r18novel Page 200
Page 200
Just then, someone gently tugged at his sleeve. Kitahara Hakuba turned his head and saw that it was Kanzaki Eri.
"What's wrong?" Kitahara Hakuba asked softly.
Eri Kanzaki reached out her hand and said in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, "Help me tie my ponytail."
3
Kitahara Hakuba looked at the wrinkled headband in her palm, while the song "Children and Magic" in his ears gradually came to an end.
He had no choice but to pick up the headband so as not to waste any more time.
Eri Kanzaki obediently turned around, without grabbing her hair first, as if she wanted him to do it for her.
Kitahara Hakuma first placed the hairband in his hand, then touched her earlobe with his right hand, and tied all her long hair in his palm.
Just as he was about to tie her up, the girl suddenly spoke.
"Not very skilled yet..."
"Sorry," Kitahara Hakuba said helplessly, "It's alright."
Kanzaki Eri gently swayed her ponytail and said to Kitahara Hakuba:
"nice?"
"Ah."
A delicate moan escaped from Kanzaki Eri's slender neck, her small mouth slightly upturned, and she turned back to the group.
Yuka Isomoto looked at Eri Kanzaki, who had tied her hair into a single ponytail, with a hint of envy, and raised her hand to touch her shoulder-length short hair.
She also wanted Kitahara Hakuma to help her tie her hair into a ponytail, but unfortunately, the length wasn't long enough.
At that moment, Asahikawa High School's performance ended, and the audience erupted in applause.
Sakurako Yukawa hurriedly raised her hand and shouted in a sharp tone, lowering her voice:
"Everyone! Get ready to go on stage!"
At the same time, the male emcee's clear and melodious voice came through the loudspeaker:
"The above is the tenth performance, by the Sapporo branch representative, the brass band of Sapporo Municipal Asahikawa High School."
Each member waited with a serious expression for the curtain to rise.
"Next up is a performance by the Hakodate Shin-Asahi Private High School Concert Band, number eleven, representing the Hakodate branch."
As the broadcast reached my ears, the curtain in front of me was pulled back.
There was no dazzling light, but rather a profound silence, as if it were a completely different world from the concert hall where music and applause had previously filled the air.
Kitahara Hakuba walked at the front, with only a small light on the ceiling, barely enough to illuminate the path beneath his feet.
He stood beside the command platform, watching his subordinates take their seats in the usual order.
Some members were so nervous that they sat in the wrong seats, but luckily someone reminded them and they quickly changed back.
Kitahara Hakuba looked down at the packed audience and heard indistinct whispers that sounded like ethereal voices coming from the depths of the ocean.
The members took their seats one by one. Kuno Tachibana looked at the whispering audience in front of him through the dim light and said in a low voice, "You must do your best in the solo performance."
Nagase Tsukiyo keenly caught the girl's faint voice. She turned her head, first with some surprise, then with a sense of relief, and said:
"must."
Kuno Tachibana looked up at the ceiling, which was only lit by one lamp, and said:
"I must go nationwide and audition again to secure your spot."
Nagase Tsukiyo couldn't help but smile: "I won't lose to you."
Just as Kuno Tachibana was about to retort, suddenly, the light bulbs on the ceiling lit up slowly at a visible speed, until they illuminated the silhouettes of everyone on the stage.
The brass instruments shone brightly under the lights, and everyone stopped whispering, staring blankly ahead.
"The fourth group, the Shin-Asahi Private High School Brass Band, will perform designated piece No. 1, as well as a free piece, 'The Tears of Princess Kinoda in the Hii River' composed by Taruya Masatoku, conducted by Kitahara Hakuba."
As the emcee introduced him, Kitahara Hakuba clasped his hands in front of him, bowed to the audience, and then stood on the conductor's platform.
A round of applause erupted from the audience, but it vanished completely in less than five seconds, handing the concert hall over to the orchestra on stage.
Kitahara Hakuba faced the members of the brass band, his gaze sweeping over their faces. With his usual gentle smile on his face, he raised his hands, and the brass and woodwind instruments simultaneously rose up.
Kitahara Hakuba first raised his baton high, and then quickly brought it down. In that instant, the sounds of all the brass and woodwind instruments burst into the air, producing the same melody as the marimba.
At the same time, everyone blew out the same notes from the bugle.
Immediately afterwards, the piccolo, oboe, and bassoon leave the main stage, leaving the clarinet and saxophone to slide into the lower tier of brass instruments, playing a supporting role without overshadowing the main instrument.
Gradually, the timbre intensifies and the tempo quickens, with the brass accompanying the main melody of the theme "Raise the Flag," intertwining with the delicate secondary melody of the woodwinds.
After a high-pitched vibrato from the brass section, the roles of brass and woodwinds are reversed, with the brass taking a backseat, leaving only the bass and trombone sections to slide into the woodwind section's domain.
The sweet and captivating tones of the woodwind instruments resonated throughout the entire concert hall.
The judges in the front row looked at the Shenxu Wind Band on stage with great surprise. No one knew the strength of each school better than them before the competition.
Kitahara Hakuba's gaze fell on Suzuki Yoshie, the piccolo player closest to him on his left, and he gestured that he was about to begin his solo.
Soon, the piccolo’s melodious tone filled the stage, and the vibrato and legato techniques were handled perfectly, seamlessly transitioning between syllables.
Kitahara Hakuba suddenly swung his arms wildly, and at the same time, a massive array of musical notes burst forth, their volume exploding unexpectedly.
Finally, he raised his right hand high, reaching the rest on the high notes of the instrument.
Gradually, the room fell silent again. The three-minute-plus piece of music had already left them drenched in sweat.
The members of the percussion club, not daring to slack off, quickly changed positions.
The audience was stunned. Other schools had also played the theme song, but none had handled it as perfectly as Shenxu High School.
Kitahara Hakuba took a shallow breath, giving them a few seconds to catch their breath.
Then, he raised his arm and slowly lowered the baton.
Freestyle, "The Tears of Princess Kinada of the Fii River".
The wind chimes, accompanied by the clear and transparent solo of the flute, gently sounded, followed by the other woodwinds playing a melancholic and dreamy main melody, without a trace of impurity.
The air seemed to carry a sweet scent.
It wasn't until the extensive addition of brass instruments that the overlapping and colliding of notes produced a magnificent quality, like a slow-cooked stew.
Kitahara Hakuba waved his baton rapidly, and the rhythm of the woodwind instruments quickened accordingly.
The girls' fingers pressed back and forth rapidly on the piston.
On fast-paced pieces, keeping up with the score is a difficult task.
Even so, because of extensive practice, each note had been processed by Kitahara Hakuba hundreds of times, they were able to play the notes on the beat perfectly.
The initial grasp was very steady, without the slightest flaw in the sound.
The woodwind polyphony at such a fast pace was nothing short of a miracle; even the judges couldn't help but gasp in astonishment.
They hadn't heard a school play "The Tears of Princess Kinada of the Hii River" in a competition for a long time.
This piece is extremely difficult. The school that recently won a national gold medal with this piece is called Seiryo Girls' High School.
They are a top-tier school in the country, and even though they won gold, some judges felt that the performance was not handled well and gave them a B grade.
In the post-match interviews, many people cried because of this "B".
And right now, the Shin-Asahi Brass Band is being handled perfectly; if this could continue...:
Just as the judges were muttering to themselves, the second part of the song began.
Accompanied by the sound of a harp, the clarinet played by Sakura Kawakami began.
The soft whispers, sparkling like stars, faded away as everyone lingered, the clarinet's tone beginning to fade...
Just as the sound was about to fade away, brass and percussion instruments completely took over the stage, their sudden bursts of sound seeming to transform into sharp swords, piercing through people's skin and stabbing into their violently beating hearts.
Tenkai So, who had been striking the war drum, was completely focused on his work, his gaze constantly shifting between the drumhead and Kitahara Hakuma.
Immediately afterwards, Yutian Yumai's marimba emerged, unusually controlling the main melody with percussion in a single measure.
The other instruments add layers to the sound.
Suddenly, all sorts of instruments burst forth, the dazzling brass instruments emitting a tremendous volume, intertwining with the woodwinds in a fierce confrontation.
Kitahara Hakuba's arms swung rapidly. He could feel everyone's focus, and for the first time, he experienced what it meant to perform.
No wonder music is so captivating.
The music gradually builds in intensity, then suddenly falls silent, leaving only the bass horn's lingering notes stretching and settling down.
In the third part, the woodwinds repeated the monotonous main melody, and Nagase Tsukiyo felt that everything in front of her was dazzling, as if all sorts of things were radiating a charming light.
They made eye contact; they met Kitahara-sensei's gaze.
We're almost there.
Wow, twelve minutes is almost up.
Nagase Tsukiyo placed the mouthpiece to her lips, and at the same time, Kanzaki Eri, who was about to have a SoIi with her, also put the reed into her mouth.
Everyone in the brass band relaxed and their eyes were fixed on the two of them.
As Kitahara Hakuba's baton fell, the sound of the oboe, like a spring breeze lingering in Hokkaido, flowed through everyone's eardrums.
The timbre, so powerful it penetrates to the heart, is truly astonishing.
Soon, the trumpet's tone slid into the spring breeze, singing deeply with it.
Eri Kanzaki's tongue played a continuous, smooth melody, and Tsukiyo Nagase responded with a gentle and moving playing.
Her gentle and moving voice brought hope to Fei Yichuan's world, and even the flowers and plants regained their color.
The two worked together seamlessly, and in that instant, Kitahara Hakuba's baton suddenly swung upwards, bringing the performance to its final climax.
The instruments burst forth once more, accelerating! Sweeping! The crescendo seemed poised to engulf everything!
Sweat flew from Kitahara Hakuba's forehead, refracting the sunlight falling from above.
As the conductor's baton suddenly stopped, everyone froze for a moment, and the concert hall was filled with absolute silence.
At this moment, the members of the wind band, drenched in sweat, all realized one thing: summer was about to end.