The nature and role of music in NŌ - with special reference to the play, Hagoromo

Abstract

Little has been written in Western languages on the music of No beyond its brief mention in t he increasingly large volume of literature on o~her aspects of the drama. Japanese sources, however, include, besides works containing descriptions of a general nature, detailed instruction books that exist for the majority of schools of instrumental and vocal music, and these have over the past two decades been supplemented by excellent musicological studies by a limited number of Japanese authorities. The present study is an attempt at a detailed examination and description of the nature of the music and its role in this unique theatrical genre. The present study is divided int o two parts. Part I (chapters I to IV) begins with a general description of No music and its components. It goes on to describe in detail the vocal and instrumental music and their I functioning as an ensemble. In the process an attempt is made to show the theoretical basis and concept o f the music. Part II (chapters V-VIII) is an examination of the actual operation of the music in the play. It begins with a general exposition of the typical structure o f a No play. This is followed by a 'score' of the well-known No play, Hagoromo , in which the notation of each of the four instruments is set down alongside a romanized version of the Japanese text. The work concludes with a description of the music of that play through which an attempt is made to establish the precise role of music in No and its contribution to the drama.