From Old Peking Folklore

Description

Violin, Piano — Commissioned by the “Friends of Today’s Music” program of the Music Teachers’ Association of California, my violin and piano duet FROM OLD PEKING FOLKLORE was completed in 2009, and premiered by students on July 5, 2009 at the MTAC convention in Santa Clara, CA.I spent 8 years studying composition in Beijing about 30 years ago. When I went back to visit the city, and toured the newly opened Capital Museum in recent years, I couldn’t help smiling when I saw everything in the exhibition that is so familiar to me. It reminded me of the folk music of the area, Jing Yun Da Gu, which is a kind of musical story telling, accompanied by a drum (played by the singer), which leads a small Chinese instrumental ensemble (the music is played in the style of the “speaking” singing).I used this musical language in the creation of my duet, in which the violin part imitates the fingering, bowing, style, and the spirit of Chinese traditional music and instruments. Combined with the piano accompaniment, my duet sounds like a short story told and sung in the form of the old Jing Yun Da Gu. Prolific composer Chen Yi began her musical career as a violinist, and she has now written a performance piece for the violin student, in loving tribute to her native Beijing. The violin's part in From Old Peking Folklore imitates the fingering, bowing, style, and spirit of traditional Chinese music and instruments, and is orchestrated in such a way that the duet sounds like Jing Yun Da Gu, the folk music of her home area. Commissioned by the Music Teachers Association of California as a competition piece. For advanced players. Duration: 5'