CD - 100 Years of Song
日本の歌百年―日本の旅路　三

Charlotte de Rothschild, the soprano, who continues to introduce Japanese songs onto the world stage, has a new CD, "100 Years of Japanese Songs – Japanese Journeys III", which was put on sale in early September by Nimbus Records. Rothschild, who has been singing Japanese chansons and songs, including some for children, since 1991, looked happy when she said "I never thought I would be issuing a fourth CD!".

"100 Years of Japanese Songs" brings together songs by 12 Japanese composers from the early 20th century to the present day. Many of the lyrics are by leading poets of the Showa era. Rothschild's singing style is gentle, delicate and yielding, and it brews up a profound flavour, but the best way to describe it is probably to say that it excels in "human expression". It is an album which brings to mind a "Japan" which we Japanese had forgotten.

In some cases one only grasps the meaning of the elevated language of the Showa poets when one listens to the song while reading the words, and others cannot be understood without knowledge of the historical background. One example is "Rokkyu" (music by Yamada Kosaku, words by Kitahara Hakushu), which is about villagers in Fukuoka Prefecture who are descended from the Heike. Rothschild expressed the last phrase of this song "The bell rings" as if steeped in the sound of a temple bell. The children's song, "Song of the Shoshoji Temple's Tanuki", is light-hearted, and the arrangement by Stuart Calvert, a conductor of musicals, is brand new. It is as if, thanks to Rothschild, from the depths of a chest of drawers a treasure has been taken out, the dust has been shaken off, and new life breathed into it, so that the famous melodies even now draw close beside the listener and give comfort and courage.

On 31 August, an extremely hot day, at the Nippon Tokushu Togyo Shimin-kaikan Forest Hall ( Nagoya), I listened to the soprano recital given by the soprano Charlotte de Rothschild, who is a member of the famous British Rothschild family. The event was held to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of Min-on, and it also marked 20 years in which Rothschild and Min-on have enjoyed a long cooperation. The Nagoya concert was the first of a Japanese tour around 11 different places. The hall was filled with a large audience who were looking forward to her performance.

The concert started with "On the Wings of Song" composed by Mendelssohn. When Rothschild came slowly onto the stage in a lustrous, deep-pink dress, the whole audience gave an involuntary gasp of delight. As if in gentle acknowledgement, Takeuchi Hiroaki at the piano began to play with a light arpeggio, and Rothschild's carefree voice flowed through every part of the large hall. The programme of 21 songs, which took "End of Summer" as its theme, was skilfully designed to knit together different genres, old and new, East and West. The first half contained works with a Rothschild connection, and she herself held the microphone and provided a commentary in perfect Japanese. This made her performance even more interesting, not only because of her deep thoughts about the works connected with her family, but also because she communicated directly the spirit of hospitality towards guests, so characteristic of someone from such a great family. Among the songs, "Romance" and "Butterfly", composed by her great-grandmother, Mathilde de Rothschild, who was a pupil of Chopin, were beautiful works which brought to mind the refined French songs of the first half of the nineteenth century. In this concert, when she used five languages, I was struck by her beautiful French intonation, in which she mixed gently voiced consonants and nasal vowels rich in shadows; it created an elegant space as if one was listening in an aristocratic salon of the nineteenth century. After that, starting with the "Mikado", a famous example of japonisme, she continued with Japanese songs, and the second half also contained a rich programme.

Among sopranos, Rothschild possesses the kind of light and lyrical voice which is called "lirico leggero". Her breath control technique was outstanding, and both the coquettish tone with which she sang children's pieces and playful songs, and her kaleidoscopic expressiveness which comes from a precise interpretation of the works, were attractive.

Wrapped in elegance and refinement, but at the same time possessing the intimacy and pleasure of talking with a friend, this concert enveloped the hall with warmth and gave full satisfaction.

日本の歌を世界の舞台で披露し続けるソプラノ歌手シャーロット・ド・ロスチャイルドの新しいCD「日本の歌百年～日本の旅路三」が、ニンバス・レコードより９月初旬新発売となった。９１年から日本の歌曲、唱歌、童謡などを歌い続けてきた彼女、「まさか４枚目を出すとは思わなかった」と嬉しそうだった。

「日本の歌百年」には、２０世紀初頭から現在に至るまでの日本の作曲家１２人の歌が収録されている。作詞は昭和を代表する詩人達によるものが多い。ロスチャイルドの歌唱ぶりは優しく繊細で素直、深い味わいも醸しているが、「人間表現」に長けていると形容した方が的確だろう。日本人が忘れてしまった「日本」を喚起してくれるアルバムだ。 　昭和の詩人達の格調高い日本語は、歌詞を見ながら聴いて初めて意味がわかる場合もあり、また歴史的背景を知らないとわからない歌もある。例えば山田耕筰/北原白秋作《六騎》は、福岡県に住んだ平家の落人たちのこと。ロスチャイルドは、この曲の終わりのフレーズ「鐘が鳴る」では寺の鐘を染み入るように表現。童謡「しょうじょう寺のたぬきばやし」は軽快、ミュージカル指揮者スチュアート・カルバートによる編曲も斬新だ。ロスチャイルドを介して、タンスの奥から宝が取り出され、埃が払われ、新たな息吹が吹き込まれた名曲群は、今も聴き手のすぐ側に寄り添い、慰めと勇気を与えてくれる。

　並行して彼女は１９～２０世紀の知られざる英作曲家たちの作品を掘り起こす地道な活動も弛まなく続け、今回はヴォーン・ウィリアムスの弟子セシル・アームストロング・ギブスの膨大な作品集CD４枚セットを「ザ・ソングス」としてリリース。同時に１枚のダイジェスト版「ディスカバー・ザ・ソングス・オブ・C・アームストロング・ギブス」もリリース。ロスチャイルドは曲中に内在する人々を生き生きと引き出すストーリーテラーのように歌う。 未知への旅路のような、これらのアルバムはピアノ伴奏者エイドリアン・ファーマーとのコラボレーションであり、今後も期待できそうだ。

ロンドン＝山形優子フットマン（レコード芸術２０２２年１０月号/海外楽信より)