Tsuchi No Uta: Cantata for Mixed Chorus and Orchestra (混声合唱とオーケストラのためのカンタータ『土の歌』) is a cantata composed by Jin Satou (佐藤 眞, Satou Jin), with lyrics by Atsuo Ohki (大木 惇夫, Ohki Atsuo, real name: Gun-ichi Ohki 大木 軍一). This masterpiece was commissioned by the Victor Company of Japan in 1962.

"Tsuchi No Uta" is pronounced tsoo-CHEE NO WOO-TAH, meaning "song of the earth" or "song of the land" in Japanese.

Overview[edit]

True to its name, Tsuchi No Uta is specifically composed for performance by mixed choirs accompanied by a symphony orchestra. It premiered under the baton of Hiroyuki Iwaki with a mixed chorus performed by the Philharmonic Chorus of Tokyo and an orchestral performance by the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo.

Tsuchi No Uta gained widespread recognition through its later arrangement for piano accompaniment. Notably, its final movement Daichi Sanshou (大地讃頌, "ode to the earth") has become a standard song sung at choir competitions and graduation ceremonies in Japanese school education, particularly in middle schools. The piece gained prominence across Japan because it was first featured independently in the Atarasii Watashitachi No Gasshoukyokushuu (新しい私たちの合唱曲集, "our new choruses"), a choral music collection published by Kyouiku Geijutsu Sha (教育芸術社) in the early 1980s, and has since been included in various publishers' scores.

Various arrangements of Tsuchi No Uta have been made, including versions for male choir with piano accompaniment by Motoyasu Tamada (玉田 元康, Tamada Motoyasu, a former member of Bonny Jacks) and Jun-ichi Hirano (平野 淳一, Hirano Jun-ichi), and a male choir version in 2008 by the original composer, commissioned by the Waseda University Glee Club, a male choral club at Waseda University.

Since its premiere, Tsuchi No Uta has undergone several revisions, most notably the orchestral version was reduced from four woodwinds to two, and some movements were transposed and published as a piano accompaniment version to better suit the vocal range of amateur choirs. The movements Noufu To Tsuchi (農夫と土), Sokoku No Tsuchi (祖国の土), and Tenchi No Ikari (天地の怒り) were transposed down by a minor second, and the movement Daichi Sanshou (大地讃頌) was transposed down by a diminished third (as a result, the 38th bar in Daichi Sansho has an F#2 note sung by the tenor together with the bass).

Movements[edit]

The keys used are from the current versions: the 2009 revision and the male chorus version.

I. Noufu To Tsuchi (農夫と土, pronounced NOH-foo toh tsoo-chee, meaning "farmers and the earth")

This movement starts in A major, temporarily modulated halfway to F# major. It describes the wonder of nature's blessings and gratitude to the land.

II. Sokoku No Tsuchi (祖国の土, pronounced SO-ko-koo no tsoo-chee, meaning "the land of the homeland")

This march-like movement, featuring frequent modulations, conveys the idea that we all come from the earth and return to it.

III. Shi No Hai (死の灰, pronounced SHEE no hai, meaning "ashes of death")

In F minor, this movement features themes of nuclear weaponry to depict the darker aspects of humanity and science.

IV. Moguramochi (もぐらもち, pronounced mo-goo-rah-mo-chee, meaning "moles")

Similar to the third movement, this movement also features themes of nuclear weapons, ironically drawing a parallel between humans and moles. It includes a solo tenor part.

V. Tenchi No Ikari (天地の怒り, pronounced TAYN-chee no ee-KAH-REE, meaning "wrath of heaven and earth")

In E minor, this movement depicts natural disasters and human evils.

VI. Chijou No Inori (地上の祈り, pronounced chee-JO NO yee-NO-REE, meaning "prayer on the earth")

In G major, this movement expresses awe of the earth and prayers for peace.

VII. Daichi Sanshou (大地讃頌, pronounced DA-ee-chee SAN-SHOW, meaning "ode to the earth")

In B major, this movement concludes the cantata with a peaen of endless praise to the earth.

Main article: Daichi Sanshou

Episodes[edit]

• Initially, Seiji Ozawa was to conduct the recording with the Philharmonic Chorus of Tokyo and the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo, but due to a conflict between Seiji and the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Hiroyuki Iwaki took over the conducting.
• In 1970, the version for four-part mixed chorus with piano accompaniment has not been commercially available. It was included as a bound-in supplement in several volumes of the music magazine Gasshoukai (合唱界, "world of chorus"). The publisher of the magazine later sold the bound copy of the insert with a cover made of a sheet of gray Japanese parchment. This score is the original version of the current version of Tsuchi No Uta.
• In 1971, the Suginami Mixed Chorus in Sugunami ku, Tokyo performed all movements of Tsuchi No Uta at its first annual concert. Since then, only the final movement has been actively sung at school events at junior high schools and high schools in Suginami ku and neighboring areas, leading to its separate inclusion in the choral score collection published by Kyouiku Geijutsu Sha.

Daichi Sanshou Copyright Issue[edit]

In 2003, the jazz instrumental band PE'Z released a jazz arrangement cover of Daichi Sansho as a single CD Daichi Sanshou and included it in the studio album CD KIWAMARI ZUKI (pronunced kee-WAH-MAH-REE dsoo-kee) with permission from the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers, but the composer filed for a temporary injunction to stop sales with the Tokyo District Court the following year, claiming infringement of arrangement rights and right of integrity. In response, PE'Z and Toshiba-EMI Limited, the publisher of the CDs, reached an out-of-court settlement with the composer by stopping shipments of the CDs^[1]. KIWAMARI ZUKI was later re-released with a song that replaced Daichi Sanshou.

Footnotes[edit]

Notes and References[edit]

External Links[edit]

• Interview with the composer^{[dead link]}