Three Bagatelles From China West

Description

Flute, Piano — The EIGHT VISIONS anthologyIn 2005, flutist Marya Martin approached Meet The Composer with a visionary proposal to commission eight composers to write medium-length concert works culminating in a full-length gala premiere concert, a CD, and a published anthology of new music for flute and piano, choosing composers to provide a diverse and engaging group of works that ensures a meaningful encounter with the music of our time.Ms. Martin and Meet The Composer together crafted an approach that aligned perfectly with MTC’s initiative to encourage individual patrons to become actively involved in commissioning new music, and MTC played a key role in coordinating the project as it went forward. The eight resulting compositions by Kenji Bunch, Chen Yi, Ned Rorem, Paul Moravec, Tania León, Eve Beglarian, Melissa Hui, and David Sanford represent not only important new additions to the repertoire, but also serve as a point of departure for teaching tools on instrumental technique and compositional thinking. Collectively, they offer students a unique opportunity to build a progressively deepening relationship with the music of eight living composers.On March 29, 2007, Marya Martin premiered all eight works at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, and subsequently recorded them for the Naxos label. Theodore Presser Company released the complete anthology in May 2009, and followed with this “single” in February 2010. The complete EIGHT VISIONS anthology remains available separately from Theodore Presser Company (414-41193), and Marya Martin’s CD of the eight works, performed with pianist Colette Valentine is available on Naxos 8.559629.About Chen Yi’s work, Marya Martin writes, “I tried to take myself out of the zone of normal Western flute playing in Chen Yi’s THREE BAGATELLES FROM CHINA WEST, experimenting with different tone colors and using different vibrato speeds to achieve a more authentic sound. At the premiere, I played this on my wooden flute, a modern instrument with a more mellow sound and less well-defined articulation than my regular gold flute.”A note from the composerThe authentic folk music from China West has amazed and inspired me to write this piece, which has folk music elements drawn from these sources: the solo piece SHANGE DIAO played on the wind instrument called Lerong, the musical pattern played on the small mouth wind instrument Kouxian of the Jingpo People, the solo piece NAI GUO HOU played on the wind instrument Bawu, the pitch material sung in the folk song ASHIMA of the Yi People, the folk song DOU DUO, and the sound effect of the Lusheng ensemble playing of the Miao People.An alternate version of THREE BAGATELLES FROM CHINA WEST for 2 flutes is published separately (414-41193B). Theodore Presser Company presents popular composer Chen Yi’s contribution to Marya Martin’s Eight Visions anthology, a trio of Chinese folk songs entitled Three Bagatelles from China West, written for flute and piano. Chen was inspired by authentic folk music from China West and this work consists of exploratory compositions drawn from folk songs such as “Shange Diao,” written for a wind instrument called the Lerong, “Nai Guo Hou,” written for a different wind instrument called the Bawu, and “Dou Duo,” a folk song meant to evoke the sounds of Lusheng ensemble playing of the Miao People. For advanced players. Duration: 10’