Ikuma Dan: To the People of Mino (1950) [Jpn & Eng sub]

Ikuma Dan [團伊玖磨] (1924~2001, Japan)
美濃びとに
To the People of Mino
00:00 1. Poems うた
02:11 2. Autumn 秋
03:28 3. Stillness 閑か
05:32 4. To the People of Mino 美濃びとに
07:19 5. Sparrow's Dance 雀おどり
poems by Hakushū Kitahara [北原白秋] (1885~1942, Japan)
English translations are from "Japanese Song Collection Vol. 33: Ikuma Dan I," Ongaku-no-tomo-sha.
*Verses 5 and 6 of the 5th song are my translation
1. うた [Poems]
うたはただほのぼのとの、
[A poem is like a faint perfume,]
よいにほひでの、
[A faint and delicate perfume,]
さいたばかしのはなのやうでの、
[Or like a lovely flower　　That's just burst into bloom.]
しなのたかい、いきづかひでの、
[Like a dainty breath of rarefied air,]
それはさびしいたましひのほほゑみでの、
[Or like the fleeting smile of a lonely soul in despair,]
さうありたいとおもふがの、
[A poem, a poem is all these things,]
みなさまどうぢやの。
[Think you not so? Think you not so?]
2. 秋 [Autumn]
鴫が立つ、
[Covey of snipe,]
鴫が立つ、
[Snipe rising,]
ただそれのみの秋でおりやるよ。
[And what is Autumn, but this: A covey of snipe rising?]
おりやるよ、のう、
[And what is Autumn, but this?]
そこな坊さま、
["O priest there, holy friar,]
いそがしやれよと、風も通つた。
[Hurry, o hurry along,"　　Said the wind, passing by.]
3. 閑か [Stillness]
曇り日の
[Fluffs of willow down,]
あるかないかのそよ風に、
[Floating and drifting upon the Summer air;]
ほうつほうつと楊(やなぎ)の絮(わた)が飛ぶわいの、
[Wafted, wafted in the hazy stillness,　　Wafted who knows where?]
かはせみの巣のあたりまで往たわいの、
[Fluffs of willow down. One drifted into a kingfisher's nest,]
かはせみは居らなんだよ、
[But there was not one kingfisher there,　　No, not one,]
ただ、いたちが疱瘡で寝てゐた。
[Only a weasel laying in its lair!]
4. 美濃びとに [To the People of Mino]
ほうい　ほうい
[Hoy, hoy!]
ほうい、
[Hoy, hoy!]
霧が濃いぞ、
[O how deep the mist,]
鶫よ。
[Little brown thrush.]
5. 雀をどり [Sparrow's Dance]
雀、雀、と蔑(おと)しめしゃんな、え、
[Despise us not, although we merely humble sparrows be,]
どうせ、しがない雀ぢやとても、よ、
[For even sparrows, wretched miserable sparrows we,]
せめて歌はにゃこの日が経たぬ。
[We too must sing,　　We too must sing or elese this life we could not bear.]
ありゃせ、こりゃせ、
[Aryasé, koryasé,]
ありゃ、りゃん、りゃん、りゃん、りゃん。
[Arya ryan, ryan, ryan, ryan.]
せめて歌うたら日は経たうけれど
[For if we dance and sing, this weary life will soon be done,]
一羽一羽ぢゃ寂しうてならぬよ、
[But what's the use of one poor sparrow singing all alone?]
連れ衆よびたや、誰か友ほしや。
[So I must seek　　A love, seek a lady love, and then we two shall be a pair.]
ありゃせ、こりゃせ、
[Aryasé, koryasé,]
ありゃ、りゃん、りゃん、りゃん、りゃん。
[Arya ryan, ryan, ryan, ryan.]
せめて二羽なら慰みませうが、
[And then we shall no longer lonely be, for we are two]
馴れてしまへば夫婦もいややよ、
[But marriage is but care and strife and loneliness anew.]
寂し、うるさし、辛なるばかし。
[But care and strife　　And new loneliness, for marriage is new loneliness, alas!]
ありゃせ、こりゃせ、
[Aryasé, koryasé,]
ありゃ、りゃん、りゃん、りゃん、りゃん。
[Arya ryan, ryan, ryan, ryan.]
寂し寂しで世はわたられず、え、
[But thinking only of our loneliness is hardly wise,]
頭まろめて澄ましてゐよと、え、
[With shaven head, like holy priest, we must philosophise;]
空ぢゃ寒風、また、笹の雨。
[For in the sky　　A cold wind is blowing, and the rain falls in the bamboo grass.]
ありゃせ、こりゃせ、
[Aryasé, koryasé,]
ありゃ、りゃん、りゃん、りゃん、りゃん。
[Arya ryan, ryan, ryan, ryan.]
どちら向いても笹藪ばかり、
[In either direction, there was nothing but the bamboo grass]
空は高いし、地面(じべた)は暗し、よ、
[But the sky is too high and the ground is too dark.]
昔や遠いし、足腰ゃたたず。
[The old days　　It's too far away, and my legs and feet are already weak.]
ありゃせ、こりゃせ、
[Aryasé, koryasé,]
ありゃ、りゃん、りゃん、りゃん、りゃん。
[Arya ryan, ryan, ryan, ryan.]
命ゃ短し、どうなるものぞ、え、
[Life is very short, what's gonna happen now, hey you?]
ままよ踊らにゃこの日が経たぬ、
[Don't care! If you dance, the days will pass anyway.]
さあさ、踊りませう、雀のをどり。
[Come on, you!　　Let's forget everything and do the sparrow's dance together.]
ありゃせ、こりゃせ、
[Aryasé, koryasé,]
ありゃ、りゃん、りゃん、りゃん、りゃん。
[Arya ryan, ryan, ryan, ryan.]
Harue Miyake [三宅春恵], soprano
Yoichi Miura [三浦洋一], piano
Released: 1960
Composed in 1950 to five poems by Hakushū Kitahara, this song cycle is a perfect crystallization of Ikuma Dan's superb sense of sound and intuitive grasp of phonemes, and was premiered by Harue Miyake. Although the songs are relatively short, his rich musicality is packed into a condensed form.
―1. Poems
The delicate world of Hakushū Kitahara's unique sense of language is beautifully combined with Dan's sense of sound. Miyake and Miura's excellent breathing is a joy to listen to.
―2. Autumn
This piece is also penetrated by an exquisite sense of sound. The extremely acute sense of rhythm given to "Covey of snipe..." at the beginning is superb.
―3. Stillness
A refreshingly fine piece in which an expressive melody is sung all at once against a background of delicate dispersed chords that conceal a sense of quietness.
―4. To the People of Mino
A long, breathy, Vocalise-like melody with a gentle melisma is sung against a backdrop of deep, submerged, meditative chords.
―5. Sparrow's Dance
A comical song with a light rhythm designated as an Allegro scherzando. It is a verse song up to No. 6, and is interesting in that it is sung quickly and without pause. Again, Miyake and Miura's well-controlled and exquisite technique was excellent.
from TA-9311 "Songs of Ikuma Dan" package

[@classicalongakulovers7252]

Dan's other vocal works with eng & jpn subtitles in my channel
Six Songs for Children (1945)
ua-cam.com/video/LaKCz1DOulg/v-deo.html
Five Fragments (1946)
ua-cam.com/video/CmnQERM0aik/v-deo.html
My Songs (1947) [tenor ver.]
ua-cam.com/video/LOJgsL3aY3o/v-deo.html
My Songs (1947) [soprano ver.]
ua-cam.com/video/72r0vs0b50s/v-deo.html
Four Poems by Sakutaro Hagiwara (1948)
ua-cam.com/video/fYVOOwagAyE/v-deo.html
Flowery Town (1947)
ua-cam.com/video/O7zYn-H7D_Y/v-deo.html
Lullaby (1950)
ua-cam.com/video/rrDa1gQ8TLQ/v-deo.html
Journey (1951)
ua-cam.com/video/xLkAKVkQSgQ/v-deo.html
Aria "Yohyo, oh my darling, my beloved Yohyo" from "Yūzuru" (1951/56)
ua-cam.com/video/txt4P7u-96c/v-deo.html

[@tomaccino]

Ohh, thank you for the translation! I wouldn't know what is she singing.