Concerts in Wellington, Beijing and Sheffield have presented a programme of four works for guzheng and piano trio (violin, cello and piano).
Dylan Lardelli : Shells
DYLAN LARDELLI: Shells from SOUNZ on Vimeo.
Shells presents a performance world where the gestures and actions of the musicians have largely been emptied of sound content. This produces an intentional distant sound world, where the semblance of musical shapes wash between stronger block like interruptions
Jeroen Speak : Serendipity Fields
JEROEN SPEAK: Serendipity Fields from SOUNZ on Vimeo.
Serendipity Fields is the final product of two years of work focused on writing for Western and Eastern instruments. This is the 3rd version of the piece. The work is very much based on earlier works from my studies in China and Taiwan in which I attempted to incorporate elements of complex gesture informed from my interest in ancient guxin notation. My main aim is in placing the main emphasis on the underlying gestures of the music rather than discret pitch, while at the same time working within a recognisable (Western) notational approach. Some of the material is derived from the oldest surviving manuscript of jianzipu (減字譜) called Jieshi Diao Youlan (碣石調幽蘭第五), ‘Solitary Orchid in the Stone Tablet Mode’, composed in the 6th century. For more information about this please read Jeroen’s article ‘Music Gesture and Language’
Dorothy Ker : Time Bends in the Rock
DOROTHY KER: String Taxonomy from SOUNZ on Vimeo.
Time Bends in the Rock is a development from String Taxonomy composed in 2016 and performed in Wellington and Beijing. A sonic alchemy amongst the four instruments emerges through shared gestures, so that bowing, plucking, striking and bending are no longer what distinguishes them. The title is taken from a line of a poem by NZ poet Denys Trussell.
Gao Ping : Feng Zheng
GAO PING: Feng Zheng from SOUNZ on Vimeo.
In 2016, I composed Feng Zheng (Kite) at the request from the NZTrio. The work has four movements with titles that somewhat describe the shape of the piece:
I. Still Clouds II. The Breeze III. Breaking the Air IV. Broken Line
The ancient Chinese invented the Kite. Being made of paper and resembling the shape of a hawk, it was originally called “the paper hawk”. It is one of the favorite outdoor pastimes as well as an activity that gives the body a fair amount of exercise. There is another pleasure in flying a kite, lost in the modern time: the sounds it makes in the air. In ancient times, a bamboo tube was installed at the tail of the kite which made a Zheng-like sound when wind going thorough it. Therefore, it is also called Feng Zheng (Wind Zheng) a term that is commonly used now. It is regrettable that such an enchanting feature is no longer in existence. However, a Zheng playing among the clouds can be still well imagined!
Kite used to be flown often in the Qingming festival which is a time the Chinese pay respect to their deceased family members and their ancestors. The kite is the carrier of their best wishes to the dead. The spiritual yearning in addition to the rigorous physical activeness gives kite flying a feeling of tenderness that is also robust and healthy.
My “Wind Zheng” is dedicated to a dear friend who is no longer with us, Jack Body, the great New Zealand composer. I have entrusted my emotions for Jack to the wings and sounds of the kite. A motive made of Jack’s name (jACk BoDy)) appears in the beginning and the end of the piece.
I have a friend who used to be mad about making and flying kites. He used to write as many names of his friends as he can remember all over a kite. When the kite reaches greatest height, he cuts off the line and let the kite drift freely. In occasion, a person would pick up his kite and recognize his or her own name on it in great amazement! In fact, the idea for the last movement “Broken Line” came straight out of this anecdote.
Is it possible that Jack would meet my free drifting kite somewhere?
(GAO Ping)
the following new works were were workshopped and performed in the 2023-2024 collaboration with Forum Music (Taiwan), with concerts in Taipei and the uk:
Jeroen Speak : Water Song
Water song, for guzheng and vibraphone was written to exploit ideas inspired by traditional Taiwanese folk song, as discussed in the article here. There are 3 movements forming a symmetrical form with both outlying movements exploring the complete range of the guzheng, while the vibraphone provides harmonic clarity and ‘acoustic assistance’.
Silk Dialogues 絲的對話 