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EARS of the BOOK
Concerto for Pipa and Orchestra
(2023)
ISSUU Version For Perusal Only
EARS of the BOOK
Concerto for Pipa and Orchestra
(2023)
ISSUU Version For Perusal Only
Co-commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and the Carnegie Hall
Concerto for Pipa & Orchestra
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Written for Wu Man
DUR. ~ ca. 20‘
Score in C
First Performance:
Feb 29, 2o24 Carnegie- Zankel Hall
The Knights, with Wu Man soloist
Music Director: Eric Jacobsen
INSTRUMENTATION
2 (2nd dbl. picc)2.2（2nd dbl. b.cl）2 (2nd dbl. c.bsn) / 2.2.1.1/ 2 perc, hp / solo pipa (amplified)/ strings
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Pipa should be amplified and with moderate reverb according to the hall/situations.
A good sound mix between the pipa and the orchestra is thus necessary.
PERCUSSION I:
Brake Drum
Chinese Cymb
3 Woodblocks
2 Bongos
4 Tom-Toms
Bass Drum
Tam-tam
Vibraphone (with bow)
PERCUSSION II:
4 mixing bowls
Metal Plate / or Resonate Metal Object
2 Almglocken
3 Cloud Gongs
Trash Stack China Cymbal with Holes 12 inch -14’ inch, with a metal chain to be placed on top
Big Metal Can with foot pedal (or: old-fashion metal garbage can)
1 Tom Bass Drum
Two-octave Crotale (with bow)
co-commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Detroit Orchestra, and the Carnegie Hall
Ears of the Book 聽
書
Concerto for Pipa and Orchestra Written for Wu Man
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The soloist is the narrator of the story. We listen to her, telling us encounters that fan out like folds of skin.
Ears of the Book, footnote of a paragraph.
Shu-er, 書⽿, a word used in the ancient Chinese book binding technique, in literal translation, means the ear of the bookmark where titles of each section would be notated.
Rather than dividing into movements or sections, I saw polaroids of scenes shot. Each Polaroid, a snapshot in an emotive mosaic. As in our daily life, these polaroids appear unexpectedly on the streets, on our kitchen counters, in our key holders dish bowls, scattered around deep corners of our living space, we see the moments frozen in time, and our memories relive them, yet again, for us. Our lives, intertwined threads never broken.
The work begins with whi s of the Nanyin, a Fujianese opera style (from southern China). It is my own footnote of a sonic state with which I resonate.
These sonic moments ebb and flow quickly with the orchestra and morph into other lands before taking their own shapes An interjection, a migration to an elsewhere.
Thank you to Wu Man, for giving me inspirations on the pipa. More importantly, together we attempted to work against the grains of the pipa, finding new territories for this instrument to venture into. And so, we decided together, for the Chinese title, the ears of the book could also mean an intent listening to the stories, of the frozen polaroids that are yet to be told.
- Du Yun, Dec 2023 Shanghai, China
Performing Notes
The piece is divided in Polaroids (sections).
• TRILLS: All the trills a semitone up, unless otherwise stated in the score
• GRACENOTE: All gracenote played before the beat
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• Crescendos with an arrow at the end suggests an emphasized sudden dramatic increasing of the dynamic towards the end
GENERAL into random , fast, and irregular notes, to be played wildly, with much abandon WOODWINDS
Overblown; to create the higher octave
§ From the designated single note turning into a random multiphonic; often noisy. It’s okay if the fundamental of such multiphonic cannot be achieved based on the turning note. The key point here is morphing from a single note into a random noisy multiphonics.
§ Clarinet: Lip bending flowing the shape. Keep the notes, lip bending flowing the shape; changing from bending down to back to the notes, sustain, then back bending again.
Brass:
• trumpet: shake extremely high pitch trill, while moving the valves; furiously fast
Air Noise: no concrete pitch， with much motion
Blown Air: is a singular exhale
STRINGS
To Scratch
To De-scratch
Circular Bowing
- Wide vibrato: a very exaggerated wide vibrato, sometimes within a third interval.
Rapid Vibrato: quick and wide much faster than the wide vibrato, and wider than the quick vibrato
Quick Vibrato: faster than the normal vibrato
Rapid Vibrato quick and wide much faster than the wide vibrato, and wider than the quick vibrato
Erractic Vibrato: suggests to freely change the speed of a vibrato theatrically, and as well as changing the width of the vibrato.
• Vibra gliss. do a continuous vibrato gliss.
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Left hand pizz, with right hand pizz across the strings, like an arpeggio
Contrabass prepare stick (timpani mallet, or long chopsticks) to strike the strings.
Percussion: all should be played in l.v., unless a muffling sign indicated afterwards.
Harp:
• holding the pedal halfway between two positions
• prepare a strip of paper
CONTENTS
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Polaroid 1 ………… A Mist ……………………………… p. 1
Polaroid 2 …………. Teardrops …….…………………. p. 3
Polaroid 3 …………. Sudden Wave…………………… p. 6
Polaroid 4 ………….. A Wild Beast………………….…. p. 16
Polaroid 5 Crisp Air p 27
Polaroid 6 Fear of Cloud p 34
Polaroid 7 A Return p 47
Polaroid 8 …………… Marigold ……………..………..… p. 50
Polaroid 9…………… An Infinite Well………....…… p. 58
Polaroid 10…………. I Have Heard……….…….…….. p. 64
V o o n c e l o
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& o o o & › o & - G sf œ#œ œ #œ œ
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