Disc Classica
Kiyoshiro Imawano - Poulenc: Babar the Elephant - Japan CD
Kiyoshiro Imawano - Poulenc: Babar the Elephant - Japan CD
CD
Classical Music
May 2, 2012
Will usually ship within 1~5 business days of receiving cleared payment.
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Catalog No.: DCJA-21022K
JAN/ISBN: 4560280410242
Number of Discs: 1
Country/Region of Manufacture: Japan
Credits:
Kiyoshiro Imawano
Description:
The picture book *Babaar the Elephant* was published in 1931 by French author Jean de Brunhoff (1899–1937). The story of a baby elephant who, after losing his mother, goes to town, is cherished by humans as he grows up, and eventually returns to the forest to become the king of “Elephant Land” was loved by children as soon as it was published. It has been translated into many languages and remains one of the treasures of children’s literature to this day. (Japanese translation by Sumiko Yagawa, published in 1974 by Hyoronsha) The musical story “Babar the Elephant” was composed in 1940 by Francis Poulenc (1899–1963) for narration and piano, after his relatives’ children asked him, “Could you set this book to music…?” (It was completed in 1945. Due to the war, the project was put on hold; however, one day after the war ended, when he was asked, “What ever happened to that Babar?”, he was surprised that they hadn’t forgotten about it and immediately set to work on the composition. Furthermore, the names of those nine children are inscribed on the title page of the score, to which the work is dedicated.) I had the idea to create an album of this masterpiece—both the story and the music—featuring a Japanese narration, which didn’t exist at the time. I asked Aki Takahashi, who had just completed the “Complete Piano Works of Satie,” to perform the piano part, and she graciously agreed. However, I struggled with choosing a narrator. Eventually, I met with Sumiko Yagawa, the translator of this book, to discuss the matter. She suggested, “Since it’s a ‘story of a boy’s growth,’ it should be a man—and if possible, a dad…” Then, from the list of candidates I presented, she chose Kiyoshiro Imawano without hesitation. Thus, the first Japanese-language musical story, *Babaar the Elephant*, which was finally released in 1989, became an unprecedented hit for a classical work. (The combination of classic masterpieces paired with unexpected pop narrators—such as Sanma Akashiya’s *Peter and the Wolf*, Heiwa Tatematsu’s *Satie*, and Koichi Makigami & Demon Kogure’s *The Soldier’s Tale*—became the defining characteristic of the subsequent *First Steps in Classical Music* series.) Unfortunately, due to illustration copyright issues, no additional pressings of this album were possible afterward, and as a result, it remained out of print for a long time. Now that those issues have been resolved, and thanks to the generosity of EMI Music, the album is making its comeback on our label for the first time in about 10 years. (Tomoshi Senba, Disk Classica Japan; former producer at Toshiba EMI) Disk Classica Japan
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