Chamber Ensemble Mirage Matthew Lam
The music is inspired by mirage, and the composer aims not only to depict mirage in this piece but also to explore various timbre and effects for chamber Chinese music ensemble.
The structure of the music is very simplistic, in ABABA form. In A sections, harmonics are ubiquitously employed by the plucked string instruments and the bowed string instruments with the compositional technique of aleatory music, aiming to describe the mirage. As the music develops, the main melody would slowly appear. B sections are constructed upon 6 chords, and sheng takes the leading role. The 6 chords are not traditional triads, for example, one of them is a quartal harmony which only consists of perfect 4ths. By this, the music could build is unique momentum which could not be achieved by conventional harmony. Lastly, it is worth mention that in the first half of the music, the composer avoids using pitches from the lower register to facilitate a floating feeling. Lower register pitches would only appear in the latter part of the music to match the music’s development.
- Matthew Lam
Tranquility Wong Ching-yin
Thoughts and ideas will brew when one stays quietly in a certain space. In order for these thoughts to take shape, they must be supported by physical space. Alternating between “space” and “thoughts”, the music toes the line between fantasy and reality. As we journey through various spaces, we can look forward to the kind of thoughts and emotions that gradually develop or suddenly blossom into being.
- Wong Ching-yin
Epiphyllum Tam Yat-sing
Refreshingly fragrant, the epiphyllum flower blooms only at night for a brief time; it gives it the nickname “Beauty under the Moon”. The music envisages a chance encounter with blooming epiphyllum flowers, and is divided into four sections: Shadow of the Moon, Faint Fragrance, Dance of the Spirits, and Beauty under the Moon.
- Tam Yat-sing
Renovated Tradition – Mysterious Rain, Dance Austin Leung
Renovated Tradition is a suite, with each short piece featuring some traditional elements, but in many ways, also attempts to break free from them. Mysterious Rain and Dance are two short standalone works.
Mysterious Rain forms different textures by employing the different tonal colours within the configuration of a Chinese orchestra. The short, dynamic passages have a subtle, transformative quality to them.
Dance carries a light and brisk rhythm and features a melody that is alternated between the orchestra and the solo instrumentation. Although the piece has very traditional elements, its development introduces possibilities for tonal changes in a Chinese orchestra.
- Austin Leung
I Dreamt I Saw a Sunken Sea Wu Kwan-yu
The theme and conceit of I Dreamt I Saw a Sunken Sea are based on scenes that the composer saw in his dreams. An effort is made to describe a space created from the sea and the night with modern music techniques and its obscured and mysterious mood. The piece consists of two short movements. The first, The Nightingale, builds on string clusters linked by cantabile melodies from the winds and plucked-strings, creating a dimly lit environment; the second movement, The Sunken Sea, is made up of fragmentary passages that depict the sea in its various states seen from different angles and perspectives, before it closes with everything sinking into the pitch black depths.
- Wu Kwan-yu
Night Thoughts Leung Hong Yu
I got woken up again
Fragmented thoughts kept flashing through my mind
The same memories filled my head
Bustling
Crumbling away like rust
I’m tired
I got woken up again
The fragmented thoughts surfaced once more
The same memories came flooding back
I’m tired
I got woken up again
The fragmented thoughts surfaced once more
The same memories came flooding back
I’m tired
I got woken up again
- Leung Hong-yu
