Masashi Yamamoto -The Bassologue Theatre-

3rd, June, 2025

ISB2025 Florida State University HMU114

Unaccompanied double bass recital.

The main piece will be the 30-minute theatrical masterpiece "ZAB," with my own composition. 

Featuring a variety of special techniques, the performance will be a contemporary work for solo double bass that is both visually and aurally fascinating.

<Program>

Masashi Yamamoto : Log (2025) ※World Premiere

Jacob Druckman : Valentine (1969)

Philippe Boivin : ZAB ou la Passion selon Saint-Nectaire (1981)

Log (2025) ※World Premiere

A solo double bass narration based on a Japanese poem in 5-7 rhythm. 5-7 rhythm is a syllable rhythm in waka and poetry, in which five-syllable phrases are repeated in order of 7-syllable phrases. The piece calls for a variety of tones and expressions, in reference to the five and seven colors.

Masashi Yamamoto

Double bass performer. Pursues original sounds and expressions as a contemporary player and improviser. Received the Kranichstein Special Award from the Darmstadt Summer Course and the 24th Keizo Saji Award. Grand Prize in the Contrabass & Electronics category at the ISB Composition Competition. Graduated from the Tokyo University of the Arts Faculty of Music. NATSUMEN bassist. Principal bassist of the orchestra Triptych, which specializes in performing works by Japanese composers.

Valentine (1969)

This contemporary work for solo double bass has probably been performed the most frequently since it was first performed in 1969. Not only did it break the previous 'rules' and 'traditions' and add a theatrical element to the piece, but it also 'reinvented' the score. Two further lines are marked below the stave, with an additional vocal stave above. The noteheads are white, black, circular, triangular, rectangular, or marked with an X; Respectively, all signifying different playing techniques. Instead of a set beat or tempo, the approximate elapsed time is shown in five-second intervals. Performers are required to read and express this overwhelming information on the score.

Jacob Druckman

 Born in 1928 in New Haven, Connecticut, about 74.5 miles east of New York, he began composing at the age of 15. He studied at the Juilliard School and the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris before teaching at the Juilliard School. He composed  many works for electronic music, orchestra, and small ensembles. This eventually led to him winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1972, and was composer-in-residence of the New York Philharmonic from 1982 to 1985.

ZAB ou la Passion selon Saint-Nectaire (1981)

Ever since I found out about the existence of this piece, it has always been in the back of my mind and I have been searching for the score at every opportunity. I tried to contact the composer, but it was not easy to reach him as he did not even have a website and did not appear on any social networking services. I first contacted the National Library of France, and after a month of waiting, I finally got an answer, but I could not get the score. I then asked several European publishers, but was at a loss as I could not get the answer I was looking for. Just when I thought I had run out of options, I was contacted by the composer himself and was able to get a copy of the score. However, there was a limit to our email communications regarding the mysterious technique described in the score, and I decided that I had no choice but to go and see him in person. In August last year, I visited Philippe Boivin at the end of an impossibly long mountain road between vineyards in the south of France. Together, we re-examined his work and learnt a lot that we would not have known without meeting him in person. He repeatedly told me that the work is marked by gestures, but that they are only one of the parameters of the music.

Philippe Boivin

Born in 1954. He studied musicology at Sorbonne University, harmony at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, and composition at the Ecole Normale with Max Deutsch. In particular, he explored new music technology with Ianis Xenakis at IRCAM. He also developed a unique computer-based composition environment. From 2008 to 2017 he was Director of the Music Educator Training Centre at the University of Aix-Marseille. He has composed works for a variety of formations, from solo to orchestra, and has received many composition and work awards.

A message from the composer at the Japan premiere (January 2024)

The Zab adventure began in the 80s with Frenchman Jean-Pierre Robert, the work's creator and dedicatee, who played it dozens of times across Europe, then recorded it at Ircam before making a film about it. Twenty years later, it was revived by the Norwegian Haakon Thelin, who wrote a doctoral thesis on it, analyzing the compositional process in detail. I waited another twenty years for Masash Yamamoto to contact me with a view to premiering it in Asia, thus joining the confidential circle of rare musicians who have dared to include Zab in their repertoire. It's true that tackling such a score is a real challenge for the performer,insofar as it requires extraordinary preparation and artistic　commitment.

Masashi was quick to realize that the numerous indications meticulously distilled through the score would not replace direct collaboration with the composer, so he decided to find out more from the source. I had the honor and pleasure of welcoming him to my studio in the hills of Luberon, a magnificent sunny region in the South of France where I'm lucky enough to live and compose in absolute serenity. Over the course of our long daily work sessions, I sensed, then became convinced, that this curious, demanding musician, with his unfailing technical mastery, was truly committed to restoring the profound essence of this piece, composed 40 years ago! I thank him from the bottom of my heart, and wish him every success in keeping with his magnificent commitment. In the beginning there was an idea!

This man alone with his instrument ... that he could make sing ... that he could hit ...

maybe even make him talk... It was therefore necessary to develop an architecture

that was both flexible and rigorous, capable of accommodating all kinds of content.

However, as I became more and more aware of the impact of GESTURE while working

with the musician, I was reminded that... In the beginning there was: "This man alone with his instrument...", and that it really did mean something.