Chamber Music Dizi, Erhu, Piccolo, Zheng SKU: PR.11441684S For Dizi, E...(+)
Chamber Music Dizi, Erhu,
Piccolo, Zheng
SKU:
PR.11441684S
For
Dizi, Erhu, Pipa, And
Zheng. Composed by
Chen Yi. Premiered at
Weill Recital Hall in
Carnegie Hall in New York
City. Traditional. Full
score. With Standard
notation. Composed 2014.
36 pages. Theodore
Presser Company
#114-41684S. Published by
Theodore Presser Company
(PR.11441684S).
UPC:
680160625253. 9 x 12
inches.
On the
occasion of its 30th
anniversary, the ensemble
Music From China
commissioned Chen Yi for
a new work, which became
Three Dances from China
South, scored for Chinese
instruments. Its three
descriptive movements
(Lions Playing Ball,
Bamboo Dance, Lusheng
Dance) are each inspired
by folk dances from the
southeastern provinces of
China.
My chamber
ensemble work Three
Dances From China South
is commissioned by Music
From China tocelebrate
its 30th anniversary, and
scored for Chinese
traditional instruments
dizi, erhu, pipa, and
zheng. The commission
has been made possible by
the Chamber Music America
Classical
CommissioningProgram,
with generous funding
provided by The Andrew W.
Mellon Foundation, and
the Chamber Music America
Endowment Fund. Â The
world premiere is given
at Weill Recital Hall in
Carnegie Hall in New York
City, on November 21,
2014. Â My Three Dances
From China South is
dedicated to Susan Cheng,
the founder and Executive
Director of Music From
China, to celebrate the
30th anniversary of
MFC. There are three
movements in my Three
Dances From China South
for dizi, erhu, pipa, and
zheng. Â Thematerial in
the first movement Lions
Playing Ball is drawn
from a folk tune played
in the
accompanyingensemble for
the folk dance under the
same title in Chaozhou
region in Guangdong
province. Â The image
of the folk dance is
vivid and entertaining.
 The movement includes
several variations on the
theme. Â The variation
methods are inspired by
the various rhythmic
patterns used in the
traditional ensemble
playing. The melodic
material features a
special mode with a
tritone interval taken
from the folk tune.
 There are also
lyrical sections with
polyphonic layers in the
variations.The music in
the second movement is
inspired by the folk
Bamboo Dance, which is
popular in Li
minoritypeople from
Hainan Island in the
south. Â The aged old
folk dance is for ritual
ceremony and harvest
celebration in the
history, in which there
are pairs of people
holding the ends of the
long bamboo rods and
clapping them loudly in
stable pulse, for groups
of dancers to dance
between the bamboo shapes
on the floor, in musical
rhythms and ensemble
patterns. Â A musical
motive with a jumping
interval and articulation
is used throughout the
movement.The third
movement is called
Lusheng Dance. Â I have
witnessed the folk dance
performance of the Dong
minority people in
Guangxi province in the
1980’s.  The
exciting scene inspired
me to imitate the large
lusheng ensemble playing
style in my ensemble of
four Chinese instrumental
musicians without using
the sheng (a wind
instrument with metal
pipes that is popular in
concert music, and
similar to the folk
lusheng). Â On top of
the rhythmic patterns, I
imitated a two--voice
folk song of Zhuang
minority people in the
same province. Â The
melody is played by the
leading erhu and
dizi.—Chen Yi.