© 2000 Lawrence Tuczynski

Title	Music for the Stage Volume 4
CD Label	VAP Inc.
CD Number	VPCD-81156
Music by:	Akira Ifukube
Number of tracks	26
Running time	55:42
Number of discs	1
Year of release/manufacture	1996

REVIEW

March 10, 2000 Out of the four volumes of CD's in this series, I think I enjoyed this volume the most. For my tastes I found this disc had a better mix of styles and tempos. The CD starts off with a nice moving march, something not heard in the other three volumes. Track 23 on this CD has strains of music heard in many of Akira Ifukube's Science Fiction scores. Overall, for me, this was the most listenable disc in this four CD series.

English Title: Music for the Stage by Akira Ifukube, Volume 4 Japanese Title: Ifukube Akira Butai Ongaku Zenshu Daiyonshu: [The Life and Opinion of Masseur Ichi] (1972) 1. Act I, Scene I: The Teahouse at the Village Limits near Iioka 2. End of Scene I 3. Scene II: The Crowded Room in Sukegoro Iioka's House 4. Scene III: The Outbuilding at Sukegoro's House (That Night) 5. Act II, Scene II: The Path through the Bamboo Thicket 6. Act III, Scene I: Sukegoro Iioka's House 7. The Flash of the Hidden Blade 8. End of Scene I 9. Scene II: The Road (Nighttime) 10. Finale - The End [Yanagi (from "The Origin of the Ridge at Sanjusangendo Hall " *1] 11. Scene I: The Riverside Area around Oji 12. Heitaro's Determination 13. Goodbye, Yanagi 14. End of Scene I 15. Scene II: Heitaro's Residence 16. Naming the Child on its 7th Night after Birth: A Song of Celebration 17. Midorimaru *2 18. End of Scene II 19. Scene III: Heitaro's Residence 20. The Prayer: A Word in Stone 21. Goodbye, Heitaro 22. In the Flesh 23. Yanagi's Sorrow 24. Yanagi Disappears 25. Gidayu Ballad-Drama (M12) End of Scene III 26. Gidayu Chorus (M13) Scene IV: Near Oji by the Riverside ? Finale *1 The IMDb does not list this work, the Japanese title of which is "Sanjusangendo Mune no Yurai". *2 A boy's name.