| NOTA |
()(The Noh Plays of Japan survive as a magnificent artistic heritage handed down from the great cultural and spiritual achievements of medieval Japan. They were created during a period of Japanese history when the lofty spiritual ideals of Buddhism were exerting their profoundest influence on Japanese society. This book contains expert renditions of ten of the most important Noh plays, preserving much of the Buddhism flavor of the originals. They can now be enjoyed for their great literary merit, besides giving the reader an understanding of a unique theater art and important insights into the cultural, spiritual, and artistic traditions of Japan. Combining the elements of the dance, miming, music, and chants, Noh plays may be described as lyrico-dramatic tone-poems, in which the text has a function somewhat similar to that of the libretto in a Wagner or a Debussy opera. The significance of the action, the beauty of the verse, and excellence of the music and singing are designed toLopen the earLof the mind, while the miming and dancing awaken the emotions of the spectator andLopen his eyesLto that supreme form of beauty which is the goal of all aesthetic expression. Especially characteristic of Noh is a certain half-revealed or suggested beauty, at once elusive and meaningful, tinged with wistful sadness. This book of ten complete Noh plays in excellent English translations makes it possible for the Western reader to appreciate this unique literary quality, and of course it will be found invaluable by those who have the opportunity to attend an actual Noh performance.) |
BASE de DATOS, Biblioteca del Centro Cultural de la Embajada de Japon
Print Page