SINGING IN THE MOUNTAIN
Chen Yi
About this work:
Commissioned by the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music for the piano book Spectrum 5.
Students should feel the space by listening to the contrasted extreme registers, and the harmony in pentatonic and bitonal combination by playing down the pedal as marked. While learning to play with switched clefs in both hands, they should observe the development of the beginning motive in three phrases of the Southern Chinese mountain song like singing on the top of the keyboard, which are changed in rhythm, length, octave and cadence. There is a sequence in the bottom line when the open fifth moves up, where one can find the turning point according to the ratio of the Golden Section principle.
As an alternative version of the piece, students could add a perfect fourth below each of all single notes on both hands, in order to get a richer sonority, which could become a musical practice of playing the parallel fourth as well.
Version: Solo piano for children
Year composed: 2002
Duration: 00:01:00
Ensemble type: Keyboard:Piano
Instrumentation:
Instrumentation notes: Piano Solo for children, published by ABRSM Publishing in Spectrum 5, 2003. Presser Publication [110-41763] $4.95