TOKYO: 31st May '04 --  July 15th will be the 125th year since the birth of Servant of God Vincent Cimatti, born in Faenza, Italy, in 1879, died in Chofu, Japan, October 6th 1965, after 40 years of intense activity as missionary - and musician, in Japan.  It staggers the mind to realise that he conducted over 2000 concerts in Japan, Manchuria, North Korea and South Korea, leaving some 950 musical compositions, amongst which the three act Opera "Hosokawa Grazia", first performed on 24th January 1940.  Cimatti was 80 years of age when he completed work on this Opera.  In 1963 the Emperor of Japan bestowed on Monsignor Cimatti the highest civil honour available to private citizens.

 

Now some of Japan's finest musicians, amongst whom the pianist Oguri Katsuhiro, have taken up the task of orchestration with a view to preserving the original character of Cimatti's work which, in his own words, combines "melodies purely Italian in type, naturally adapted to local colour and interwoven with characteristic features of Japanese melody".  The completed work will be performed on 9th October 2004 in the Tokyo Operacity Concert Hall, under the patronage of the Ambassadors of Italy and Vatican City, and the Italian Institute of Culture.

 

The libretto for the Opera was the work of Herman Heuvers from Sophia University (Jesuits) Tokyo and based on the Kabuki theatre of that day.  The orchestration at the time was completed, then directed, by the noted Japanese Maestro Yamamoto Naotada (father of Yamamoto Naozumi for the music afficionados amongst our readers).  The basic story is one dear to the heart of the Japanese.  It concerns Hosokawa Grazia, heroine from the 1600's, daughter of the Oda Nobunaga's killer and famous for her beauty.  As well as remaining faithful to her husband, she prefers to die rather than fall into the hands of her enemies.

 

The massive organisation behind not only the October performance, but the management of all things 'Cimatti', is Fr. Gaetano Compri SDB, himself in his 50th year as a missionary in Japan.