About this work:
Transplanted Seeds for orchestra (2023) [c. 15 minutes]
Chen Yi and Zhou Long
We are little seeds from China, coming out from the deep cultural roots of thousand years.
We have grown on the American soil nurtured by the spring rains in the multicultural society.
We have been working hard and looking forward to a bright future of the globe.
Commissioned by the National Repertory Orchestra through the generous support of Dr. Kai Yiu Yeung and Pam Piper Yeung, our composition Transplanted Seeds for orchestra is premiered by the NRO on July 19, 2023, and subsequently performed by the Kansas City Symphony on January 12 and 13, 2024, directed by Maestro Michael Stern.
Transplanted Seeds is a single movement orchestral work including five sections. The work begins with a simple tune of a Cantonese children’s folksong “Moonlight Shines”, symbolizing the place where we came from, played on the violin solo with pure tone color, followed by a warm cello section (Rehearsal A), then a dialogue of the two in a canon (Rehearsal B). The background is an ostinato played by the harp and supported by the soft string sections.
The second section consists of three variations of the folksong (Rehearsal C, D, and E) with more woodwinds brought in, which opens the orchestral spectrum gradually with wide range of pantonal passages. The third section (Rehearsal F, G, and H) introduces a new pitch material drawn from another Cantonese folk tune “Prancing Horses”, which features a special pentatonic mode with a tritone in the descending scale, supported by the human voice whisper sound (Sha-la-la-la-la-la) coming from the orchestra, symbolizing the spring rains that nurture the soil quietly at night. Its development brings the music into the fourth section (Rehearsal I, J, K, and L), which features a string quartet joined by two flutes and two clarinets. The sliding tones on the strings imitate Cantonese speaking sound, symbolizing sentimental nostalgia and expressive yearning. When the folk tune material is woven with the reciting sound shape of the words “We Are America” in Cantonese, mandarin, and English by all instruments in the orchestra, the music enters the fast fifth section (Rehearsal M, N, O, P, Q, and R), which has all melodic materials combined in the background and presents the brass chorale. It leads the music into the climax in the finale, symbolizing the hard-working people in our new society towards the flourishing future of the world. The duration of the work is about 15 minutes.
Instrumentation
Piccolo, 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, English horn in F, 2 Clarinets and Bass clarinet in B-flat, 2 Bassoons and Contrabassoon; 4 French horns in F, 3 Trumpets in C, 2 Trombones, Bass trombone and Tuba; 5 Timpani, 3 Percussion (I. Suspended cymbal, triangle, and 5 wood blocks; II. Glockenspiel; III. Bass drum); Harp, and Strings (12, 10, 8, 8, 6).