Gentleness-suddenness : for mezzo-soprano, violin, percussion and piano

    Research output: Creative WorksComposition

    Abstract

    Gentleness-Suddenness: is a meditation on love and creativity inspired by and a fusion of texts drawn from the Chinese Opera tradition of Kunqu, specifically the Peony Pavilion, and Judaic-Christian biblical texts from Genesis, Psalms, Song of Songs and Revelation. The work is structured in two parts concerned with elemental themes. The first part, Water and Fire, is structured in one arc beginning and ending in silence with cathartic outpouring at the centre: the central static underpinning of Filipino gong music structure is at its heart. This movement explores a fusion of a contemporary avant-garde harmonic language with Southeast and East Asian modal sounds, Jingju and Cantonese Opera rhythmic movement, Jingju melodic shape and Cantonese vocal line inflections with musical gestures inspired by calligraphical painting. The second part, Spirit, is also structured in one arc. Beginning in stillness, the music builds to frenetic and raucous movement at the center, before subsiding back to stillness. Quiet understated moments permeated by fragments of Kunqu melody with Shang-tia mode-based interval-colour sonorities flank the center section; their resonances of interval-colour with vibraphone and Japanese Temple bowl resonances providing suggestions of the spiritual, creative and erotic stillness of "zhe yi sha tian" (this brief moment). Instrumentation: Mezzo-soprano (including clap-sticks), violin, percussion (1 player: kulintang, crotales, vibraphone, suspended cymbal, hi-hat cymbals, Peking Opera gongs [middle, high], Japanese temple bowl [high], k’kwaenggwari [suspended], ching [suspended], Thai nipple gong, bass drum, 1 Tom-tom [middle], 3 bongos [low, middle, high], wood block [suspended]), piano. Lyrics from the Bible (excerpts from Genesis 1, Psalm 42, Song of songs 8, Revelation 22), and excerpts from Tang Xianzu's "Peony pavilion." Excerpts from Tang Xianzu's "Peony pavilion" have been translated into English from the original Chinese by Lindi Li Mark.
    Original languageEnglish
    PublisherAustralian Music Centre
    Size1 score (12 unnumbered pages, 43 pages); 40 min.
    Publication statusPublished - 2012

    Keywords

    • music
    • scores
    • songs (medium voice) with instrumental ensemble
    • Tang, Xianzu, 1550-1616
    • musical settings

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Gentleness-suddenness : for mezzo-soprano, violin, percussion and piano'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this