"The Last Message" for male chorus and orchestra

Hans Walter Bähr, a German editor, appealed to the bereaved of soldiers of various nations who had died during the Second World War. Bähr’s request was to send letters and notes written by soldiers and other victims of the war, so that he could convey their voices to the world. In response to his request, more than 20,000 letters written between 1939 and 1945 were submitted. In 1961, out of the vast number received, Bähr selected letters written by 202 soldiers from 31 countries and edited them into a book titled Die Stimme des Menschen (The Voice of Mankind). This book was an earnest personal record of the hope and agony of the soldiers at the front, presenting vividly to readers the cruel reality of the war through their desperate voices. The letters ring with the themes of resisting force, protecting humanity, and preventing the endless cycle of the cruelty of war, as well as the endurance of family love.

I encountered Bähr’s book translated into Japanese by Mr. Kenji Takahashi under the title of Ningen no Koe (The Voice of Humanity) when I was studying music at the Tokyo University of the Arts. Since then, I have wanted to record these voices in my music for future generations. More than fifty years later I am now in the midst of this work.

In 2009, on the basis of Takahashi’s translation, Jun Maki, a copywriter, compiled thirteen letters from twelve countries into the lyrics for my composition “The Last Message”.

My composition was performed by the Roppongi Men’s Chorus Club together with the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Naoto Otomo, at Suntory Hall on June 22, 2011, and it will be performed again this year at Victoria Hall in Geneva, either on November 28th or 29th, hopefully with Swiss Romado, conducted by Maestro Naoto Otomo.

I sincerely hope that the thoughts and feelings of the soldiers guide us through my musical work to strive more diligently for the creation of a peaceful world.