Composition and improvisation in Satsuma biwa

Abstract

This paper examines the sequence of procedures, types of modelling and variation techniques involved in making and performing a piece of music in the tradition of Seiha Satsuma biwa , a style of musical recitation accompanied by the biwa . Following discussion of the music's history and current performance practice, a scheme for the four stages which lead to a piece's performance is proposed. Through examination of these four stages it is suggested that skill in both compositional and improvisational variation procedures are integral to competence in the Seiha Satsuma biwa tradition. Introduction Satsuma biwa is a style of katarimono accompanied by a four-stringed plucked lute, the biwa , that is, it is narrative in which the biwa plays melodic interludes and brief phrases to punctuate verses of sung text. Satsuma biwa is thus similar to heikyoku , the recitation of the Heike monogatari (Tale of the Heike) with biwa accompaniment which has been practised since the 13th century. According to the commonly accepted account of their origins, however, both the instrument (shown in figure 1) and the narrative style now termed Satsuma biwa originated in the Sengoku era (1482–1558) in the feudal domain of Satsuma in southern Kyūshū. Shimazu Tadayoshi (1492–1568), a member of the Shimazu family which ruled Satsuma from the 12th to the 19th century, felt that in view of the chaotic social and spiritual conditions of his times, a strict code of ethics and behaviour was needed to guard against the spiritual deterioration of the samurai (warrior) class in Satsuma.

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