200 Utaibon Noh Chantbooks.

$3,800.00

Item Number: 145827

Kyoto: Tsunenosuke Hinoki, 1943-1944.

A theatrical collection of exactly 200 Utaibon Noh chantbooks. Original wrappers with stitched binding, average of approximately 20 pp. each, title labels on rice paper, patterned paper covers, calligraphic text in red and black. All in very good to fine condition. Housed in a dedicated wooden case, which is in good condition with partitioning to one of the doors. From the collection of Mae Smethurst, a University of Pittsburgh professor who authored a groundbreaking book comparing Noh drama to Greek classical drama. An exceptional rarity.

Utaibon, or chant books, are a type of book focused solely on indicating chanting instructions, with no stage directions or dance choreography. Syllables are indicated by dots [sometimes called “sesame” dots], and detailed chanting instructions or musical notations, such as rhythm and pitch, are marked on the right side of the lines. As professional noh actors started to give lessons to aristocrats, warriors, and townspeople, practicing noh chant became one way of appreciating noh while serving as proof of training and personal accomplishment. In earlier days, amateur connoisseurs had to collect hand-copied manuscripts of utaibon, but the introduction of woodblock printing and movable type made mass production possible in later years. Koetsu utaibon show that the utaibon publishing culture matured so far as to produce a series of books aesthetically appealing to collectors, while their practical purpose is rather diminished. Utaibon with reasonable prices were also printed and widely circulated, again indicating how familiar people had become with regular noh chanting" (Hosei University's Noh Theatre Research Institute). "The most popular and important notation for Noh drama is the utaibon, which means ‘chanting book.’ Compared to a libretto, a utaibon contains the dramatic text of a Noh play with the indication of roles including the shite, waki, and jiutai. However, it does not include Interlude section between two acts, performed mainly by ai-kyogen, because the utaibon functions more like a chanting notation rather than a play script. Sung text is annotated on the right side of the notation with dot-like signs indicating how each syllable or line is sung" (Stanford University).