Fantasia on the Theme of Plum Blossom for string quartet
Fantasia on the Theme of Plum Blossom for String Quartet
梅花操的迴響
I. Fantasia
暗香疏影
II. Ten Thousand Blooms
萬花競放
III. Plum Blossoms
釀雪爭春
The musical material of this piece is loosely derived from a popular Nankuan melody, Plum Blossoms. Nankuan, a traditional style of southern Chinese/Taiwanese music, dates back to Han and Tang Dynasty. This melody serves as a basis for all three movements. In the fantasia like first movement, the Nankuan melody is first subtly introduced in a fragmented and motivic way. By the end of movement, a longer continuous melody appears. The second scherzolike movement takes the faster and active passages from the first movement as a basis for playful and energetic music. The rich and elegant Nankuan melody is most apparent in the lyrical, contrapuntal final movement.
Fantasia on the Theme of Plum Blossom for string quartet is dedicated to Nai-Yuan Hu and the Formosa Quartet. This commission was made possible, in part, by support from the Caramoor International Music Festival; it received its World premiere on June 28, 2007 at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts.
< 梅花操的迴響> 取材於南管曲──「梅花操」，並運用於所有三個樂章。
第一樂章──「幻想曲」，只有動機點綴、輕輕暗示；第二樂章──則由相同的動 機 皮、充滿活力的形容「萬花競放」；而情韻深遠的「梅花操」旋律要等到最後 第三樂章才會猶如「釀雪爭春」般優雅呈現。
Duration: ca 15 minutes
for Nai-Yuan Hu and the Formosa String Quartet
Fantasia on the Theme of Plum Blossom for string quartet
梅花操的迴響
I. Fantasia
暗香疏影
* number of attacks within the indicated duration is left to the discretion of the performer. All grace notes should be clearly articulated and played on the beat.
Shih-Hui Chen
Copyright © Trigon Music Press 2007
II. Ten Thousand Blooms
with expressive and elegent gesture, imitating pipa