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Yün (1969)
| composer |
Chou Wen-chung (b. 1923) |
| performers |
Oberlin Wind Ensemble
Timothy Weiss, conductor |
| publisher |
C. F. Peters (BMI)http://www.edition-peters.com
|
| recording |
Live concert performance at Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Oberlin, Ohio, October 12, 2002 |
| duration |
11:31 |
Chou Wen-chung:
"Yün is based on the Chinese philosophic concept of art as the moment when 'the universe and the individual merge as one' (tien jen he yi). That is when macrocosm and microcosm resonate in sympathy. The title, Yün, is taken from the expression ch'i yün, the foremost principle in Chinese art, which means 'reverberation (yün) of the vitalizing force in nature (ch'i).' Some natural resonances are audible: wind and thunder, rain drops and cascades, frogs and cicadas, waterfalls and tidal waves. Other reverberations are not. The Taoist philosopher Chuang Tzu said: 'When it cannot be heard by the ear, listen with the mind; that is when nature and art merge as one.' This is perhaps best illustrated by the concept of hsieh i in Chinese ink paintings: The open space untouched by the brush is where the ideas are.
"Another concept that is responsible for the structure of Yün is yin/yang, which is best understood as 'the intertwining of positive and negative.' Born of the same source, the two opposites entwine -- complement, reflect, reshape and replace each other -- to become the whole.
"In Yün all the pitched instruments join in one single continuous line. The pitch succession follows the unfolding of a mode in perpetual transformation in accordance with I Ching principles, through permutations of yang (a single interval of a minor third) and yin (a succession of the component intervals of the minor third -- a major second and a minor second). Each new pitch in the progression is articulated on a single instrument and given nuances by means of repeated attacks, pitch inflections, slow vibratos, tremolos, or crescendo-diminuendos. This pitch is then sustained or rearticulated to resonate with other pitches. The percussion instruments join each other to form another line that interacts with the pitched line, again in a yin/yang relationship.
"The durations and the rhythmic figures in both lines are temporal reflections of the intervals, in ratios of 3:2:1 and their permutations. The directions and relative motions in the registral space within each line or between the two lines are also in the same yin/yang relationship."
The music of Chinese-American composer and teacher Chou Wen-chung (b. 1923) fuses traditional Chinese elements with Western musical techniques. He has written of his aesthetic:
"One must search beyond the procedures of a musical practice, discern its original aesthetic commitments, and trace how its tradition has evolved. If one is blessed with a cross-cultural heritage, one must then regard it as a privilege and obligation to commit the search in both practices."
Chou was born in Yantai, Shantung Province, China, and came to the United States in 1946 to study architecture at Yale University. Shortly thereafter he enrolled at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts, and studied music with Carl McKinley and Nicolas Slonimsky. Upon relocating to New York in 1949, he became Edgard Varèse's apprentice, assisting with music editing in exchange for composition lessons. Chou became the executor of Varèse's musical estate, preparing new editions of his music, reconstructing works based on sketches, and completing the unfinished work Nocturnal (1961/1973).
Between 1952-1954 Chou did his graduate work at Columbia University in New York City under composer Otto Luening, also serving as assistant to Luening and Vladimir Ussachevsky at the newly-created Electronic Music Center. He joined the faculty of Columbia in 1964 and later founded the Center for United States-China Arts Exchange (1978) and Fritz Reiner Center for Contemporary Music (1984), both of which he directed for many years. Chou's work at Columbia led to the creation of the first courses of Chinese and Asian music in the US, and provided the opportunity for many Chinese composers to study and work in the United States. He retired from Columbia in 1991.
From 1971 to 1975 Chou served as president of the record label CRI (Composers Recordings, Inc); his music is recorded on the Albany, CRI, Crystal, Telarc, and New World labels, and has been performed by orchestras and ensembles in the US, Europe, Japan, and China. Two retrospective concerts of his work were held in New York City in 1989 and 1993. He has received grants from the Guggenheim, Koussevitzky, and Rockefeller Foundations, the Cincinnati Award for Excellence, and the Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the government of France.
related websites
http://www.chouwenchung.org
The Oberlin Wind Ensemble is the student wind ensemble of Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio. It is currently led by Timothy Weiss, director of conducting and ensembles at Oberlin.
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