ROMANCE OF HSIAO AND CH'IN
Chen Yi
About this work:
The piece is originally composed for two violins and string orchestra, dedicated to Maestro Yehudi Menuhin and Edna Michell, premiered by Shlomo Mintz & Elmar Oliveira with Orchestra of St. Luke's, conducted by Menuhin, at A Benefit Tribute to Yehudi Menuhin, Lincoln Center Festival, New York, 8/11/96. Under many requests, the version for violin and piano is completed in 1999. It became the first movement of the duet Romance and Dance, an ABRSM Selected Composition, Associated Board, Royal Schools of Music, UK, 2005 - 2008,
Romance of Hsiao and Ch’in is written for western instruments, which will reproduce the sound and style of hsiao and ch'in -- the Chinese traditional instruments. Hsiao is a vertical bamboo flute which carries lyrical melodies through delicate lines, grace notes and silence. Ch'in is a two thousand year old Chinese 7-string zither, which has a rich repertoire in the history of Chinese music and literature. In Ch'in performance, it produces various articulations by different fingerings of plucking and vibratos, played with both hands. These two instruments are often played together, and produce a good balance for sonority and timbre.
In the Romance of Hsiao and Ch'in, the violin solo part transmits a lyrical sense of the Hsiao music, to express the composer's love for humanities, while the piano accompaniment part sounding like an enlarged Ch'in symbolizes the nature.
Version: Two violins & string orchestra, or, Vn & pn, or, Vc & pn
Year composed: 1995
Duration: 00:04:00
Ensemble type: Solo instrument, non-keyboard:Violin
Instrumentation:
Instrumentation notes: Violin and Piano (Presser Publication [114-41080], 2001, $17 ), or Cello and Piano (Presser publication [114-41081], 2001, $8.50), or Two Solo Violins and String Orchestra (Presser Published Study Score [416-41208]).