Blaize
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As mentioned before, I don’t read music. I taught myself basic piano skills and I apply that to any keyboarded instrument, from synths to melodica. Those who have heard my reference recordings have stated that I work wonders within my limitations.
Oh damn! I wish you consulted me. There’s a technical aspect regarding the stereo recordings of the Showa scores I debunked and really needs to be addressed. People assume that those scores were recorded using the pseudo-stereo Perspecta system but that isn’t the case. Long story short, the Perspecta stereo system didn’t work that way.
I doubt most people would care, I just want to put an end to that misconception.
Ifukube glitters all the way through except the last couple of minutes, where the pianos can’t quite do justice to the brilliant crescendo.
Did you listen to the 2010 recording from Akira Ifukube Works for Piano, Volume 2? That recording required two pianists on the second piano. What I watched yesterday was a live performance of the piece performed by Reiko Yamada on the first piano and Patrick Godon on the second. The 2010 recording was also performed by the duo with Brett Rowe being the other pianist on the second piano.
While hard to see, it appears that Patrick Godon was the only individual on the second piano for the live performance. It’s been a long while since I’ve since I’ve heard the 2010 recording, but I swear the live performance wasn’t quite the same toward the coda.
Interesting timing! I finally obtained a sealed copy of Akira Ifukube Works for Piano, Volume 2 (ZMM1011), released in 2010. It includes the two piano version of the complete score for the ballet “Fire of Prometheus” (1950) and the piano reduction of “Ritmica Ostinata”. The former actually exists in two versions. One is the original orchestral version and the aforementioned two piano version Ifukube arranged for touring purposes.
Coincidentally, I was listening to the two piano reduction of “Ritmica Ostinata” last night.
I can’t speak for “Roaring Sounds and the Earth”, but the tapes for “Castle of Flames” are lost except for some pre-scoring materials. As for “The Great Wall”, those tapes are most likely lost possibly under the same circumstances as how the tapes for Daiei Kyoto’s “Buddha” (1961) ended up lost. I’ve naturally seen all three films and I can safely say it’s a shame we don’t have tapes for them.
Regarding Ifukube’s output for Nikkatsu, the reason everything on the fourth disc of the Three Shells set was lifted from their respective films are due to the tapes for all of them being lost. An incredibly small amount of music from “Silver Suicide” (1956) and “Who Committed Murder” (1957) did make it to LP and CD before those tapes vanished. I’m actually surprised that Three Shells didn’t include them as King Records hold the LP album masters that contain that material.
Another thing I want to bring up is “The Burmese Harp” (1956). Everything on the surviving tapes (two reels if I remember correctly), were released on that set. Unfortunately, most of those cues are outtakes with some being remarkably different than the lost film takes. Something a bit unusual is the recording session date on those tapes, that date being October 29, 1957. I’ve actually been working on combining all surviving cues with all usable material from the film itself to create a more definitive presentation of the score.
You have some good choices in your list. Choices 5, 7, 8 and 9 are in need of full releases, but I feel it’s unlikely going to happen.
I’m thankful you pointed out that YouTube channel! Snippets of my favorites can be found throughout those videos! I’m glad you you have found a deeper appreciation for Ifukube and are discovering there is more to him than what many others think.
Good suggestions. My music is actually more or less orchestrated in my head. My pieces do require some interesting instrumentation.
For example, nearly everything I’ve conjured up requires an Electone and/or combo organ. Others would require a serpent in place of woodwind passages. There are even pieces that would utilize a marimbula. I also have one composed for contrabassoon, celli, contrabassi and piano.
Thanks! The link has a description on how I created it. I will say I’ve been told that my music is uniquely me, despite quotes from other composers and other inspirations. I do purposely pepper in quotes from composers as mentioned as my way to pay homage to each one who inspired me over the years. Just my way of thanking them.
If interested, I can send you more to get your input on. However, I will be embarrassed due to my lack of overall skills. While purposely bare bones overall, I assure you that everything sounds far better in my head.
As for remembering everything, I quickly record whatever comes to mind as soon as I possibly can hence all of my bare bones recordings. If I do forget before I can, I just try to play an approximation until I get it right again. After which, I record it. It also helps that I consistently reuse/recycle my material. I’m not a fan of letting things go to waste.
One thing I’d love is to hear my ideas fully orchestrated one day. I already have all of the instruments in mind.
I do dabble in music composition. I do not read or write music (something I need to rectify) and my piano abilities is immensely limited and exacerbated by my dexterity issues. However, I do my best to work with such extremely limitations. As a result, what I compose are bare bones renditions of whatever comes to mind.
I play it out on my beat up keyboard (in need of serious repairs) and record it on my phone for personal reference. They’re not intended to be heard by anyone else, but I have sent some of those recordings to others and they were surprisingly impressed.
Here is the earliest recording I’ve done. Apologies for the lackluster audio quality. Piano Composition No. 1
Here’s a bit of a treat for everyone. Presented here is music from my favorite Ifukube score of 1948, “Danshichi’s Black Horse” (1948)! As the optical scoring masters are lost, I lifted everything from the film’s final composite audio track itself. As such, dialogue and sound effects are heard throughout though it’s often pretty easy to zone it out. Enjoy!
Indeed! Interestingly, the rarest of his released scores, “Chaotic Voices of Folk Customs” (1991), came from that brief comeback. It was initially released with “Kushiro Marshland” in 1994 but was quickly withdrawn apparently due to some legal issue. It was then reissued in late 1995, this time paired with music from Shigeyuki Imai’s “Han: Entertainment Mandala” (1995) and it’s this album I own (photo below is my copy). By the way, the latter is an absolute delight!
He retired from film work. He was somewhat forced back as he was dissatisfied with the treatment of his material for “Godzilla VS Biollante” (1989). When “Godzilla VS King Ghidorah” (1991) came around, his daughter suggested he score it. That way, he’d have greater control of his music. After scoring three additional Godzilla films and two documentaries, he went back into retirement in 1995. That’s the gist of it.
It’s fine!
By the way, there is someone on YouTube who posts a lot of Ifukube’s film work. This includes main title collections from specific studios such as Toho, Daiei, Toei and more. There’s also a video on Ifukube’s work for Shintoho. I’ll try to get some of those linked here later today. I will say that it’s crazy that I’ve seen nearly everything featured in those videos.
Thor, that’s the album I mentioned in my list. It consists new recordings of selected cues that were recorded for a collection of outtakes Toho put together for home video release. It’s the closest to a film score Ifukube worked on during the 1980s.
I actually have video from the recording sessions. There are some rather funny moments too. One instance was Ifukube almost lighting a cigarette at the filter end (I’ve done it too), and the other trying to get his lighter to work trying to light another cigarette, only to give up after a few attempts (another thing I can relate to). The session video also features an outtake not on the album.
By the way, the CD issues feature more music than the LP.
First of all, it’s completely understandable if everyone is more familiar with his Godzilla scores than anything else. Most of the films Ifukube scored never made it out of Japan to begin with. Thankfully, Japanese labels have released quite a lot of music from those obscure films and I myself own a number of them.
For those who wish to take a deeper dive into his film music, I always recommend purchasing Akira Ifukube Melodious Compile (VPCD-81225), released by VAP in 1997. Primarily consisting of tracks from their previous Ifukube albums, it offers a nice variety from both his film music and stage music along with his work for Expo ’70. It’s overall a good introductory sampler.
In response to Tall Guy, “Ritmica Ostinata” is a favorite of mine! Yes, it’s an exceptionally demanding work. You also bring a point when it comes to Ifukube’s treatment for the piano. For both concert works and film scores, he would often use it more as a percussion instrument or feature it predominantly in some other fashion. He also used the piano to provide the sound effect for the bomb detonating in “Hiroshima”. Anyway, I always go crazy over his use of the piano! Honestly, composers need to learn from him in regards to using the instrument to it’s fullest. By the way, look into his “Symphony Concertante for Piano and Orchestra”. The whole work is great, but the third movement is something on a whole different level!
In response to Malte, it depends on his concert work. Much sound European in nature while others are distinctively Japanese. In other cases, a fusion of both. In reality, his exposure to the Ainu had one of the greatest impacts on his music.
Thor, he absolutely did! Many of the film scores I’ve listed easily fit the description. “The Ground” is a great example and two cues from that score have been released in the past. The score is monothematic though so there may not be a need to release the complete score if it’s still extant. Another great example is “Woman Running on the Shore” (Shochiku, 1964) is another that comes to mind. Seven of the thirteen or so cues are on one of VAP’s Ifukube compilations and it’s simply breathtaking. By the way, the male lead in the film ends up playing the main theme on a piano in one scene. Hopefully this will get a complete release on of these days.
My most expensive was a sealed copy of the Miklós Rózsa Treasury, which I purchased for a total of $598.30 USD back in 2024.
You know what!? I find this quite interesting. When I get some time, I may even do something like this with my expertise: Japanese film music. Granted, I’m not well versed on a whole lot after the ’70s, but I’ll give it a shot.
Hi everyone! This is Blaize from the United States. I’m known under the username Ostinato over at FSM. Thor has kindly offered me to join everyone here.
I am a Japanese film and television music aficionado, particularly from the 1940s – 1970s and my favorite composer both film and concert hall is Akira Ifukube. In addition, I am an avid collector of Hollywood Golden Age and Silver Age scores. I also dabble in music composition myself.
I’m looking forward to engaging in some great conversations in the near future!
