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A CONDUCTOR’S GUIDE TO THE CHORAL WORKS OF CHEN YI

A document submitted to the

Division of Research and Advanced Studies of the University of Cincinnati

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

DOCTORATE OF MUSICAL ARTS (D.M.A)

in the Division of Ensembles and Conducting of the College-Conservatory of Music

2009

by

J. Carlton Monroe IV

B. M. E., Louisiana State University 1994 M. Mus., University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, 1998

Abstract

Title: A Conductor’s Guide to the Choral Works of Chen Yi

Author: J. Carlton Monroe IV

Degree: D.M.A., University of Cincinnati, 2009

Chen Yi is an important contemporary composer of instrumental and choral works. She has been recognized with numerous awards and honors, and has received commissions from major arts organizations and ensembles. Her compositional style reflects a unique combination of traditional Chinese elements, folk songs, and style with Western techniques, formal structures and harmonic language. This document examines her choral music with an emphasis on assisting the conductor or performer in creating an informed and artistic performance. It includes biographical information, an analysis of representative original works for chorus, and a chronological list of choral works.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Figures ii

Chapter One: Biography and Compositional Overview 1 Biography Overview of Non-Choral Compositions

Chapter Two: Analysis of Selected Choral Works 11 Student Choral Work: Three Poems from the Song Dynasty (1985) San Francisco Residencies (1994-96): Tang Poems Peabody and Kansas City Conservatories (1997-2001): Chinese Poems Charles Ives Living Composer Award (2001-03): Know You How Many Petals Falling?

Chapter Three: Chinese Myth Cantata 39 Background of the Cantata Analysis of the First Movement: Pan Gu Creates Heaven and Earth Analysis of the Second Movement: Nu Wa Creates Human Beings Analysis of the Third Movement: Weaving Maid and the Cowherd Conclusion: Chinese Myths Cantata

Conclusion 53

Bibliography 55

Appendix I: A Chronological Listing of Chen Yi’s Choral Output 60

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LIST OF FIGURES

Chapter Two Figure 2-1: Three Poems from the Song Dynasty, 1. “The Palm 13 Tree,” mm. 2-5 Figure 2-2: Three Poems from the Song Dynasty, 1. “The Palm 15 Tree,” mm. 26-30 Figure 2-3: Three Poems from the Song Dynasty, 1. “The Palm 15 Tree,” mm. 39-41 Figure 2-4: Three Poems from the Song Dynasty, 2. “Younglings 17 tasted not a gloomy life,” mm. 9-10 Figure 2-5: Three Poems from the Song Dynasty, 2. “Bright Moon,” 18 mm. 1-11 Figure 2-6: Three Poems from the Song Dynasty, 2. “Bright Moon,” 18 mm. 48-50 Figure 2-7: Tang Poems, “Riding on My Skiff,” mm. 1-4 21 Figure 2-8: Tang Poems, “Riding on My Skiff,” mm. 10-11 22 Figure 2-9: Tang Poems, “Riding on My Skiff,” mm. 21-23 22 Figure 2-10: Tang Poems, “Written on a Rainy Night,” mm.23-30 23 Figure 2-11: Tang Poems, “Wild Grass,” mm.1-2 24 Figure 2-12: Tang Poems, “Wild Grass,” mm. 3-4 24 Figure 2-13: Tang Poems, “Monologue,” mm. 17-20 25 Figure 2-14: Tang Poems, “Monologue,” mm. 42-46 26 Figure 2-15: Chinese Poems, description of movements. Figure 2-16: Chinese Poems, “Up the Crane Tower,” mm. 1-4 29 Figure 2-17: Chinese Poems, “Picking the Seedpods of the Lotus,” 29 Choirs I/II/III, mm. 1-5 Figure 2-18: Chinese Poems, “Picking the Seedpods of the Lotus,” 30 Choir IV, mm. 7-8 Figure 2-19: Chinese Poems, “Picking the Seedpods of the Lotus,” 30 Choir VI, mm. 18-20 Figure 2-20: Chinese Poems, “Night Thoughts,” part 4, m. 3 31 Figure 2-21: Chinese Poems, “Chile Song,” mm.1-4 31 Figure 2-22: Chinese Poems, “Chile Song,” mm. 17-20 32 Figure 2-23: Know You How Many Petals Falling?, mm. 1-5 35 Figure 2-24: Know You How Many Petals Falling?, mm. 20-21 36 Figure 2-25: Know You How Many Petals Falling?, m. 31 36 Figure 2-26: Know You How Many Petals Falling?, mm. 55-57 37

Chapter Three Figure 3-1: Chinese Myth Cantata, instrumentation. Figure 3-2: Chinese Myth Cantata, Mvt. I, mm. 1-2 42 Figure 3-3: Chinese Myth Cantata, Mvt. I, m. 42 (piano reduction) 43 Figure 3-4: Chinese Myth Cantata, Mvt. I, mm. 85-86 44 Figure 3-5: Chinese Myth Cantata, Mvt. II, m. 119 (strings) 47

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Figure 3-6: Chinese Myth Cantata, Mvt II, m. 119 (brass) 47 Figure 3-7: Chinese Myth Cantata, Mvt. III, mm. 26-29 49

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Chapter 1

Biography and Compositional Overview

Biography

Chen Yi was born in Guangzhou, China on April 4, 1953 to Christian parents who worked as medical doctors. They were both trained musicians and music lovers, and had a great affinity for Western classical music. Chen’s father played violin and enjoyed singing various

European folk songs and Hollywood movie title songs at home. He was also an avid collector of recordings of Western music, including orchestral, operatic, instrumental and vocal works. Chen remarks that these recordings were played every day, during and after dinner in their household.1

Chen’s mother was a pediatrician and played piano at a professional level. Both parents strongly

encouraged their three children to pursue musical studies. Chen’s older sister, Chen Min, was a

piano prodigy who began performing on stage at the age of three. She currently serves as pianist

with the China Philharmonic Orchestra in Beijing. Chen’s brother, Chen Yun, is concertmaster

of China Philharmonic Orchestra and professor at Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing

where he teaches violin performance and is in charge of the chamber music division of the String

Studies Department.

Chen’s formal musical training began early in her childhood and was heavily based in

Western classical music. She began piano studies with one-hour weekly private lessons at age

three with Li Suxin. By age four she was taking weekly violin lessons as well with a local

teacher, Zheng Rihua. During the course of her studies, she played much of the standard violin

1 John de Clef Piñeiro, “An Interview with Chen Yi,” The New Musicon [on-line], available from http://www.newmusicon.org/v9n4/v94chen_yi.htm, accessed, June 1, 2008.

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repertoire, including works by Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Sibelius, Bach, and

Paganini. She studied music theory with a private tutor, Zheng Zhong. Zheng was influential in

Chen’s development, as she spent time studying his music books, which included texts on

Western music history. However, Zheng also encouraged Chen to study Chinese culture and remain committed to preserving it.

Chen had an assortment of other childhood musical experiences that influenced her development. She attended weekly symphonic concerts and ballets with her parents. She saw ethnic song and dance performances from traveling companies, including groups from Japan and

Africa. At home, she spent time playing through her father’s extensive score collection of

Western classical music. She also read European literature, opera stories, as well as Chinese classics. These childhood experiences were significant because they gave Chen a strong background in Western music history and theory, while exposing her to a variety of cultural art, song, dance and literature.

The Cultural Revolution (1966-77) was an attempt by Mao Zedong to eliminate the vestiges of traditional and foreign influence on China’s society and culture. The revolution targeted especially urban, educated people with exposure to foreign, particularly Western culture.

An attempt was made to “re-educate” the intellectual class through rural labor, self-critique, and a reform of the educational system.

Chen’s family experience during this time was typical of educated urban people. 2 Her father’s vast collection of music scores was taken, as they represented a “luxurious” lifestyle.

Chen’s formal schooling was interrupted in 1966. She continued to play the piano with a blanket placed underneath the hammers of the instrument. At age 15, her family was removed from their

2 Ibid.

2

house, with their possessions seized or destroyed. As was the case with many urban doctors,

Chen’s father was sent into rural areas to care for China’s peasant population. Her mother was

sent to work in a medical kitchen, and forced to write self-critical articles. Chen was separated

from her siblings, as her sister was sent to a remote farm in the north, while her brother was sent

to a middle school in the south.

Like her sister and millions of other Chinese youth, Chen was sent into forced labor in

the countryside. She assisted in building battle castles for the army, and her work often consisted

of hauling 100-pound sacks of mud and rock to the top of a mountain, sometimes as often as

twenty-two times a day.

During this time, Chen remained in possession of her violin. When she was alone, she continued practicing her Western repertoire with a heavy metal mute to dampen the sound.

Maintaining this connection with her musical studies of her childhood was part of what allowed

Chen to survive the ordeal of forced labor and separation from her family. The music of Mozart, in particular, was significant to her:

I remembered that my father had said to me that, from Mozart’s music, you feel the sunlight and see the composer’s happy face, but people don’t know the tears of sorrow running down behind his cheeks. This challenging experience brought home to me what my father meant. 3

In public, she used her violin to entertain farmers, poor country children, and soldiers.

She was only allowed to play revolutionary songs, but she also improvised Western melodies

within the framework of the acceptable pieces. She would later recall that this was her first

experience as a composer. 4

3 Ibid. 4 Wedemeyer, Dee, "Arts Abroad; A Chinese-Born Composer and Her Own Long March," The New York Times, March 15, 2001). .

3

The effect of Chen’s experiences during this period of labor was two-fold. First, she

came into contact with rural Chinese folk culture and music. This exposure provided her a vast

repertoire of music of which she had little previous contact. Her assimilation of and passion for

Chinese folk music began during this experience, and would affect nearly all of her future

compositions. The second effect was of a psychological nature. She summed up this effect by

saying:

I learned to overcome hardship, to bear anger, fear and humiliation under the political pressure, to get close to uneducated farmers on a personal and spiritual level, and to share my feelings and thinking with them, to learn to hope, to forgive, to survive, and to live optimistically, strongly and independently, and to work hard in order to benefit more human beings in society. 5

At age 17, Chen was called to join the Beijing Opera Troupe. As part of an attempt by

Jiang Qing, third wife of Mao Zedong, to reform traditional Beijing Opera to fall more in line

with the ideals of the Cultural Revolution, the traditional instrumentation of the company was altered. The traditional instrumentation of Beijing Opera involved two sections, the wenchang and the wuchang. The wenchang, (“civil”) section typically consisted of bowed and plucked lute-

like instruments, while the wuchang (“martial”) section feature various traditional percussive

instrument. By the 1960’s instrumentation also included a variety of Chinese folk and traditional

instruments. As part of the reforms of the Cultural Revolution, a number of Western instruments

were added, including strings, oboe, horn, trumpet, and tympani.

As part of her duties, Chen wrote much of the new music for operas during this time.

Because traditional operas were banned, a new repertoire of “proletarian” art was needed. This

work gave her significant experience in composing for an ensemble of mixed Eastern and

5 Piñeiro, “An Interview with Chen Yi.”

4

Western forces. During this time she learned the fingering for most traditional Chinese

instruments.

In 1977, Chen was among 200 of 18,000 applicants admitted to the newly reopened

Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. This class held a number of students who would have

prominent careers in composition, including Zhou Long (Chen’s future husband), Cong Su, and

Tan Dun. Both Chen and her brother Yun were admitted as violinists, although later Chen

declared her major in composition.

Chen’s studies included traditional Western tonality and composition, counterpoint, form

and analysis, orchestration, ear training and sight-singing. Her composition studies were with

Wu Zuqiang and Alexander Goehr, a visiting professor from Cambridge. It was under Goehr that

Chen began an intensive study of twentieth century compositional techniques. She also spent many hours privately studying scores in the Conservatory library.6

In addition to the traditional Western music studies, Chen also spent time studying

Chinese music, including folk music, musical storytelling, traditional opera, and instrumental

music. Conservatory students were sent into the countryside as part of field trips to collect

examples of folk music from rural musicians. These experiences continued Chen’s already

significant relationship with Chinese folk music that had begun during the Cultural Revolution.

Chen’s first significant compositions were written during her studies at the Conservatory.

These include the first viola concerto written in China, entitled Xian Shi. She also claimed first

prize in the Chinese National Composition Competition for her piano piece, Duo Ye. Her only

choral works from this period are the Three Songs from the Tang Dynasty, written in 1985 and

premiered by the Central Philharmonic Society Chorale.

6 Ibid.

5

Chen received her Bachelor of Music degree in 1982, and in 1986 she became the first

woman in China to receive a Master of Music degree in composition. Her achievements were

celebrated with a national broadcast in 1985 of a concert of her works.

Because the Conservatory had been closed for ten years during the Cultural Revolution,

following its reopening it experienced an influx of talented students. Despite these large numbers

of developing composers, many did not see their works performed regularly in China. China’s

social situation was unstable enough that musicians began to seek residency abroad.7 Centers of

Chinese composition developed around the world, including Amsterdam, Paris, and New York.8

In New York, Professor Chou Weng-chung of Columbia University founded the Center for US-China Arts Exchange Program in 1978, in part designed to bring promising young

Chinese composers to the United States for further study. It was under the guise of this program that Chen Yi first traveled to the U.S. in 1986 to begin doctoral studies at Columbia.

While at Columbia she studied with composition with Chou Weng-Chung and Mario

Davidovsky. She furthered her studies in composition and continued her lifelong habit of private score study in the university library. During her studies at Columbia she was commissioned in

1992 to write a piano concerto for the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra by Dennis Russell

Davies, who had heard Chen’s Symphony No. 1 in Germany in 1987. This was her first major commission outside of China. She received her doctorate from Columbia in 1993.

Following her doctorate, Chen relocated to the West Coast, where she served as composer-in-residence for three significant organizations: The Women’s Philharmonic,

Chanticleer, and the Aptos Creative Arts Program. Her affiliation with Chanticleer brought about

7 Daines, Matthew, "Finding Her Way to the Top of Two Worlds," The New York Times 9 June 1996, sec. H32. 8 Melvin, Sheila and Jindong Cai, "The Sound of New Music is Often Chinese; The Offspring of a Grim Revolution," The New York Times April 1, 2001.

6

a surge of choral works and arrangements, including eleven folk song arrangements and three

original works. She collaborated on six projects with JoAnn Falletta, Music Director of the

Women’s Philharmonic. Her largest choral work, Chinese Myth Cantata, was a joint commission

by Chanticleer and The Women’s Philharmonic and was premiered by those ensembles, as well

as the Lili Cai Chinese Dance Company.

From 1996-98 Chen held a teaching position at the Peabody Conservatory at John

Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1998 she received the Lorena Searcy

Cravens/Millsap/Missouri Distinguished Professor in Composition, an endowed professorship, at

the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music, a position which she currently

holds.

Chen’s most distinguish award was the Academy of Arts and Letters Charles Ives Living

Award (2001-4), a stipend that allows a composer to concentrate for three years on composition.

Her other awards include: the Lili Boulanger Award from The Women’s Philharmonic (1994),

Goddard Lieberson Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1996), the

Sorel Medal for Excellence in Music from the Center for Women in Music, New York

University (1996), the CalArts Alpert Award (1997), the University of Texas Eddie Medora

King Composition Prize (1999), the ASCAP Concert Music Award (2001), the 2002 Elise

Stoeger Award from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Friendship Ambassador

Award from the Snow Memorial Fund (2002), and an Honorary Doctorate from Lawrence

University, Wisconsin (2002). She has received commissioning grants from: Fromm Foundation

at Harvard University (1994), National Endowment for the Arts in the United States (1994), John

Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship (1996), American Academy of Arts and

Letters (1996), and the Koussevitzky Music Foundation at the Library of Congress (1997). Her

7

works have received worldwide performances. She has had three television specials9 made about her music, and has had her music recorded on Bis, New Albion, CRI, Teldec, Nimbus, Cala,

Avant, Atma, Hugo, Angel, Albany, Koch International Classics, Delos, Centaur, Eroica, and

China Record Company. Theodore Presser currently publishes her music.

Overview of Non-Choral Compositions

Chen Yi has written for a remarkable variety of forces, and in nearly all instrumental genres, including chamber, orchestral, solo instrumental and vocal music, in addition to her choral works. Within these genres she has written for western-style instrumentation and ensembles, traditional Chinese ensembles and instruments, and combinations of both.

Her works for western-style chamber groups include works for traditional and unusual forces. She has written four string quartets: At the Kansas City Chinese New Year Concert,

Burning, Shuo, and Sprout; a work for solo cello and string quartet, Sound of the Five; two woodwind quintets; and a trio, Ning, for violin, cello and piano. Among the unusual instrument combinations are: …as like a raging fire… for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano; Dunhuang

Fantasy, a concerto for organ and chamber wind ensemble; Qi for flute, cello, piano, and percussion; and Song of the Great Wall for eight horns. Two more chamber works feature unusual and nearly identical instrumentation: Near Distance for flute, clarinet, piano, percussion, violin, and cello; and Sparkle for the same instruments plus contrabass.

9 These specials were: “Chen Yi in America (A Cantonese in New York),” Guangdong TV, China (February 2003), “Overseas Artists (New Concept in Creation),” Taiwan Public TV, Taipei (1991), and “Sound and Silence (Chen Yi & Her Music)” International Society for Contemporary Music, Adamov Films and Polish TV (Paris, 1989).

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Sparkle exemplifies a combination of Western forces with a Chinese compositional

technique: traditional instrumentation, but a structure based on eight beat grouping of notes

known as baban.10 Shuo also uses this idea, by giving Chinese folk material, mountain songs, and a pentatonic tonality to a string ensemble.

Several of her chamber works feature a combination of Chinese and Western instruments.

These include: Chinese Fables for erhu, pipa, cello and percussion; Fiddle Suite for Hugin and

String Quartet (with an arrangement for Hugin and String Quintet); Pipa Rhyme for pipa and fourteen chamber players; Song in Winter for flute, zheng, piano, and percussion; and Song in

Winter for harpsichord, di, and zheng (notable because all three are “ancient” instruments of their respective traditions).

Chen’s orchestral works consist of two symphonies, two overtures, several concertos, and various single-movement works for orchestra. Her concertos include: Ba Yin (The Eight Sounds)

for saxophone quartet, Chinese Folk Dance suite for violin, Eleanor’s Gift for cello, a percussion

concerto, a piano concerto, The Golden Flute for flute, and Xian Shi for viola. Other works for

solo(s) and orchestra include two works for two flutes and orchestra.

Chen’s other significant orchestral works include: Due Ye (an arrangement of her award-

winning piano piece), Due Ye No. 2, Ge Xu (Antiphony), Momentum, The Linear, and Tu. In

many of her orchestral works, she includes Chinese percussion instruments in the percussion

section. One orchestral work, Fiddle Suite for huqin and chamber orchestra, features a Chinese

solo instrument.

10 Chen Yi, Liner Notes to Chen Yi: Sparkle, Composers Recoding Inc., 1998.

9

Several of these works were directly inspired by Chen’s experience in the rural

communities of China. Due Ye, originally for piano, was inspired by one of her field trips during

her studies at the Central Conservatory in Beijing. “Duo Ye” is an

ancient song and dance form of the Dong Minority of the Guangzi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China, in which people stand in a circle and dance in slow steps while singing ‘Ya Duo Ye’ in chorus. The lead singer extemporizes the lyrics, extending a warm welcome to guests or celebrating a happy occasion.11

Ge Xu (Antiphony) is based on the antiphonal singing she heard in the Zhuang Minority.12

Chen’s solo instrumental works include four works for solo piano, two for violin and

piano, one for cello and piano, one for pipa (The Points), and one for clarinet. She has written three works for traditional Chinese ensembles: Suite, a quintet for pipa, di, yangqin, sanxian, and erhu; The Tide for xun, yangqin, pipa, zheng, perc, gaohu, and erhu; and Xie Zi for two di, sheng, liuqin, zheng, and sanxian. Her output for solo voice is limited to Bright Moonlight and

Meditation for mezzo-soprano and piano, and two arrangements of As in a Dream: one for soprano, pipa and zheng and one for soprano, violin and cello. The version of As in a Dream for violin and cello was composed first. It set texts of a famous Chinese poetess, Li Qing-zhao, and uses vocal techniques taken from traditional Chinese opera.

11 Frank Albinder and Shira-Devra Cion, eds., Liner notes to The Music of Chen Yi, Women’s Philharmonic, JoAnn Falletta, conductor and Chanticleer, 1997. 12 Elaine Barkin, "The New Music of Chen Yi," Journal of Music In China, Oct. 1999: 45.

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Chapter 2

Analysis of Selected Choral Works

Chen Yi’s choral output can be divided into four periods of compositional activity: those composed during her music studies as a student; those composed during her San Francisco residencies; those composed during the three year period of her Charles Ives Living Composer award; and recent compositions. While some differences in compositional style are evident over the course of her career, her works consistently display many of the same musical characteristics.

These include a dedication and sensitivity to texts from the great Chinese poets, the achieving of unique sonic textures through the use of ostinatos and chord clusters, and melodic material taken from the rich traditions of Chinese folk song and Chinese opera.

This chapter will focus on selected works from each of these four periods.

Student Choral Work: Three Poems from the Song Dynasty (1985)

Chen Yi’s first choral composition was Three Poems from the Song Dynasty (1985) for unaccompanied mixed choir, written during her master’s degree studies at the Central

Conservatory of Music in Beijing. It was premiered in 1985 in Beijing by the Central

Philharmonic Society Chorale of China, Yan Liangkun, conductor.

Like most of her choral works, the text is taken from traditional Chinese poets. For these settings she uses works from three poets of the Song Dynasty (960-1279): Li Qingzhao (1084-?),

Xin Qiji (1140-1207) and Su Shi (1036-1101). These poets were considered to be some of the greatest writers of ci poetry, a style of lyrical writing characterized by a specific number of

Chinese characters and vocal tones in each line. Both the first line of text and the character/tone

11

pattern usually referred to the poems in much the same way as Christian hymns. (i.e. Amazing

Grace, NEW BRITAIN). In their original form, ci poems were written to be sung to these original tunes, with set meter and tempo.

Aspects of the poems, as well as aspects of the poets’ lives, likely had a strong resonance with Chen. Li Qingzhao was an important female poet of the Song Dynasty. During her life, war destroyed her home and—following the death of her husband—left her a refugee with few possessions. Her poem “The Palm Tree/PICKING MULBERRIES” describes the speaker at a window listening to the rain while dreaming of an absent lover. The second poem, “Younglings tasted not a gloomy life/PICKING MULBERRIES,” depicts a young poet who is unable to express his frustration and distress because of political suppression. The poet, Xin Qiji, experienced this in his early life as he grew up in what is now the modern city of Jidon of

Shadong Province, an area of northern China that was occupied by foreign invaders. The final poem, Su Shi’s “Bright Moon, no oft art thou with us/WATER SONG,” brings a conclusion to the set with its philosophical meditation on the cycles of the moon and the cycle of human life.

In the final lines the poet asks that the lovers are granted long lives and love even when apart.

The themes of loneliness, separation, and suppression and aspects of the poet’s lives parallel Chen’s own experiences of forced labor in the countryside during the Cultural

Revolution. It may be that Chen saw parallels in the themes of these poems and her own experiences of forced labor during the previous decade.

The first poem, “The Palm Tree,” is in two stanzas, although Chen’s setting uses a return of the opening text to create a rounded form. Chen states in the work’s notes that the primary musical material is drawn from Chinese folk music and Chinese opera.13 The construction of the

13 Chen Yi, Composer’s notes, Three Poems from the Song Dynasty, manuscript.

12

piece is based on repeated ostinato patterns and sustained chords supporting soloistic melodies in

the tenor and soprano voices. This compositional construction is one that Chen uses in much of

her choral output.

Harmonically the piece is built on the intervals of a tritone and a major second. The latter

begins the piece in the soprano voices. Altos in divisi and sopranos then enter with a wordless

melodic fragment that shares a similar contour with the first primary melody (Figure 2-1). The first measure concludes with a sustained chord with two major seconds and a tritone.

Figure 2-1: Three Poems from the Song Dynasty, 1. “The Palm Tree,” mm. 2-5.

In measure three the soprano enters with a melody based on Chinese folk song material.

The poem in this first stanza describes the poet staring out a window by a palm tree into an empty courtyard. The stillness of the scene is depicted musically with long sustained chords in the alto, with only a quiet echo on the soprano melody appearing in the tenor voices. Chen asks the singers to alternate between the vowel sounds [ə] and [ɑ] (written in the score as “W” and

13

“A”) in a random pattern. The sustained chord dissipates as the poet turns to a more personal

reflection, “ye ye xin xin/shu juan you yu qing” (“Every leaf, every blade leaves an impression

on the heart”).

The second section of the piece (measures 18-35) begins just as the first, with a sustained

alto chord, but the tenors and basses enter with a staggered winding phrase. Chen notes in the

score that this melody is to be “sung by a number of persons at tempo a piacere (free velocity) to

create a background effect of contingent or accidental combination.14 This new texture

accompanies the second stanza of the poem in which the poet further reflects on the absence of a

loved one. Soprano and tenor soloists now carry the melody that is soon picked up by the other

choral voices.

The piece reaches its climax and a dramatic ff in measure 26 with a chorale-like section

on the text “Dreams of the absent one” (Figure 2-2). The part writing in this section is typical of

Chen’s style. In many of her compositions, Chen favors thin choral textures, often with only two parts. Here she creates a four-voice texture. However, by having the parts doubled between the soprano-tenor and alto-bass she maintains a transparency and simplicity that is characteristic of her style.

The first piece of the set concludes with an echo of the final line “Force me to listen

more” passed from voice to voice. The opening sustained “W…A…” chorus from the opening of

the piece returns and finishes on an eight-note chord cluster (Figure 2-3).

14 score

14

Figure 2-2: Three Poems from the Song Dynasty, 1. “The Palm Tree,” mm. 26-30.

Figure 2-3: Three Poems from the Song Dynasty, 1. “The Palm Tree,” mm. 39-41.

15

The second piece from this set, “Younglings tasted not a gloomy life,” is striking in its

use of dissonance and abrupt changes of dynamics to reinforce the poem’s central message of

frustration. Chen’s compositional approach to this poem alternates between forte and piano,

consonance and dissonance, and the changes in tempo to depict the poet’s struggle between

confronting life’s difficulties and remaining peacefully naïve. The piece again uses sustained

choral chords and solo passages, most of which are derived from the Beijing opera style vocal

writing.

The opening alto line, sung over a sustained chord (E, A, D, F-sharp) in the tenor and

bass voices, is written in a Sprechstimme style typical in Beijing Opera. Lines to and from note

heads indicate pitch slides up and down. While it is not notated in the score, it would be most

appropriate for a solo voice to sing this line. Following this section, the vocal line, in

Sprechstimme style, transitions to a more lyrical passage with a faster tempo and more lilting

rhythmic style.

In measure nine the tutti choir enters in a remarkably dissonant passage (Figure 2-4). The

angular and harsh duet between soprano and alto (mm. 9-11) dissipates into a simpler, folksong-

like section. This is again interrupted by another dissonant section for the full choir. The alternation between contrasting sections continues until measure 38. The lower voices accompany in octaves the soprano’s resigned melody that sets the text “just say: what a cool autumn day!”

The final piece of this set, “Bright Moon/WATER SONG, FIRST PART,” is the longest of the three pieces and the most complex in its musical construction. The work is a study in motivic development, with three primary themes making up the majority of the musical material.

16

The work is in a moderate tempo (Adagio, quarter=76) and reflective, which fits the text’s pensive mood.

Figure 2-4: Three Poems from the Song Dynasty, 2. “Younglings tasted not a gloomy life,” mm.

9-10.

The first theme (A-labeled “1”) is a unison melody sung by the altos and tenors. It is characterized by the downward major second followed by a minor sixth leap. This is answered by depiction of the moon in the divisi sopranos. The altos/tenors continue with the second theme

(B-labeled “2”), a pentatonic melody except for the altered f-sharp in measure six. The full choir sings the third theme (C-labeled “3”), an unusual melody that contains eleven of the twelve tones of the chromatic scale. While the first and second themes establish different tonal centers, the third theme destabilizes this harmonic framework (Figure 2-5).

The second section of the piece is a development section centered around the sustained chord (B, C, E, G-sharp). The three themes appear in various keys, occasionally with variation.

17

The C theme appears in an abbreviated form as a wordless echo. The section concludes in measures 31-36 with a unison choral statement of themes A and B that link the work back to the opening measures.

Figure 2-5: Three Poems from the Song Dynasty, 2. “Bright Moon,” mm. 1-11.

Figure 2-6: Three Poems from the Song Dynasty, 2. “Bright Moon,” mm. 48-50.

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In measures 48-75 Chen introduces new melodic material that passes from the tenors to

the altos (m. 54) and sopranos (m. 59). Accompanying this is the A theme set in parallel fourths

(Figure 2-6). This parallel motion is echoed in the final section with parallel major 7th chords for

the sopranos and altos in divisi.

Three Poems from the Song Dynasty represents a challenge for conductor and ensemble.

Choirs unfamiliar with Chinese pronunciation and diction will have to become accustomed to a new language. In addition, careful attention must be paid to balance, as the part writing can result in certain voices overpowering others, particularly in sections with solos. Finally, even advanced choruses may find intonation problematic as they attempt the more dissonant passages.

Following Three Poems from the Song Dynasty, Chen did not write another choral work for ten years. Despite her long silence in choral composition, these three pieces demonstrate many of the compositional characteristics found in Chen’s later choral works: an interest and sensitivity to the works of traditional Chinese poets; drawing on Chinese musical sources, including folk songs and opera; and a focus on unique choral textures, including paired voices, chord clusters and sustained chords.

San Francisco Residencies (1994-96): Tang Poems

In 1994, following the completion of her Doctoral of Musical Arts degree in Composition from Columbia University, Chen moved to San Francisco where she was composer-in-residence

for Chanticleer and the Women’s Philharmonic Orchestra. She had four significant choral works

commissioned and premiered during this time. In 1994 she wrote A Set of Chinese Folk Songs

for the professional ensemble Chanticleer. These were written originally for a cappella ATTB

ensemble to match Chanticleer’s voicing and were later arranged in three different versions: one

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for SA(T) choir and strings (written for the Aptos and Jordan Middle Schools), one for SATB

chorus and piano, and a third for SATB chorus and strings.

Chen’s collaborations with Chanticleer led to the composition of several other important

choral works. Chinese Myth Cantata, a large-scale work for Men’s Chorus and Orchestra and

discussed in another chapter in this document, and Lament of the Twin Stars were both composed

in 1996.

Other than the Chinese Myth Cantata, Chen’s most substantial work from this time was

Tang Poems written in 1995. This virtuosic set of four pieces for unaccompanied male choir was

commissioned for Chanticleer by Meet The Composer, a national organization dedicated to

promoting composers and new works. The work was premiered by Chanticleer in New York in

October, 1995.

The texts for Tang Poems are the work of four poets who lived during the Tang Dynasty:

Li Bai (701-62), Li Shangyin (813-58), Bai Juyi (772-846), and Chen Ziang (661-702). One of

the poems, “Wild Grass” by Bai Juyi, is written in the traditional jintishi form, a regulated form

of eight lines of five or seven characters. The other three poems are jueju, a truncated version of

jintishi with only four lines. The latter poems share characteristics with Japanese haiku, whose

quality is based on economy and evocativeness.

The poems share common themes. Each contains natural images: riverbanks and mountains (“Riding on My Skiff”), pools and rain (“Written on a Rainy Night”), grass, plains, and winds (“Wild Grass”), and sky and earth (“Monologue”). At the heart of each poem are feelings of loneliness and separation, a common trait of many of Chen’s choral works. Chen’s settings depict this loneliness through frequent solo passages, choral chord clusters, interruptions and suspensions of pulse and an asynchronous recitation.

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Chen’s harmonic language in Tang Poems is centered on intervals and not progression,

most notably major and minor seconds, and tritones. The opening of the first piece, “Riding on

My Skiff,” demonstrates how Chen introduces dissonant intervals, with minor seconds growing

from unisons and new entrances at the interval of a tritone as it depicts the “screams of

monkeys” from the text (Figure 2-7). In measures 10-12, the choral parts divide into ten parts coupled with complex pantonic harmonies (Figure 2-8).

For much of “Riding” the harmonic language is static, with long sustained chords accompanying a tenor solo written in Chinese opera style.15 The range of the tenor solo is

extreme, reaching to a high ‘b’ and a sustained high ‘a’. It also requires a number of slides, trills,

and other ornaments (Figure 2-9).

Figure 2-7: Tang Poems, “Riding on My Skiff,” mm. 1-4.

15 Chen Yi, Composer’s notes, Tang Poems (Theodore Presser Company, 1995).

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Figure 2-8: Tang Poems, “Riding on My Skiff,” mm. 10-11.

Figure 2-9: Tang Poems, “Riding on My Skiff,” mm. 21-23.

The second piece from this set, “Written on a Rainy Night,” is a setting of a poem by Li

Shang-yin. The text describes the feelings of the poet as he writes to his distant wife during an evening rainstorm. Drawing on folk song elements from Southwestern China, Chen uses the simplicity of a unison melody in the countertenor II and tenor parts to depict the opening lines of this work.16 Just as the poet focuses on the simple image of trimming candlewicks with his wife

(“When by our window can we trim the wicks again/And talk about this endless night and rain?),

16 Ibid.

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Chen strips away musical complexities and concentrates on melody. At its most harmonically

complex the piece utilizes only parallel fourths and fifths, but Chen achieves a compelling

musical form through the layering of voices (Figure 2-10).

“Wild Grass,” the third of the Tang Poems, is an example of Chen’s use of ostinato as a compositional and unifying device. The text compares the growth and separation of grass blades to the separation of two friends, and Chen depicts this with a motif sung by the bass and tenor II on nonsense syllables or what Chen refers to as “padding” syllables.17 The motif begins with an

upward leap of a minor seventh, and the tenor II starts the motif on an offbeat, creating a disjunct

feeling (Figure 2-11).

Figure 2-10: Tang Poems, “Written on a Rainy Night,” mm.23-30.

17 Ibid.

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The upper three parts (countertenor I & II, tenor I) sing the text in an equally

disconnected fashion, with long sustained dissonances in high registers (Figure 2-12). In

measure18 Chen reverses the voices, with the countertenor parts singing the opening motif and

the lower parts singing the text. The overall effect of the piece is one of disjunction and unease.

Figure 2-11: Tang Poems, “Wild Grass,” mm.1-2.

Figure 2-12: Tang Poems, “Wild Grass,” mm. 3-4.

The final piece, “Monologue,” is in ABA form and utilizes several compositional techniques to create a unique vocal language. The opening section begins with a Beijing opera style recitation (Sprechstimme) over a wordless chorus that alternates between “wuh” and “wah”

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syllables, a choral effect Chen used in her earliest choral work, Three Poems from the Song

Dynasty. The soloist is given the instruction (non pitch), although approximate pitches and slide directions are given in the score. The choir follows with a passage that begins largely in unison but dissolves into a section of striking and complex harmonies (Figure 2-13).

Figure 2-13: Tang Poems, “Monologue,” mm. 17-20.

The B section begins in measure 24 with the baritones and basses chanting the opening text in unison. In a surprise moment, the text changes from the original Chinese to the English translations: “Where are the sages of the past/And those of future years?” The other voices enter speaking the text randomly, building to a dramatic vocal slide on the nonsense syllable “yo.”

This leads to a concluding section in which the opening recitation returns over a similar choral texture (Figure 2-14).

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Figure 2-14: Tang Poems, “Monologue,” mm. 42-46.

Tang Poems is a set of pieces written for Chanticleer and are fittingly virtuosic. Although

they demonstrate more refined and vocally accessible part writing than Chen’s earlier choral

works, they require strong soloists and a choral ensemble with impeccable intonation. Along

with A Set of Chinese Folks Songs and Chinese Myth Cantata, they give evidence that Chen’s

choral writing had begun to use a greater variety of choral devices while still integrating

traditional Chinese elements.

Peabody and Kansas City Conservatories (1997-2001): Chinese Poems

From 1996-2001 Chen’s choral output slowed as she focused on other genres. During

faculty appointments at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins Institute (1996-98) and the

University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music (1998-present) she composed three choral works: Spring Dreams (1997), a short work for SATB chorus; Chinese Poems (1999), a

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set a six pieces for Girls’ Choruses; and KC Capriccio (2000), a work for wind ensemble and large mixed chorus. The latter work was later revised as Capriccio (2002) for mixed choir, organ and percussion for a performance with renowned percussionist Evelyn Glennie and the Mormon

Tabernacle Choir.

Chinese Poems is a set of five short works commissioned by the San Francisco Girls

Chorus, set for six different choirs of varying levels of experience and ability. The texts are drawn from several sources. Three of the poems come from Li Po and Wang Zhi-huan, poets from the Tang Dynasty (618-907), and two are selected from the Yuefu Collection of Poems, an anthology compiled in the Song Dyansty (960-1279). The poems focus on the vastness of the natural world balanced against an underlying human desire to strive and achieve.

The challenge presented to Chen with this commission was to compose a work for choirs of different ability levels that still achieved an artistically satisfying result. Chen’s composition skillfully combines vocally and musically challenging material for the advanced choirs, while offering more accessible parts for the beginning choirs.

The choirs can be divided into three categories: Beginning Choirs (I and II); Intermediate

Choirs (III and IV); and Advanced Choirs (V and VI). The Advanced Choirs have the most musical material, while the Beginning Choirs only sing in a few movements:

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Figure 2-15: Chinese Poems, description of movements.

Mvt. Title Choirs Notes I "Up the Crane Tower" V and VI complex; 8-part divisi; difficult melodic lines II "Picking the Seedpods of the All layered ostinatos Lotus" Choruses III "Night Thoughts" III and 3-part divisi although VI extensive unison; spoken fourth part IV "Chile Song" VI scored for 5 voices with 15-part divisi; complex harmonies; wide ranges V "The Cataract of Mount Lu" All layered ostinatos at Choruses different tempi

Chen uses many of the same compositional techniques found in her earlier pieces: layered ostinatos, vocal styles reminiscent of Chinese opera and folk singing, unvoiced vocal effects, and sustained harmonically complex chords that serve as background to soloistic passages. What is notable about Chinese Poems is the way she integrates simple and complex musical passages into an artistic whole.

The first movement, “Up the Crane Tower,” is written for Choirs V and VI (advanced) and is scored for four-part treble voices with divisi. After an energetic outburst on the downbeat, the choirs introduce a rising motif depicting the climbing of a tower to view the Yellow River

(the second largest river in China). The motif is stated with small variations in each voice (Figure

2-15). The text is introduced in measure eleven in simple two-part harmony that echoes the

“rising motif” punctuating each statement. The movement concludes with a final repetition of the motif over a sustained chord of two perfect fourths.

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Figure 2-16: Chinese Poems, “Up the Crane Tower,” mm. 1-5.

“Picking the Seedpods of the Lotus,” the second movement, is one of two movements

scored for all six choirs. This piece is based on the gradual layering of ostinatos, beginning with a seven-measure theme (A) sung by Choirs I, II, and III (Figure 2-16). Choirs I and II sing this ostinato throughout the entire movement. Choir IV enters in measure seven with a new theme

(B) of overlapping parallel fifths (Figure 2-17). Choir V enters in measure fifteen with a variation of the A theme, while Choir VI sings a new theme (C). This new theme is short but difficult, as it has large slides between challenging intervals (Figure 2-18). Choirs III and IV share variations of the easiest theme (B), while Choirs V and VI have more intricate parts featuring quotes from all themes.

Figure 2-17: Chinese Poems, “Picking the Seedpods of the Lotus,” Choirs I/II/III, mm. 1-4.

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Figure 2-18: Chinese Poems, “Picking the Seedpods of the Lotus,” Choir IV, mm. 7-8.

Figure 2-18: Chinese Poems, “Picking the Seedpods of the Lotus,” Choir VI, mm. 18-20.

The third movement, “Night Thoughts,” has many similarities to “Written on a Rainy

Night” from Tang Poems. Both texts have a nocturnal theme and a reflective quality. Chen also uses a similar composition style for both works, using voices in unison or in basic two-part harmony, usually featuring thirds, fourths, and fifths. “Night Thoughts” is scored for four voices, although the fourth voice part only contributes small pitchless rhythmic sounds that add an element of mystery to the sparse texture (Figure 2-19). This movement is set for Choruses III and

IV, two intermediate choirs, and Chen accommodates these ensembles with a simple three-part

vocal texture with moderate ranges.

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Figure 2-20: Chinese Poems, “Night Thoughts,” part 4, m. 3.

“Chile Song,” written for Choir VI alone, is the most challenging of the five movements.

It is scored for five voices, but each voice part breaks into three, calling for a total of fifteen

parts. The movement begins in a recitation style with the lower four parts in a harmonically

dense sustained choir (Figure 2-20). The second half of the piece has the final lines of the text,

“See the beasts of burden/On the wind swept grass,” set to a repetitive motif similar to “Wild

Grass” from Tang Poems (Figure 2-21).

Figure 2-21: Chinese Poems, “Chile Song,” mm.1-4.

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The final movement, “The Cataract of Mount Lu,” is scored for all six choirs. While

Chen used some aleatoric material in Tang Poems, the opening section of “Cataract” expands the

use of this device: each of the lower four voice parts is given rhythmic or a melodic musical idea

sung in different tempi for stated periods of time. Choirs IV and V are given quiet, highly

rhythmic phrases in two-part divisi. Choirs I and II enter making random cricket sounds, and

Choir III sings a folksong-like melody. Once this “bed” of sound is established, Part 1 (Choir VI)

sings a long recitative-style melody. This opening section culminates with a fortissimo high g# in

Part 1 leading to the tutti ending.

Figure 2-22: Chinese Poems, “Chile Song,” mm. 17-20.

Chinese Poems is ideal for choral programs with graded ensembles. Choirs I and II can easily be performed by beginning ensembles, while Choirs V and VI required advanced singers.

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Conductors may also consider assigning the more demanding sections the Choirs to smaller

groups within a single ensemble.

Chen displays a keen sensitivity to young singers’ vocal range by writing the parts for

each chorus at properly graded levels. Only the advanced Choirs (V and VI) have parts that go

into an upper treble range (g-natural to b-natural). The less experiences choirs’ parts are mostly

ostinato-style patterns, enabling these choirs to learn the piece quickly.

The movements that combined all six choirs (II and V) can easily be rehearsed separately

and put together in only a few rehearsals. The Chinese text would offer a challenge to non-native

speakers, and should be introduced in the rehearsal period as early as possible. While a

pronunciation guide is offered in the score, it would be ideal to have a native speaker meet with

the ensemble in order to get an authentic understanding of the nuances of the language.

Charles Ives Living Composer Award (2001-03): Know You How Many Petals Falling?

In 2001 Chen Yi was awarded the Charles Ives Living Composer Award by the American

Academy of Arts and Letters. This prestigious award is given every three years to a promising

American composer to fund three years of compositional work. As a result of this award, Chen’s

reputation spread across the American music landscape and she received many new commissions

from various ensembles and institutions.

In 2001 she composed two commissioned works by American universities: To the New

Millennium, a three movement work for soprano, mezzo-soprano and a cappella choir, for the

Chamber Singers and Collegiate Chorale of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and Xuan, a short work for a cappella choir written for the Ithaca College School of Music in Ithaca, New

York. During this year she also composed a set of arrangements of Chinese folk songs, Chinese

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Mountain Songs, for the San Francisco-based women’s choir, Kitka. These settings are notable for their simplicity and sparse texture, absent of sections of complex harmonic language.

In 2003 she published four new choral works. Two were settings of Chinese folk songs written for the Singapore Youth Choir: A Single Bamboo Can Easily Bend and The Horseherd’s

Mountain Song. She developed new relationships with professional choirs accepting commissions from Chicago A Cappella (The West Lake) and the Kansas City Chorale

(Landscape).

One commission during this time exposed Chen’s work to a large audience of choral musicians and conductors. In 2001, Chen was asked to compose a piece for the 6th World

Symposium on Choral Music, sponsored by the International Federation for Choral Music. Her composition Know You How Many Petals Falling? was premiered by the Elmer Iseler Singers on

August 11, 2002 at the World Symposium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Chen dedicated the piece

to the memory of the New York firefighters who sacrificed themselves to protect thousands of fellow citizens at the 9/11 tragedy, to express my compassion for the victims and their families, to denounce terrorist acts, and to call for peace in the future.18

For this work Chen chose a text that she had set before. The poem was written by Meng

Hao-ran (689-740, Tang Dynasty):

Spring dreams unconscious of dawning, Not woke up till I hear birds singing; O night long wind and showers— Know you how many petals falling?19

Her first setting of this text was in Spring Dreams written in 1997 for the Ithaca College Choir.

In the first setting Chen focused on the natural images of the text with a long extended introductory section featuring vocal impressions of natural sounds and birdcalls.

18 Chen Yi, composer notes, Know You How Many Petals Falling? (Theodore Presser Company, 2003). 19 translation by composer.

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For the new setting, Chen chose to set her own English translation of the original poem

and took her title from the last line. The emotional center of the piece is shifted from sounds and

sensations of spring to the damage and destruction of the spring storm. Chen paints a vivid

choral picture by using chord clusters, folksong-like melodies, and harsh dissonances to heighten

her reading of the text.

The piece begins with the text “Spring dreams unconscious of dawning” set to gentle

chord clusters based on two tritones (Figure 2-21). The melody is shared between voices in a

folksong style. The “birds singing” text is introduced with changes in dynamics and a more

agitated style. This culminates in a passage of striking dissonance (Figure 2-22).

Figure 2-23: Know You How Many Petals Falling?, mm. 1-5.

After a brief transition (mm.22-25), Chen sets the “wind and showers” text in a similar manner (Figure 2-23), again reaching a powerful conclusion. Following a long fermata on an f# in the bass (m. 38), the opening motif returns on a humming sound. The final section begins with

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Figure 2-24: Know You How Many Petals Falling?, mm. 20-21.

the last line of text “Know you…” set to a sparse unison melody sung by the tenors and altos, and echoed by the basses. This moment of reflection is interrupted by a fortissimo choral exclamation of the final text (Figure 2-24). This piece concludes with the opening tritone-based chord on a wordless “woo.”

Figure 2-25: Know You How Many Petals Falling?, m. 31.

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Figure 2-26: Know You How Many Petals Falling?, mm. 55-57.

This piece, like many of Chen’s, offers several challenges to the conductor and ensemble.

The tenor part has an extremely high tessitura, and in several measures creates balance issues and considerations of tone quality. In measures 25-27, the tenor part lies for the most part above e- natural, while the other three parts lie in lower ranges. The tenors must also sing several g- naturals, a-naturals, and b-flats. In measures 49-53, the tenors sing a piano unison with the altos ranging from low f-naturals to high b-naturals. While Chen may wish to have the unique sonority of tenors and altos in that range, the conductor must ensure that the sections achieve a satisfactory blend.

Additionally, the piece presents intonation challenges. While some of the chord clusters or highly chromatic chords are derived from scale-like passages (mm. 1-3), others must be instantly tuned with only a single pitch preceding (m. 56, m. 62). These sections must be

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rehearsed in detail with individual parts isolated in order that the singers memorize their respective pitches relative to the introductory pitches.

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Chapter 3

Chinese Myths Cantata

Background of the Cantata

Chen Yi’s Chinese Myths Cantata (1996) is the composer’s only major work for chorus and orchestra. Scored for large orchestra with Chinese instruments and male chorus, it is based on Chinese mythology and fuses Western and Eastern elements into an impressive and powerful artistic work.

The piece was the result of a dual commission from The Women’s Philharmonic and

Chanticleer, both ensembles from the San Francisco Bay area. Chen was in residence with both organizations as part of the Meet the Composer’s New Residencies Program. Funding for the commission was provided by Meet the Composer, the Creative Work Fund, the San Francisco

Art Commission, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, and the

National Endowment for the Arts. The work was dedicated to Louis Botto, Artistic Director and

Founder of Chanticleer,.

The piece was conceived as a multi-media work to include video projection, lighting, and dance. The premiere in June 14, 1996 was a collaborative performance among The Women’s

Philharmonic, JoAnn Falletta, conductor, Chanticleer, the Lily Cai Chinese Dance Company,

Chinese Cultural Productions, and the Dunhuang Ensemble. Although the multi-media aspect adds a unique dimension to a performance of the cantata, it can be successfully performed as a concert piece.

The Chinese Myths Cantata is scored for a large orchestra, male chorus, and four traditional Chinese instruments:

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Figure 3-1: Chinese Myth Cantata, instrumentation.

2 Flutes (doubling piccolos) 2 Oboes 2 Clarinets (in B-flat, doubling E-flat clarinet and bass clarinet) 2 Bassoons (2nd doubling C. Bsn) 4 Horns (in F) 2 Trumpets (in Bb) 2 Trombones 1 Bass Trombone 4 Percussionists: Timpani (4), S. Cymbal, Bamboo Tree, Crotales (D, F#, Ab, C). Perc. I: Wood Block, Tamb., Ratchet, Glockenspiel, Bongo. Perc. II: Small Bell, Cymbals, Thunder Sheet, Sound Tree, Small Chinese Cymbals. Perc. III: Bass Drum, Tam-tam, Tom-tom, S. Cym., Clapper. 4 Chinese traditional instruments: Erhu (fiddle) Yangqin (dulcimer) Pipa (lute) w/tuning: Bb, Eb, E, A Zheng (zither) w/tuning: D, E, G, A, Bb, C#, E, F#, A, B, D, E, G, A, C, Eb, F, Ab, B, C, E 12 Male voices including Countertenors, Tenors, Baritones, and Bass. 6 Violin I 6 Violin II 4 Viola 6 Cello 4 Double Bass

The instrumentation is the first example of combining Western and Eastern elements that characterize Chen’s compositions. The orchestra is large, with winds doubling (flutes on piccolos, 2nd clarinet on bass clarinet, 2nd bassoon on contrabassoon). The percussion section is

expanded with several atypical percussion instruments, including bamboo tree, thunder sheet,

and small Chinese cymbals. The choral parts were composed specifically for Chanticleer’s

twelve voices consisting of countertenors, tenors, baritones, and basses.

The score requires five traditional Chinese instruments: erhu (doubles on zhuihu)

yangqin, pipa, and zheng. The erhu is a two-string bowed instrument tuned to a perfect fifth

(usually D4 and A4). The performer of the erhu switches to the zhuihu for the second movement.

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The zhuihu is the primary instrument used in Beijing opera, and combines playing techniques derived from two other instruments. The performer’s left hand uses a fingering technique similar to the sanxian, while the right hand uses a bowing technique from the erhu. The yangqin is a

Chinese hammered dulcimer usually strung with bronze strings that give the instrument a soft timbre. The pipa resembles the European lute, with four strings over a wide body and thin neck.

The zheng, also called a guzheng, is a plucked zither with various numbers of strings and movable bridges. The modern instrument is strung with nylon wrapped steel strings.

In addition to the instrumentation, the cantata combines Eastern and Western elements throughout the work, including text, melodic material, and formal development. The text combines English and Chinese. The opening bass melody uses first the English word “chaos,” followed immediately by the Chinese translation “hunan.” Later in the first movement, English text is combined with Chinese nonsense syllables.

Melodically the piece is constructed around certain scales and intervals. Pentatonic melodies, characteristic of Chinese folk music, make up a majority of the influences, but melodies based on the European church modes are also found. The piece prominently features the use of certain intervals: seconds, tritones, and sevenths. These elements combine to create a unique harmonic language.

Analysis of the First Movement: “Pan Gu Creates Heaven and Earth”

The first movement of Chinese Myths Cantata is based on a traditional creation myth.

Pan Gu was a giant being who was sleeping before the creation of the universe. After 18,000 years he awoke and stood up shattering his egg. The pure, lighter parts of the shell floated up and became the heavens, while the impure, heavier parts descended to form the earth. Pan Gu now

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stood between the two, and nine times a day for another 18,000 years he grew in order to keep heaven and earth separated. Once they were certain to remain apart, Pan Gu died, and the parts of his body divided to become sun, moon, wind, clouds, mountains, and rivers.

The opening movement creates a highly programmatic musical depiction of the myth, with significant examples of text painting. The form is in three movements, matching the three sections of the myth:

I. Chaos: the nurturing of Pan Gu (mm. 1-79)

II. Creation: Pan Gu awakes and grows (mm. 80-122)

III. The Elements: the death of Pan Gu (m. 123–end)

The first section begins with the bass motive (Figure 3-1) and is based on a tune taken from the Miau, a tribe considered to be the ancestors of the largest ethnic group in China, the

Han. During one of her forays into rural China, Chen visited a Miau tribe and was invited to listen to the “King Singer,” an elder and musical leader of the tribe who was responsible for learning and transmitting the musical heritage of the group. The tune she heard sung was in a low range and characterized by the prominent use of a tritone. The motive also contains the intervals of a minor second and a tritone on which the rest of the movement is based..

Figure 3-2: Chinese Myth Cantata, Mvt. I, mm. 1-2.

The other choral voices speak in unvoiced nonsense syllables. The syllables are taken from Chinese work songs and are meant to match the breathing of laborers. They also

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symbolically represent the “work of creation.”20 The entrance of the strings with microtonal

melodic “wriggles” was intended to represent the chaos prior to creation.21

The chaos theme is expanded by the contrabassoon and bass clarinet. The Chinese

instruments enter for the first time in measure 24 with variations on this theme. In measure 37

the choir takes up the theme, followed by a chord cluster (m. 39), a compositional technique used

often by Chen. In this instance, the clusters outline a tritone, with the notes of the Locrian scale

between b and f represented. The cluster is transposed in measure 42, outlining f# to c (Figure 3-

2).

Figure 3-3: Chinese Myth Cantata, Mvt. I, m. 42 (piano reduction)

The brass in this movement represents the figure of Pan Gu, the first entrance (m. 44)

outlining another tritone. The development of this cluster motive, representing the development

of Pan Gu, culminates in measures 70-72 (cluster from c# to f). The section concludes with a traditional zheng solo with improvisation.

20 Moh-Wei Chen, "Myths from Afar: Chinese Myth Cantata by Chen Yi" (D.M.A. diss., University of Southern California, 1997), 23. 21 Chen Yi, composer notes, Chinese Myth Cantata (Theodore Presser Company, 1996).

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The second section of the movement depicts Pan Gu awaking, the shattering of the egg and the growth of Pan Gu as he maintains the separation between earth and heaven. The choir begins the same work song from the first section, only now set to a pentatonic melody. The nonsense syllables now also incorporate the English text “heaven rises…earth grows” (Figure 3-

3). This combination of languages contributes to the overall feel of the piece as neither a purely

Chinese or American composition.

Figure 3-4: Chinese Myth Cantata, Mvt. I, mm. 85-86.

The choir begins an antiphonal section with the countertenors and tenors alternating with the baritones and basses. This effect, depicting the separating of the lighter and heavier elements of the universe, is mimicked later in the orchestra. A countertenor solo is introduced as a descant to the underlying work song in the rest of the chorus.

In measure 88, the tympani and tom-tom begin a low-high antiphonal exchange. The Pan

Gu motive in the brass is developed both rhythmically and harmonically with added complexity.

The Chinese instruments enter, with the yangqin doubling the upper voices in the chorus; the pipa doubling the lower voices; the zheng providing a rhythmic base; and the erhu echoing the countertenor solo melody. The piccolo soon begins doubling the melody as well.

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The Pan Gu motive begins to fragment (m. 106) and follows with the antiphonal effect

soon after (m. 108). The section builds to a startling climax ending with a dramatic brass

explosion (m. 123) in the tritone chord cluster.

The final measures of the piece make up a short concluding section with no chorus. The

section features a pipa solo in improvisatory style, with the Pan Gu motive alluded to with brass entrances. The final chord consists of two tritones separated by a minor second.

Analysis of the Second Movement: Nu Wa Creates Human Beings

The second movement is based on the myth of Nu Wa, a goddess with a human face but the body of a snake. Nu Wa also had the ability to change her appearance countless times a day.

After seeing her reflection in a pool, Nu Wa created human beings by combining mud and water.

She then began to create humans quickly by swinging a wet vine around. As the droplets of water hit the dirt, they created new people.

This movement does not use specific folk elements in its construction. The Chinese instruments play a significant role in the introduction and development of melodic ideas. For this movement the performer playing the erhu must switch to the zhuihu.

The form of the second movement is divided into two large sections:

I. Depiction of Nu Wa (mm. 1-67)

II. The creation of humans (mm. 68-162)

The first section begins with three melodic ideas—representing Nu Wa’s ability to transform—in

the traditional instruments. Each motif is characterized by the use of seconds and sevenths. The

yangqin plays a rolled chord consisting of two minor sevenths separated by a minor second. On

the same downbeat, the zheng plays a fast descending arpeggio of varied seconds—b to a

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(minor), f-sharp to e (major) and c-sharp to b-flat (augmented)—which further serves to depict the shape-shifting ability of Nu-Wa. These two motives are answered by a trill-like figure from the zhuihu on c and b-flat.

Glissandi in the strings depict the motion of Nu Wa’s snake-like body (m. 21), while the traditional instruments continue with the original motives. In measure 42 there is an abrupt stop, followed by a four-note motive in the zhuihu, then echoed in the Eb clarinet, alluding to Nu

Wa’s reflection in the water. This progression is repeated and followed by an excited response from the Zhuihu (m. 53-57) that is picked up by the brass, leading into a loud climax at measure

62.

Following this climax is a six-measure transition featuring only a woodblock, signifying the contemplation of Nu Wa:

This idea is derived from Chinese opera, where the characters often freeze the movements to delineate thinking. As the schemes are planned, the wood block changes from fast trills to a slower rhythmic pattern that gradually speeds up again. This change of rhythm is the major characteristics of such depiction.22

The second section of the movement depicts first Nu Wa’s creation of human beings one at a time. Its construction consists of a musical passage that is repeated with variations seven times. The passage begins with the Chinese instruments playing expanded versions of the Nu Wa motives. The first vocal entrance of the movement, a solo singer singing on nonsense syllables, answers these. This voice represents a newly created human. With each variation of the episode, instrument groups are added (percussion, then strings, then winds). The choir responses increase in complexity as greater numbers of voices appear in each episode.

Beginning in measure 119 the piece depicts the “mass creation” section of the myth.

Glissandi in various instruments and the chorus represent the swinging vine (Figure 3-4), and the

22 Ibid., 37.

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brass represent the droplets of water (Figure 3-5). The chorus becomes increasingly active with leaps of sevenths, vocal glissandi, and nonsense syllables.

Figure 3-5: Chinese Myth Cantata, Mvt. II, m. 119 (strings).

Figure 3-6: Chinese Myth Cantata, Mvt II, m. 119 (brass)

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The overall texture becomes more complex, with the strings instructed to play randomly in measure 130. The choral texture expands to chord clusters, and in measure 141 the choir begins to improvise nonsense syllables and encourage audience members to join in. By the end of the movement all non-wind players are instructed to play and vocalize syllables. The overall texture is highly chaotic and frenzied. This is followed by a gentle yangqin solo, which leads to an attaca into the third movement.

Analysis of the Third Movement: Weaving Maid and the Cowherd

The third movement is based on a myth about a maid who was the daughter of a celestial god. The maid spent her time weaving the clouds, and would bath in the Silver River. A cowherd, whose only possession was a magical cow, stole the Maid’s gown while she was bathing and convinced her to marry him.

When the celestial god learned of the marriage, he ordered the maid to return to heaven.

The cowherd chased after the maid, but was separated from her when the god raised up the Silver

River between them. As a result, the maid and cowherd were separated forever and only allowed to meet once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.

The choir is used most extensively in this movement. The voices are treated instrumentally, singing on the syllable ‘o’ throughout most of the movement. The chorus concludes the work with an a cappella epilogue for 12 voices. The third movement is less literally descriptive than the first two, with greater emphasis on the musical depiction of the emotional state of the characters.

The movement is divided into four sections:

A (mm. 1-24)

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B (mm. 25-50)

C (mm. 50-102)

D (mm. 102-44)

The opening section features a sparse texture with a solo from the yangqin. Chen achieves a unique sonority by combining harmonics in the strings, tremolos in the glockenspiel in a high register, and punctuations from the zheng. An ascending line in the yangqin leads to the next section.

The second section is marked “Fairy Dance” in the score. The primary material is a pentatonic melody first played by the erhu, pipa and glockenspiel (Figure 3-6). The winds are highly active with trill figures and chromatic scales. The chorus and strings have long-note figures, often in unison but expanding into chord clusters. Beginning in measure 37 the material is repeated with some variation: brass is added with clusters, dynamic levels are raised, and the chorus and strings become increasingly complex with more strident clusters.

Figure 3-7: Chinese Myth Cantata, Mvt. III, mm. 26-29.

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The third section begins with the pentatonic melody from the second section now played by the winds. A second figure appears in the violins based on a different pentatonic scale (Figure

3-7) that will later be developed in a secondary theme. The tenor solo (m. 57) echoes the first theme, and then presents the second theme (m. 62) derived from the violins. The chorus joins the soloist (m. 68) singing long-note figures based on the pentatonic scale. Gradually instruments join the chorus with expanding dynamics building in a large climax (m. 102).

The final orchestral passage of the piece is characterized by an aggressive brass and percussion fanfare, with sharp accents and crescendos. The fanfare concludes (m. 140) with five measures of improvisatory material in the yangqin and zheng. The final sonority is a tritone, the interval that began the piece.

The work concludes “Song of the Weaving Maid and Cowherd” with an a cappella choral piece for 12-voice male chorus. It is a setting of an anonymous poem from the Han

Dynasty (206 B.C. – 220 A.D.). The text focuses on the sadness of the two separated lovers. In the program notes the composer instructs that the choir be scattered among the audience. Like the other movements of the cantata, the tonal language of this movement is based on seconds and tritones, often grouped together in chord clusters. The movement also utilizes the antiphonal effects seen in the first movement. The section concludes with a final chord cluster consisting of all notes of the Locrian scale.

Conclusion: Chinese Myths Cantata

Chen Yi’s Chinese Myths Cantata is the only example to date of her compositional style in a large-scale choral-orchestral texture. It is unique in its incorporation of Chinese mythology, folk tunes, and melodic material within a Western genre, the cantata. This synthesis is

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immediately evident in the instrumentation of the work, which combines traditional Chinese instruments with a standard contemporary Western orchestra. The work also combines English and Chinese texts, further highlighting the combination of its two cultural influences.

The piece derives its form—and achieves its cohesiveness—through the use of motives.

The recurrence of common melodic intervals (seconds and tritones) creates a common harmonic language that unites the piece. Formally the cantata is highly episodic, but the transitions are linked by textural changes or significant dynamic climaxes.

The choir is used both dramatically, as in the depiction of the creation of humans, and instrumentally, as in the Weaving Maid myth. Chen’s use of the chorus, large orchestra, and

Chinese instruments in unusual combinations results in a unique sonorities. The addition of unorthodox performing techniques and the large percussion section add to the overall sound palate.

From the perspective of a conductor, the piece presents a challenge even for accomplished orchestras, while the choral writing, though tailored specifically to a professional men’s choir, is somewhat less difficult.

The orchestra requires expert performers for the traditional Chinese instruments. A substitution of similar Western instruments (lute, mandolin, etc.) would be inappropriate. The conductor may find that such performers are not accustomed to the nature of large Western orchestras and may required additional attention during rehearsals and performances.

The orchestral parts require virtuoso playing in all parts, particularly the upper winds and strings. The strings in particular are called upon to play with very advanced techniques, including microtonal trills and harmonic slides.

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Because of the complicated polyrhythms found throughout the piece, the conductor must strive to present a clear and precise beat throughout the work. Chen’s markings for articulations and dynamics are detailed, and balance issues within the orchestra are likely not to be encountered. Balancing the orchestra with the chorus can be problematic, as the score specifies fourteen voices. If only fourteen voices are used, amplification will likely be needed for the choir. It is conceivable that a larger choir could perform the piece, although sections with more soloistic style would need additional rehearsal time. Ultimately, the piece is an accurate summary of the compositional style of Chen Yi: heightened emotional expression, rooted in

Chinese culture, transmitted through a combination of Chinese and Western techniques, styles and manners, and resulting in an artistic voice uniquely her own.

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Conclusion

Chen Yi’s biography reads like a cinematic event: raised in China during one of the most

significant social and political events of the twentieth century, the Cultural Revolution; a

member of the first class of the newly opened Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing 1977,

along with other popular contemporary composers like Tan Dun; further education in New York,

arguably the cultural capital of the United States; associations with significant American music

organizations like the Women’s Philharmonic and Chanticleer; and the honor of receiving major

awards and commissions from throughout the international music community, including the

prestigious Charles Ives Living Composer Award.

Chen’s personal history has its share of remarkable and memorable events, and each of

these had a distinct and important contribution to her compositional style and work. Chen’s

choral works provide numerous examples of how her compositional style fuses elements of

Chinese and Western music.

Most of her choral works are steeped in Chinese elements. She exclusively uses

traditional Chinese poetry, with most texts drawn from the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279)

Dynasties. Many of her texts’ themes focus on separation from loved ones and longing for

justice, which could be interpreted as a reaction to her ordeal as a forced-laborer during her childhood. Her settings are expectedly sensitive towards the unique characteristics of the Chinese language. Melodically her works draw from Chinese folk music, Chinese opera, or often newly- composed melodies inspired by these traditions. She features traditional Chinese instruments in many of her works.

With exposure as a child to European classical music, and later studies in the United

States, Western elements are present in her choral works as well. Her harmonic language is

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heavily based in contemporary techniques, including serialism and set theory, although occasionally maintaining an Eastern sound (pentatonicism). She uses Western instruments in collaboration with traditional Chinese instruments. Her works contain contemporary compositional techniques, including chord clusters, atonality and aleatoric music. She composes works in English as well as works in English and Chinese.

Chen’s significance as a composer can be attributed to the fact that her works are ultimately neither Chinese nor Western. Chen acknowledges:

Modern society is like a great network of complex latitudes and attitudes -- and despite their differences, all cultures, environments and conditions have something valuable to contribute to the whole. They keep changing all the time and interact with each other, so that each experience that we come across can become the source and exciting medium for our creation. In this sense, a composition reflects a composer's cultural and psychological makeup. For example, I believe that language can be translated into music. Since I speak naturally in my mother tongue, in my music there is Chinese blood, Chinese philosophy and customs. However, music is a universal language. Although I have studied Western music extensively and deeply since my childhood, and I write for all available instruments and voices, I think that my musical language is a unique combination and a natural hybrid of all influences from my background.23

23 Piñeiro, “An Interview with Chen Yi.”

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

Birrell, Anne. Chinese Myths. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press, 2000.

Ch'en, Chia-ning. The World of Chinese Myths. Beijing: Beijing Language and Culture University Press, 1995.

Festival of Sino-American Music and Culture: A program book. Cincinnati, OH: University of Cincinnati, 1996.

Holm David. Art and Ideology in Revolutionary China. Oxford, Oxford University Press: 1991.

Kraus, Richard C. Pianos and Politics in China: Middle-Class Ambitions and the Struggle over Western Music. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.

Lee, Yuan-Yuan and Sin-yan Shen. Chinese Musical Instruments. Chicago: Chinese Music Society of North America, 1999.

Meng, Chih. Remarks on Chinese Music and Musical Instruments. New York: China Institute in America, 1932.

Moser, L. The Chinese Mosaic: the Peoples and Provinces of China. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1985.

Shen, Sin-yan. China: a journey into its musical art. Chicago: Chinese Music Society of North America, 2000.

Werner, E. T. C. Myths and Legends of China. New York: B. Blom, 1971.

DISSERTATIONS

Chen, Moh-Wei. "Myths from Afar: Chinese Myth Cantata by Chen Yi." D.M.A. diss., University of Southern California, 1997.

Lau, Frederick. “Music and Musicians of the Traditional Chinese Dizi in the People’s Republic of China.” D.M.A. diss., University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1991.

Su de San Zheng. “Immigrant Music and Transnational Discourse: Chinese American Music Culture in New York City.” Ph.D. diss., Wesleyan University, 1993.

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Thrasher, Alan. “Foundations of Chinese Music: A Study of Ethics and Aesthetics.” Ph.D. diss., Ethnomusicology, Wesleyan University, 1980.

Wiant, Bliss Mitchell. “The Character and Function of Music in Chinese Culture.” Ph.D. diss., Musicology, Peabody Conservatory of Music, 1946.

Yeung, Hin-Kei. “Chen Yi and her choral music: A study of the composer’s ideal of fusing Chinese music and modern western choral traditions.” D.M.A. diss., University of North Texas, 2006.

Yip, M. L. “The emergence and development of Chinese choral music in the twentieth century.” D.M.A. diss., University of Texas at Austin, 1994.

ARTICLES

Albinder, Frank and Shira-Devra Cion, eds. Liner notes to The Music of Chen Yi. Women’s Philharmonic, JoAnn Falletta, conductor and Chanticleer. 1997.

Barkin, Elaine. "The New Music of Chen Yi." Journal of Music In China. Oct. 1999.

Chen Yi. Liner Notes to Chen Yi: Sparkle. Composers Recoding Inc. 1998.

Daines, Matthew. "Finding Her Way to the Top of Two Worlds." The New York Times (June 9 1996): H32.

Falletta, JoAnn. “JoAnn Falletta on Chen Yi.” Music in China, Zhou Qinru, ed., 1 (1991): 132.

Harwood, Dane Lee. “Music and the pragmatics of revolution.” In theory only II/3-4 (June-July 1976): 26-28.

Jing, Jiang. “The Influence of Traditional Chinese Music on Professional Instrumental Composition.” Asian Music xxii/2 (1991): 83–96.

Kouwenhoven, Frank. “CD reviews—in brief: The Music of Chen Yi.” Chime 10-11 (Spring-Autumn 1997): 205.

Kouwenhoven, Frank. “Mainland China's new music. II: Madly singing in the mountains.” CHIME: Newsletter of the European Foundation for Chinese Music Research no. 3, (Spring 1991): 42-75.

Kun, Fang. “A Discussion on Chinese National Musical Traditions.” Asian Music, xii/2 (1981): 1–16.

Kuo-Huang, Han. “The Modern Chinese Orchestra.” Asian Music, xi/1 (1979): 1–40.

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Lam, Joseph. "Encountering Chinese-American Music and Culture in Cincinnati."Current Musicology 60-61 (March 1996 ): 175-80.

Laprad, Paul A. “Choral Reviews: 'Sakura, Sakura' Arranged by Chen Yi.” Choral Journal 40:4 (November 1999): 87-88.

Melvin, Sheila and Jindong Cai. "The Sound of New Music is Often Chinese; The Offspring of a Grim Revolution." The New York Times (April 1, 2001).

Oestreich, James. "The Sound of New Music is Often Chinese; A New Contingent of American Composers." The New York Times (April 1, 2001).

Page, Frederick. “A musician in China.” Musical times CXXIII/1679 (January 1983): 31- 32.

Perris, A. “Music as Propaganda: Art at the Command of Doctrine in the P.R.C..” Ethnomusicology xxvii (1983): 1–28.

Piñeiro, John de Clef. "An Interview with Chen Yi." New Music Connoisseur (July 26, 2001) Vol. 9 No. 4.

Porter, Cecelia. "Chinese Music a Millennium Apart." The Washington Post (November 18, 1998): D3.

Run, Mao Yu. “Music under Mao: Its Background and Aftermath.” Asian Music xxii/2 (1991): 97–125.

Tcherepnine, A. “Music in Modern China.” Musical Quarterly xxi (1935): 391–400.

Thrasher, A.R. “The Sociology of Chinese Music: an Introduction.” Asian Music, xii/2 (1981), 17–53.

Ting, Nai-tung and Lee-hsia Ting. “The folk song in the People's Republic of China” Quebec, Quebec, Canada: University of Laval (1989): 135-58.

Wedemeyer, Dee. "Arts Abroad; A Chinese-Born Composer and Her Own Long March." The New York Times (March 27, 2001).

Wiprud, Theodore. "Composing to Communicate: Making Overtures with New Music," Symphony (September-October 1996) 33-36, 40-41, 55.

Yang, Ling. “China recovers her past in folk songs.” Chinese music VI/1 (March 1983): 8-10.

Zhang Xiao Ying and Zhang Xiao. “On the cultural receptiveness of Chinese and

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American societies—the perspective of musical arts.” Chinese Music 19, (1996): 44-6.

Zheng, Su. “Making music in cultural displacement: The Chinese American odyssey.” Diaspora: A journal of transnational studies 3, no. 3 (1994): 273-88.

CD reviews--The music of Chen Yi. IAWM JOURNAL Vol. 4, Winter 1998, p. 45-6.

SCORES

Chen Yi, Arirang, Theodore Presser, 1999.

____Capriccio for Mixed Choir, Organ, and Solo Percussion, Theodore Presser, 2001.

____ Chinese Mountain Songs, Theodore Presser, 2001.

____Chinese Myths Cantata, Theodore Presser, 1996.

____Chinese Poems, Theodore Presser, 1999.

____ From the Path of Beauty, manuscript, 2008.

____ A Horseherd’s Mountain Song, manuscript, 2003.

____ Know You How Many Petals Falling, Theodore Presser, 2001.

____Lament of the Twin Stars, manuscript, 1996.

____ Landscape, Theodore Presser, 2003.

____ Looking at the Sea, manuscript, 2006.

____Sakura, Theodore Presser Company, 1999.

____A Set of Chinese Folk Songs, Vol. 1-3, Theodore Presser Company, 1998.

____Shady Grove, 2001.

____Singin' in the Dark, Theodore Presser Company, 1995.

____ A Single Bamboo Can Easily Bend, manuscript, 2003.

____Spring Dreams, Theodore Presser Company, 1999.

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____Tang Poems, Theodore Presser Company, 1995.

____Three Poems from the Song Dynasty, manuscript, 1985.

____ To the New Millennium, Theodore Presser, 2001.

____ Written on a Rainy Night, Theodore Presser, 2004.

____Xuan, Theodore Presser Company, 2001.

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APPENDIX I

A Chronological Listing of Chen Yi’s Choral Output (to June 2009)

Three Poems from the Song Dynasty SATB choir (1985) – 15’

A Set of Chinese Folk Songs for Children's SA(T) Chorus and Strings -- 25' Commission Information: Meet The Composer Premiere Information: Aptos & Jordan Middle Schools, Palo Alto, Albany & Lick-Wilmerding High Schools, San Francisco Bay area, May, 1994

A Set of Chinese Folk Songs Men's Choir (TTBB) a cappella (1994) -- 17' Commission Information: Meet The Composer Premiere Information: Chanticleer, San Francisco, April 24, 1994

Arirang Korean folk song arrangement (1994) -- 3' Premiere Information: Chanticleer, Asian tour, 1995-96

Sakura, Sakura Japanese folk song arrangement (1994) -- 1' Premiere Information: Chanticleer, Asian tour, 1995-96

Tang Poems Cantata for Men's Chorus a cappella -- 12' Commission Information: Meet The Composer Premiere Information: Chanticleer, New York, NY, October, 1995

Tang Poems SATB Chorus and Chamber Orchestra

Singin' in the Dark (Songs of the American Frontier) Choir & Orchestra Available From Composer

Chinese Myths Cantata Male Choir and Orchestra (1996) -- 34' 12 singers; 2-2-2-2; 4-2-3-0; 4Pno., Str., 4 Chinese Instruments Commission Information: Meet The Composer

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Premiere Information: Chanticleer, The Women's Philharmonic; JoAnn Falletta, conductor, San Francisco, June 14, 1996

Lament of the Twin Stars (unpublished – 1996) arranged from Cantonese Music Male Choir Available From Composer

Spring Dreams SATB Chorus (1997) -- 5' Commission Information: Ithaca College Premiere Information: Ithaca College Chorus, Ithaca, NY, November 15, 1997

Chinese Poems Children's Chorus in Six Levels (1999) -- 9' Commission Information: San Francisco Girls Chorus Premiere Information: May 24, 1999, Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, Sharon Paul, conductor

KC Capriccio Wind Ensemble and Mixed Chorus (2000) -- 5' Commission Information: UMKC Conservatory of Music Premiere Information: September 28, 2000, Kansas City, MO, UMKC Conservatory Wind Ensemble and the Heritage Chorale, Sarah McKoin, conductor

Capriccio Mixed Choir, Organ and Solo Percussion (2001) -- 4' Premiere Information: March 2, 2002, Evelyn Glennie and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Craig Jessop, conductor, at the Olympic Arts Festival to celebrate the Paralympic Games, Salt Lake City, UT Additional Information: Adapted from KC Capriccio

Chinese Mountain Songs Women's Choir (2001) -- 10' Commission Information: Vocal ensemble Kitka with a grant from NEA and Rockefeller Foundation Premiere Information: June 17, 2001, San Francisco, CA

Know You How Many Petals Falling Mixed Choir (2001) -- 4' Commission Information: 6th World Symposium on Choral Music Premiere Information: August 11, 2002, Elmer Iseler Singers, MN

Shady Grove American folk song arrangement SATB Choir (2001) -- 2'

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To the New Millennium Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano and Mixed Choir (2001) -- 10' Commission Information: Miami University through the project Music at Miami for the Millennium, funded by a Miami University President's Academic Enrichment Award. Premiere Information: April 14, 2002. Audrey Luna, Soprano, Muri Opatz-Muni, Mezzo- soprano, Chamber Singers and Collegiate Chorale of Miami University, conducted by William Bausano, Oxford, OH.

Xuan Mixed Choir (2001) -- 5' Commission Information: Ithaca College School of Music Premiere Information: November 19, 2001, Ithaca, NY

A Horseherd's Mountain Song Mixed Chorus, a cap. (2003) -- 3'

A Single Bamboo Can Easily Bend Mixed Chorus, a cappella (2003) -- 3'

Landscape Mixed Choir, a cappella (2003) -- 3' Commission Information: ACFEA Tour Consultants for Kansas City Chorale Premiere Information: June 7, 2003, Kansas City Chorale, Chorus America National Convention, Kansas City, MO

The West Lake SATB (2003) -- 5' Commission Information: Chicago a cappella, to celebrate its 10th anniversary Premiere Information: Chicago a cappella, Jonathan Miller, conductor, September 9, 2003, Chicago, IL

Looking at the Sea Women's Choir (2006) -- 4'30" Commission Information: The Patricia Hennings New Music Fund for the Peninsula Women’s Chorus, on the occasion of its 40th anniversary, Martin Benvenuto, Artistic Director Premiere Information: The Peninsula Women’s Chorus, Conducted by Martin Benvenuto, on 3/17/07 in Menlo Park, CA

From the Path of Beauty Mixed choir and String Quartet (2008) -- 35' Commission Information: Chanticleer (30th anniversary) and Shanghai Quartet (25th anniversary) Premiere Information: Chanticleer and the Shanghai Quartet at San Francisco Conservatory, on 3/13/08, CA

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Additional Information: with support from the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. and Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, and dedicated to the memory of former San Francisco Deputy Mayor Peter Henschel and former San Francisco Supervisor Gordon Lau, in honoring their great contribution to the friendship between San Francisco-Shanghai Sister Cities

Two Chinese Folk Songs -- 4' Premiere Information: 16th March, 2008, Cornell University Chorus and Glee Club, conducted by Scott Tucker, Beida Centenary Hall, Peking University, Beijing, China

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