close
Home > Nakamura, Mihoko > Moon Rabbit

Nakamura, Mihoko : Moon Rabbit

Work Overview

Music ID : 18255
Instrumentation:Piano Solo 
Genre:Various works

Commentary (1)

Author : Ueda, Yasushi

Last Updated: April 21, 2020
[Open]
Note: This article is automatically translated from the original Japanese text. The author of the original work did not supervise this translation.

A short piece drawing its theme from Japanese folklore related to the moon. While featuring Ravel-esque harmonization, the melody evokes a certain Japanese flavor, likely due to the use of the Aeolian mode. At the beginning, the main motif, enveloping like moonlight, is presented in a chorale-like manner, but immediately thereafter, a motif of triplets and dotted rhythms appears. This active motif seems to correspond precisely to the movements of a rabbit. The middle section (m. 9) inherits the initial motif and the idea of dotted rhythms, leading to the introduction of a new melody. This new phrase dialogues with the inner voice melody (mm. 11-12). As soon as the piece modulates as if drifting far from the earth, an unexpected rhythmic disruption (mm. 19-20) occurs, adding a unique charm to the flow. The theme no longer returns to the original key but is recapitulated in a mode centered on B-flat. At this point, two main motifs are heard simultaneously (m. 30). From m. 37, which corresponds to the coda, the piece proceeds mostly stably in the original key, but along the way, the rabbit reappears with staccato notes.

Writer: Ueda, Yasushi