Blooms Late When Spring is Gone...: For Solo Erhu

Research output: Creative WorksComposition

Abstract

Blooms late when spring is gone ... takes its departure point from Lindy Li Mark English translation of the Young Lovers' Edition Peony Pavilion in its discussion of the metaphor of the peony as late a blooming of the possibilities within the beauty of dreams. The ghost of the Chinese opera Kunqu tune "Zao Luopao" from the Peony Pavilion hovers about as sonority possibilities within a slow melodic unfolding to ghostly harmonic moments and energy, that reveals the bones of the tune and its sonority relationship to Japanese Gagaku harmony. Structurally, the first section has fragments of the tune appear with stretched still moments that gradually focuses to the second section's faster, energetic permeations of the material within horse-bowing sounds, vibrato and expressive slides as well as frenetically free high passages. Again, in the third section, ghostly versions of the Kunqu tune appear in sketchy harmonics which are propelled to a climactic fourth section of bends, vibrato and frenetic activity; these suddenly collapse to a returning dream-like breathy and still harmonics to close the work in a lingering way. This work has been performed at the multidisciplinary Australia-China Institute for Arts and Culture 2017 Poetic Energies by Ying Liu (erhu) and used in a film by award winning cinematographer/filmmaker Vincent Tay to promote the Institute’s Master of Cultural Relations: https://youtu.be/HMJO1l3DEK0
Original languageEnglish
Place of PublicationStrawberry Hills, N.S.W.
PublisherAustralian Music Centre
Edition2016
Size1 score (iii, 3 pages) ; 37 cm
Publication statusPublished - 2016

Keywords

  • er hu music
  • scores

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