For those of us living in North America, emusic offers a small, but welcome collection of biwa compositions. Considering that the average biwa piece clocks in at around ten minutes, the 50 cent price almost seems like a criminal giveaway. Here’s a list of links to what is available, along with a capsule review.

Satsuma Biwa: Japon, Volume 6, Junko Ueda This collection features two compositions from The Tale of Heike, "Dan no Ura" and "Yoshitsune" (This is about the Genji hero who was executed by his older brother not long after the Genpei War ended. Yoshitsune got his revenge though, as he’s far more famous in Japan today thanks to a classic kabuki play, among other things). Yoshitsune is misspelled on the website as Yashistune, but an errant vowel isn't going to change the sound of the recording. The collection closes with "Voyage (Pour trois biwa)" which sounds like a new composition to me.

9.11 I reviewed this harrowing contemporary piece by Kakushin Nishihara last year. You can read more about it and watch the video here.

Japanese Traditional Music 1941 is a collection to avoid, sadly. One preview of the tracks will reveal what sounds like a staticky phonograph transfer.

Hispania and Japan: Dialogues Have you ever wondered what St. Francis Xavier was listening to on his iPod in the 1540s? Thanks to Jordi Savall & Co.'s musical archeology, the listener can follow his travels from Europe to Asia in the sixteenth century. Only a couple pieces feature the biwa, but the collection still merits inclusion here for its ambition and realization.

Vizes e Ritmos do Oriente features only one biwa track, “Biwa-Hosui-Nokkiri,” but it is performed in the vigorous style I’ve been promoting throughout this post. I can't comment on the rest of the album because I only downloaded the single track.

If you come across any other great biwa recordings not mentioned here, please let me know in the comment section. I am always on the lookout for more.