The President of the Honganji Foundation, Reverend Chôjun Ôtani, Master of the Jôdo Shinshû Buddhist School and direct descendant of Master Rennyo, himself a descendant of Shinran, the School's founder, wanted to bring together his illustrious ancestor and another emblematic figure from French history: Joan of Arc, in his book ‘La Pucelle et le bonze’. Sharing the same determination to devote their lives to the service of an ideal that transcended their tormented times, these two historical figures, driven by faith, not only left a lasting mark on the history of their country, but also remind us of the universality of the values that guided their actions.
In a spirit of fraternal reunion between Japanese and French cultures in the prestigious Galerie Dorée of the Banque de France, with the support of the Embassy of Japan in France and the Franco-Japanese Sasakawa Foundation, this project mirrors the musical representations of these two exceptional destinies with singular resonances. Master Rennyo will be summoned to the sound of traditional Japanese instruments, providing a link between classical culture and our own time, while the key moments in the life of Joan of Arc will be re-enacted through excerpts from operas featuring her.
Originally scheduled for 11 March this year, the event was also intended to commemorate the victims of the earthquake that devastated the Fukushima region on exactly that day ten years ago. When we reschedule this autumn, we also want to dedicate it to the many victims of the Covid-19 pandemic that has been hitting the world for almost two years now.
Programme
Rennyo Part
Bell - prayer
Improvisation
Hiroaki Ogasawara (Song and dance) - Daniel Lifermann (Shakuhachi)
Fukuda Teruhisa
Tamuke Jibotan
Daniel Lifermann (Shakuhachi)
Miyagi Michio
Mushi no uta (Cricket Song) Mieko Miyazaki (Koto)
Yoshizawa Kengyō
Chidori no kyoku
Mieko Miyazaki (Koto) - Daniel Lifermann (Shakuhachi) - Hiroaki Ogasawara (Dance)
Joan of Arc Part
Gioachino Rossini
Cantata: Giovanna d'Arco (1832) Text: anonymous author
Air : O mia madre, e tu frattanto la tua figlia cercherai
Recitative: Eppur piange
Air : Ah, la fiamma che t'esce dal guardo già mi tocca, m'investe, già m'arde
Franz Liszt
Scène dramatique Joan of Arc at the stake S293 ‘Mon Dieu! J'étais une bergère’ (1876) Text: Alexandre Dumas
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Excerpt from the opera ‘La Pucelle d'Orléans’ Aria ‘Adieu, forêt