This paper aims to compare the compositional process of the
Nirvana Symphony( 1958) with that of the
Mandala Symphony( 1960) by analyzing the “Campanology Documents( Campanology
Shiry?)” and to discuss the position of these pieces among Toshiro Mayuzumi’s works.
Mayuzumi is known to have his pieces based on an analysis of sounds produced by Buddhist
bells. The most famous pieces among them are the
Nirvana Symphony and the
Mandala Symphony.
This study traces their compositional processes according to Mayuzumi’s sketches, named
the “Campanology Documents.”
The “Campanology Documents” include eight documents (No. 1 to 8), which include seven autograph
sketches (No. 1 to 3 and No. 5 to 8) and a copy of the page from a book (No. 4). My investigations
demonstrate that these documents are clearly behind the compositional process of the
Nirvana
Symphony and the
Mandala Symphony and several other pieces of electronic music. In the
“Campanology Documents,” No. 3 to 5, and 8 are related to the
Nirvana Symphony, and No. 3 to
5, and 7 are related to the
Mandala Symphony.
This paper shows that both the
Nirvana Symphony and the
Mandala Symphony are based
on the same overtone frequency data of bell sounds quoted from the paper called “Experimental
Acoustics( Jikken-Onky?-Gaku)”( 1948), written by Japanese physicist Keiji Yamashita. However,
the compositional processes of the fundamental chords are different between these pieces. The fundamental
chords of the
Nirvana Symphony are based directly on the intervals of each overtone in
the temple bell sounds, and the fundamental chords of the
Mandala Symphony are based on a
tone row in conformity with the regularity of the temple bell’s overtones. According to these investigations,
the compositional process of these works is regarded as the composer’s attempt to expand
his compositional techniques by using sound materials, such as temple bells.
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