Teuchi Uta
| Date Composed: | 2015 |
| Composer: | Aki Takahashi |
| Premiere Performance: | November 28, 2015 – Fleck Dance Theatre |
This is a work song for taiko players. We sing to prepare ourselves and pray for everyone’s health and prosperity. The voice is also an instrument, we use it to imbue our words with extra meaning. We put our hands together to invoke the gods that our wishes might be fulfilled, and also to drive away any evil spirits.
In Japan, we didn’t have the custom of audience applause before the 20th century. Instead, we traditionally had the custom of TEUCHI; a Japanese custom of ceremonial rhythmic hand clapping. The purpose behind TEUCHI is to offer gratitude to the people who organized and managed an event.