Band Concert

As the end of school year is approaching, there are many "last" events. Here's the last concert of the band Rio is in at school. She is the principal flutist, and her teacher gave her a solo part for this song.

学年度の終わりが近づいてきています。今回はバンドのクラスの最後のコンサート。
リオはフルートセクションのリーダーなので、この曲ではソロを担当しました。



This song is called "New Dawn". It is about the bombing of Hiroshima from the Americans' point of view (those who were on the plane delivering the atom bomb). The song is sectioned with different headings, laying out the story. It starts out with "Sleepless Night", followed by "Countdown", "Difficult Takeoff", "Runway Cleared", "Preparing Little Boy" ('Little Boy' was the term used for the bomb), "Release", then "8:16", which was the time that the bomb detonated. The next part was titled "Rain", then "Time Frozen", "Return Flight", "Heroes' Welcome" (Rio told me that this heading bothered her because she didn't feel that it was morally right to call the people who killed thousands of innocent people "heroes"), and lastly, "Sleepless Night" again. Rio's solo started in the section "Time Frozen". Her part is supposed to sound like a Japanese flute playing, while the realization of what America has just done to the Japanese sinks in to those who released the bomb. She told me later that she was extremely nervous, since this was her first real solo with her band class.

I think she did a great job. I think we made her extra nervous by sitting on the second row, though. I also think that this band has a great percussion team. They are quite good.

この曲名は「新しい夜明け」。広島原爆がテーマの曲です。アメリカからの視点でとらえられていて、曲が各セクションに分けられています。最初は「眠れない夜」、そして「カウントダウン」、「困難な離陸」、「滑走路クリア」、「原爆投下の準備」、「原爆投下」、「８時１６分（原爆時刻）」、「雨」、「止まった時間」、「帰路」、「ヒーローの歓迎」（リオは原爆を落とした人達をヒーローと呼ぶ事にかなり抵抗を感じる、と言っていました。）、そして再び「眠れない夜」で締めくくられます。

リオのソロは 「止まった時間」の出だし部分。日本の笛を思わせるような音色で、アメリカ人が原爆投下の事実に改めて気が付くという意味合いを持っています。
リオはかなり緊張していたそうですが、うまく演奏できたと思います。

It's a little sad that Rio's middle school is ending. Two years passed so fast.

リオの中学校生活ももうすぐお終い。ちょっと寂しいです。