Taki Rentaro (瀧廉太郎)
Rentaro TAKI (August 24, 1879 - June 29, 1903) was a Japanese musician and composer. He lived during the early stages of the development of Western music in Japan in the Meiji era, and was one of the leading musicians of the period.
Biography
He was born in Tokyo in 1879. The Taki family was from the warrior class, and of such a high rank that they had served as a karo (chief retainer) in Hiji Domain (present-day Hiji-machi, Oita Prefecture) during the Edo period.
His father Yoshihiro was transferred to the Ministry of Interior from the Ministry of Finance, and worked as a central government official under the supervision of Toshimichi OKUBO and Hirofumi ITO. He subsequently worked as a local official, which involved moves to several places, among them Kanagawa Prefecture, Toyama City in Toyama Prefecture, and Taketa City in Oita Prefecture; accordingly, soon after his birth, Taki also had to go from place to place. Taki entered Tokyo Music School (present-day Tokyo University of the Arts) in 1894 at the age of 15. He finished the regular courses in 1898, then went to the graduate school. He developed his talents for music composition and piano performance with remarkable speed. On October 7, 1900, he was baptized into the Christian faith at Grace Episcopal Church, which was affiliated with the Anglican-Episcopal Church, in Tokyo. He was confirmed on October 28.
Although many foreign songs were translated for school music classes in the early Meiji period, most of them were awkward, with translated lyrics forcibly set to the music; accordingly, there was high demand for Japanese songs composed by Japanese composers. Taki can be said to have been the first composer to respond to that demand.
Kojo no Tsuki' (The Moon over the Deserted Castle), one of his most important pieces, was adopted into the music book compiled by the Ministry of Education for junior high schools, along with another of his songs, 'Hakone Hachiri.'
Hana' (Flowers), one of his popular songs, is the first song of his suite "Shiki" (Four Seasons), which consists of four songs and was composed in August 1900. His songs 'Oshogatsu' (New Year's Day), 'Hato Poppo' (Pigeons), and 'Yuki Ya Konko' (Japanese Snow Song) are known as the oldest nursery songs to be composed in Japan, and are such excellent pieces that they were included in the music book compiled in 1900 for kindergarten students. In addition, it has become known that 'Kojo no Tsuki' was converted into a hymn in Belgium.
In April 1901, Taki entered the European University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig (established by Felix Mendelssohn) in Germany, becoming the second Japanese composer to attend this school. He entered the school as a Ministry of Education exchange student; he took piano lessons and learned counterpoint, but after only two months, he caught tuberculosis and had to return to Japan one year after entering the school. He received medical treatment in Oita Prefecture, his father's home prefecture, but on June 29, 1903, he died at the young age of 23.
His grave is at Kumano-ji (熊野寺) Temple in Oita City.
Works
Although Taki wrote many popular songs, he also composed a piano solo called Minuet in 1900, which became the first piano solo by a Japanese composer. His pulmonary tuberculosis worsened, and when he realized he would soon die, he composed a piano piece titled 'Urami' (Regret) four months before his death; this became his last work.
His song 'Hakone Hachiri' later became the departure song for Hakone Tozan Railway trains. His song 'Hana' was formerly used as an onboard alert (generally known as the Furusato Chime [literally, "Hometown Chime"]) for Tohoku and Joetsu Shinkansen departures and arrivals at Ueno Station, but they stopped using the song after the opening of Tokyo Station.
All his works are written to be sung, except for Minuet and Urami.
1896
Nippon Danji (literally "A Son of Japan," a solo piece with lyrics by Ko TO [東郊])
1897
Haru no Umi (literally "Spring Sea," a solo piece with lyrics by Kume HIGASHI)
Sanpo (literally "A Walk," a solo piece with lyrics by Akika NAKAMURA)
Inochi o Sutete (literally "Giving Up My Life," a solo piece, lyricist unknown)
1899
Waga Shinshu (literally "Our Land of Gods," a solo piece with lyrics by Hekiji SUNASAWA [砂沢丙喜治])
Shiki no Taki (literally "A Waterfall of Four Seasons," for soprano and alto with piano accompaniment, lyrics by Kume HIGASHI)
1900
Minuet (piano piece)
The "Shiki" (literally "Four Seasons") suite
1 Hana (for soprano and alto with piano accompaniment, lyrics by Hagoromo TAKESHIMA)
2. Noryo (literally "The Cool of a Summer Evening," solo vocal with piano accompaniment, lyrics by Kume HIGASHI)
3 Tsuki (literally "The Moon," for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass, lyrics by Rentaro TAKI)
4 Yuki (literally, "snow," for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass with piano and organ accompaniment, lyrics by Akika NAKAMURA,)
Songs for junior high school music classes
Hakone Hachiri (a solo piece, lyrics by Makoto TORII)
Kojo no Tsuki (a solo piece, lyrics by Bansui DOI)
Hotaiko (a solo piece, lyrics by Masakazu TOYAMA)
1901
Songs for kindergarten students (Taki began to compose these songs in 1900)
Hohokekyo (solo vocal with piano accompaniment, lyrics by Rentaro TAKI)
Hibari wa Utai (literally "A Lark Trills," solo vocal with piano accompaniment, lyrics by Kume HIGASHI)
Koinobori (literally "A Carp Streamer," solo vocal with piano accompaniment, lyrics by Kume HIGASHI)
Umi no Ue (literally "Above the Sea," solo vocal with piano accompaniment, lyrics by Kume HIGASHI)
Momotaro (solo vocal with piano accompaniment, lyrics by Rentaro TAKI)
Oike no Kaeru (literally "Frogs in a Pond," solo vocal with piano accompaniment, lyrics by Kume HIGASHI)
Yudachi (literally "An Evening Shower," solo vocal with piano accompaniment, lyrics by Kume HIGASHI)
Kachikachi Yama (literally "Mt. Kachikachi," solo vocal with piano accompaniment, lyrics by Kume HIGASHI)
Mizuasobi (literally "Playing in the Water," solo vocal with piano accompaniment, lyrics by Rentaro TAKI)
Hato Poppo (solo vocal with piano accompaniment,lyrics by Kume HIGASHI)
Kiku (literally "A Chrysanthemum," solo vocal with piano accompaniment, lyrics by Kume HIGASHI)
Gun Gokko (literally "Playing Soldiers," solo vocal with piano accompaniment, lyrics by Kume HIGASHI)
Suzume (literally "Sparrows," solo vocal with piano accompaniment, lyrics by Nobutsuna SASAKI)
Yuki ya Konko (solo vocal with piano accompaniment, lyrics by Kume HIGASHI)
Oshogatsu (solo vocal with piano accompaniment,lyrics by Kume HIGASHI)
Sayonara (literally "Goodbye," solo vocal with piano accompaniment, lyrics by Kume HIGASHI)
1902
Wakare no Uta (literally "A Farewell Song," for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass, lyricist unknown)
Mizu no Yukue (literally "The Water's Flow," for two sopranos and alto with piano accompaniment, lyricist unknown)
Araiso no Nami (literally "Waves at a Rocky Shore," solo vocal with piano accompaniment, lyrics by Mitsukuni TOKUGAWA)
1903
Urami (a piece for piano)
In addition, Taki arranged music by other composers.