Les Trois Notes du Japon

Toshio Mashima

General Info

Year: 2001
Duration: c. 17:40
Difficulty: VI (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Bravo Music
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $295.00 | Score Only (print) - $32.00

Movements

1. La danse des grues (Tancho cranes' mating dance) – 6:45
2. La riviere enneigee (Snowy river) – 4:15
3. Le fete du feu (Nebuta festival) – 6:15

Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I
Oboe II/English Horn
Bassoon I-II (II optional)
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Saxophone/E-flat Alto Saxophone I
E-flat Alto Saxophone II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Harp (optional)
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV, including:

Bass Drum
Bongos
Claves
Glockenspiel
Marimba
Sleigh Bells (small)
Snare Drum
Suspended Cymbal
Tam-Tam
Vibraphone
Xylophone

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

This spectacular suite, written for the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra, offers three visions of Japanese environment and life that, while Eastern in motivation, are resoundingly modern wind orchestra in style. Brilliant flourishes of the Tancho cranes mating dance, pensive scenes of winter, and the forceful urgency of the Nebuta festival's taiko drumbeats are backdrops to this lush and demanding display of technique and emotion.

- Program Note from publisher

During his period as principal conductor of Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra, Douglas Bostock commissioned several composers with new pieces. One of the first was Les Trois Notes du Japon (the three notes of Japan) by the popular Japanese composer Toshio Mashima, who had already collaborated with TKWO several times. Bostock asked him to write a piece on a Japanese subject. Mashima was a francophile, and his music was often influenced by the impressionist composers Debussy and Ravel. Thus, Les Trois Notes Du Japon is a symbiosis of Japanese and French impressionist elements. The premiere was on April 27, 2001, Douglas Bostock conducting the TKWO in Tokyo. Since then, this work has become one of Toshio Mashima’s most popular pieces.

The sound of Japanese traditional percussion instruments gives the music an authentic Japanese character. Nature sounds, such as the mating calls of cranes or the sound of their wings, characterize the music.

- Program Note from Orchestra Fiati Valle Camonica concert program, 20 July 2017

Media

Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown
Audio: North Texas Wind Symphony (Eugene Migliaro Corporon, conductor)
Audio CD: Kanagawa University Symphonic Band (Toshiro Ozawa, conductor) - 2004
Audio CD: Osaka City Wind Orchestra(Norichika Limori, conductor) - 2014

State Ratings

Indiana: ISSMA SENIOR BAND GROUP I
Texas: V. Complete

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Western University (London, Ont., Can.) Wind Ensemble (Colleen Richardson, conductor) - 22 October 2022
Baylor University (Waco, Texas) Symphonic Band (Isaiah Odajima, conductor) – 26 April 2019
University of Northern Colorado (Greeley) Wind Ensemble (Richard Mayne, conductor) - 7 March 2019 (84th Annual ABA National Convention)
Knightwind Ensemble (Milwaukee, Wisc.) (Erik N. Janners, conductor) – 8 April 2018
Baylor University (Waco, Tx.) Symphonic Band (Isaiah Odajima, conductor) – 21 March 2018 (CBDNA 2018 Southwestern Conference, Houston, Texas)
Texas Tech University (Lubbock) Concert Band (Duane Hill, conductor) – 24 October 2017
Orchestra Fiati di Valle Camonica (Sarezzo, Italy) (Douglas Bostock, conductor) – 20 July 2017 - WASBE Conference (Utrecht, Netherlands)
University of Missouri, Kansas City, Conservatory Wind Ensemble (Joseph Parisi, conductor) – 19 April 2017
National Hsin-Chu University of Education (Hsinchu City, Taiwan) Hermes Wind Ensemble (Douglas Bostock, conductor) - 2016
Kanagawa University (Yokohama, Japan) Symphonic Band (Toshiro Ozawa, conductor) – 18 December 2004 (2004 Midwest Clinic)
Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra (Douglas Bostock, conductor) - 27 April 2001 *Premiere Performance*

Works for Winds by This Composer

Alfie (as arranger) (1966/1998)
At the Mambo Inn (as arranger) (/2001)
Beauty and the Beast Medley (as arranger) (1991/1996)
Caribbean Sundance (2014)
Csardas for Marimba and Band (as arranger) (1904/2014)
Disney Festival (1996)
Disney Medley III. See: Disney Festival
Dragon Quest Concert Selection (as arranger) (1986/2010)
Dream in the Silent Night (as arranger) (1990)
Formosa (2011)
From the Sea of NIRAIKANAI (2009)
Gelato con Caffè (2001)
Graduation Day March (1989)
It Don't Mean a Thing (as arranger) (1932/2012)
Jacobs Ladder to a Crescent (1993)
La Danse du Phenix (2007)
Lento Lamentoso (2013)
Les Trois Notes du Japon (2001)
L’isle joyeuse (as arranger) (1904/2005)
Mirage IV (2011)
Mont Fuji (2014)
Naval Bleu (2003)
Omens of Love (as arranger) (1993)
Overture from "Dragon Quest I" (as arranger) (1986/2000)
Paris Montmartre (as arranger) (2005)
Pavane (as arranger) (1899/2001)
A Prelude to Applause (1989)
Samba Express (2010)
Seascape. See: View with a Glimpse of Waves
Someday My Prince will Come (as arranger) (1937/2000)
Sousa's Holiday (as arranger) (1896/1997)
A Symphonic Poem "Taiwan". See: Formosa
Sweet Breeze in May (1997)
Takarajima (as arranger) (1986/1987)
Unforgettable (as arranger) (1951/2006)
View with a Glimpse of Waves (1985/1988)
When the Saints Go Marching In (as arranger) (2014)

Resources

"LES TROIS NOTES DU JAPON by Toshio Mashima (Japan, 1949-2016)." WASBE. Web. (Featured as WASBE’s Composition of the Week, 20 June 2022). Accessed 6 January 2023
Mashima, T. (2001). Les trois notes du Japon [score]. Bravo Music: Deerfield Beach, Fla.