Chorus
Choric（1880）The Classical Poetry of the Japanese, Trübner, London [EN]
- 13Towards the end of the fourteenth century, in the hands of the Buddhist priesthood, who during that troublous epoch had become almost the sole repositaries of taste and learning, arose the lyric drama, at first but an adaptation of the old religious dances, the choric songs accompanying which were expanded and improved.
- 25and even they, highly trained as they are in the ancient literature, usually bring with them a book of the play, to enable them to follow with the eye the difficult text, which is rendered still harder of comprehension by the varying tones of the choric chant.
- 39Operetta will not do, since the choric strains, which stimulate attention and intensify emotion with their staccato accompaniment, are subordinate throughout.
- 42Naturally enough, the choric songs became panegyrics of the reigning Shogun, and helped to embellish his Court pageants.
- 456The Japanese drama, too, has an interesting history. It can be traced back to religious dances of immemorial antiquity, accompanied by rude choric songs.
- 114and thisis doubtless the basis of the alternation orchoric dialogue.
- 119All the slow and beautiful postures, of the early dramatic portion invariably lead up to the climax of the hero’s dance Gust as the Greek had planned for the choric dances).