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Seungchan Song, cello | Xu Zheng, guqin and vioce
November 5, 2023
Recorded in PAC 521, UMKC, Kansas City, MO
Long, Long the Pathway to Cold Hill
for Cello and Guqin with Vocal [6'28''] (2023 Recording Version)
When I am learning the ancient Chinese instrument guqin, I wrote this piece base on Han Shan's poem: Long, Long the Pathway to Cold Hill. I experimented some extended techniques on guqin, such as using bow while it is traditionally a plucking string instrument. The dialogue between guqin and cello is akin to a conversation between East and West. The voice reciting the poem alongside is a tradition for guqin performers. The form of the piece parallels that of the poem, portrays the tranquil yet desolate atmosphere of the winter in Cold Hill.
Long, Long the Pathway to Cold Hill
Poem by Han Shan (Tang Dynasty)
translated by Xu Yuanchong
Long, long, the pathway to cold hill;
Drear, drear, the waterside so chill.
Chirp, chirp, I often hear the bird；
Mute, mute, nobody says a word.
Gust by gust, winds caress my face;
Flake on flake, snow covers all trace.
From day to day, the sun won't swing;
From year to year, I know no spring.
杳杳寒山道
唐• 寒山 （？-？）
许渊冲 译
杳杳寒山道，
落落冷涧滨。
啾啾常有鸟，
寂寂更无人。
淅淅风吹面，
纷纷雪积身。
朝朝不见日，
岁岁不知春。
After the Wind
for Flute, Piano and Percussion [7'59''] (2023)
After hiking in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska for the Composing in the Wilderness Program, I was touched by the ancient landscape of nature, reflecting on how human activities could affect the nature we both physically inhabit and spiritually rely on. I quoted the last birdsong of the Kaua'io'o which was believed to be extinct since 1987. The seven miniatures are based on the seven phrases from my poem that I wrote in Alaska.
Leslie Hisman, flute | Abby Foehrkolb, percurssion | Beth Chirstensen, piano
September 15, 2023
White Recital Hall, Kansas City, MO
After the Wind
Poem by Xu Zheng
After the wind, trees gently rustle
The water ripples, with birds gracing
The clouds drift, sketching shadows on the mountain
After the human footprint, flowers are being named
Some birdsongs are becoming extinct
The construction, is it noise or music?
After the dust settles, shall we hear the echoes?
Evan J. Nelson, baritone | Martin Mendez, percussion
April 18, 2023
Diastole Scholars’ Center, Kansas City, MO
The Road is Faraway and Endless
The Road is Faraway and Endless
for Baritone and Percussion [8'53''] (2023)
The journey towards our dreams is never easy. For the ancient Chinese poet Qu Yuan, it was about finding the truth of life. Qu Yuan’s famous line: "The road is faraway and endless, I shall search high and low nonetheless" (路漫漫其修远兮，吾将上下而求索) has been great source of encouragement for those who are facing difficulties along their way to their dreams. We keep pursuing, going further and further, as far as we can.
路漫漫其修远兮
吾将上下而求索
战国 • 屈原 (前342年2月17日—前278年6月6日)
郑栩 译
The Road is Faraway and Endless,
I shall search high and low nonetheless.
By Qu Yuan (c. 340 BC – 278 BC)
Translated by Xu Zheng
for String Quartet with Optional Vocal [17'10''] (2020)
In Modern Standard Chinese phonetics, there are four tones, denoted by diacritic symbols above the vowels. For the four movements of the String Quartet Xing, I represented these four tones as motive pitch contours and formal outlines. Additionally, I selected one character example from each tone of “Xing”, and poems and proverbs where these characters appear as programmatic connotations and inspirations.
Ilvina Gabrielian, violin | Joseph Chan, viola | Diana Unruh, cello | Xu Zheng, vioce
April - May, 2021
Recorded in Studio 412, KU, Lawrence, KS
Aleyna M. Brown, flute | Luke Ellard, bass clarinet | Liz Fleissner, oboe | Kaitlin Miller, harp
February 11, 2020
Merrill Ellis Intermedia Theater, Denton, TX
Qingming (Tomb-Sweeping Day in the Spring)
Qingming (Tomb-Sweeping Day in the Spring)
for Flute, Oboe, Bass Clarinet and Harp [4'57''] (2019)
I was inspired to write a piece depicting the scenes of the Qingming festival while studying the harp technique in the spring of 2019. It begins with the scene of buds and plants sprouting, followed by rain, which gradually becomes more intense. Then, the nostalgic theme illustrates a recollection of the ancestors, and suddenly, comes the thunder. When night falls, the spirits dance on the tomb until dawn breaks with a clear sky.
Imitation
Imitation
for Baritone and Piano [4'24''] (2018)
This composition was inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s poem Imitation, a work that contemplates the fleeting and elusive nature of artistic expression. Poe’s musings on the interplay between creation and imitation served as a springboard for exploring the connection between voice and piano in this piece. The poem delves into the tension between the artist’s yearning for originality and the inevitable influence of the past, a theme that resonates deeply with the process of composing music.
Brax Darrow, tenor | Jialin Liu, piano
November 25, 2019
Swarthout Recital Hall, Lawrence, KS
Imitation
Poem by Edgar Allan Poe (1809 – 1849)
A dark unfathomed tide
Of interminable pride —
A mystery, and a dream,
Should my early life seem;
I say that dream was fraught
With a wild and waking thought
Of beings that have been,
Which my spirit hath not seen,
Had I let them pass me by,
With a dreaming eye!
Let none of earth inherit
That vision on my spirit;
Those thoughts I would control
As a spell upon his soul:
For that bright hope at last
And that light time have past,
And my worldly rest hath gone
With a sigh as it pass'd on
I care not tho' it perish
With a thought I then did cherish.
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