From the Distant Plains II
for chamber ensemble
(2010)
- Duration 10'
- Instrumentation flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano
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Commission
and Premiere Commissioned by Toshio Hosokawa and the Takefu Music Festival. Premiered on August 25, 2010, Takefu, Japan, by the Next Mushroom Ensemble.
Excerpt from a performance by Ensemble Pamplemousse
Program Notes
This piece is written for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano. It is a suite in three movements. The first musical idea of this piece comes from Mongolian folk music—a Jew’s Harp song, which is sung by a male vocalist, who hums a low base note while producing higher partials at the same time. This unique and fascinating vocal sound makes me imagine far more than one single male singer: horse-fiddle playing, green plains under the blue sky, flying eagles, running sheep, racing horses… young girls’ love songs. Another idea is also from Mongolian music: the “ Long Tune,” which is imitative polyphony of long melodic lines, sung by solo singers. The charms of the Long Tune are the microtonal ornamentations and nuances each singer improvises while they repeat the same main melody. In the middle section, there are very fast agitating rhythms, which reflect the excitement felt around the fire dances at night on the plain.
– Wang Lu
