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A Cultural Analysis of Chen Yi's Si Ji (Four Seasons) for Orchestra

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A Cultural Analysis of Chen Yi's Si Ji (Four Seasons) for Orchestra A CULTURAL ANALYSIS OF CHEN YI'S SI JI (FOUR SEASONS) FOR ORCHESTRA Timothy Stulman A Document Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS August 2010 Committee: Marilyn Shrude, Advisor Amy Robinson Graduate Faculty Representative Mikel Kuehn David Harnish ii ABSTRACT Marilyn Shrude, Advisor Chen Yi, a prominent composer of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, has been the subject of considerable musical study; however, her orchestral piece, Si Ji (Four Seasons) for Orchestra, has yet to be inspected with a great deal of scrutiny. The aim of this study is to provide a musical and cultural analysis of Si Ji (Four Seasons) for Orchestra, comparing the composition to the traditional Chinese concept (si ji) after which the piece is named. Si ji is a cyclical form used as an analogy in many of the schools of thought throughout Chinese history. According to traditional Daoist philosophy, the seasons are the result of the interaction between yin and yang, polar opposites that provoke each other into a continuous cycle of motion. Si Ji (Four Seasons) for Orchestra relies on these polar opposites not only for the overall structure of the piece, but also to control the flow of intensity from one section of the composition to the next. In the analytical section of this document, I compare flow of energy in the traditional cycle to flow of intensity in Chen Yi’s Si Ji (Four Seasons) for Orchestra. To measure musical intensity, I created a graph in which the x-axis represents time as measured in beats, and the y-axis contains the name of every staff used in the score. On each beat and for every sounding instrument, I inputted the given dynamic as a numeric value. After inputting these values, all lines were summed for a total intensity measurement for that given beat. I used this data to create charts, allowing one to easily iii see the flow of intensity over the course of a section, season, or the composition as a whole. The final data shows that Chen Yi remained remarkably true to the philosophical concept. In most instances, the flow of musical intensity in Si Ji (Four Seasons) for Orchestra closely mirrors the flow of energy in the traditional cycle. Chen Yi successfully reaches back to her cultural heritage while using twenty-first century compositional techniques to create a truly cross-cultural masterpiece. iv To Dr. Marilyn Shrude, my teacher and mentor, and to my committee, for their commitment to my success. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 1 Research Problem, Document Organization, and Review of Literature.................... 1 An Overview of the Life of Chen Yi ......................................................................... 3 Musical Influences..................................................................................................... 7 Chinese Musical Influences ........................................................................... 7 Non-Chinese Musical Influences................................................................... 10 An Introduction to Si Ji (Four Seasons) for Orchestra ............................................. 11 Fundamentals of Chinese Philosophy........................................................................ 12 ANALYSIS OF FORM AND ENERGY FLOW IN SI JI (FOUR SEASONS) FOR ORCHESTRA ............................................................................................................ 16 Defining the Study ..................................................................................................... 16 Purpose........................................................................................................... 16 Denotation of Seasons in Si Ji (Four Seasons) for Orchestra....................... 16 Overview of the Traditional Cycle of the Seasons ........................................ 17 Method of Analysis........................................................................................ 20 Spring ...................................................................................................................... 22 Overview........................................................................................................ 22 Comparison to the Traditional Cycle of the Seasons..................................... 22 Section Overview........................................................................................... 24 Analysis.......................................................................................................... 25 Summer...................................................................................................................... 36 vi Overview........................................................................................................ 36 Comparison to the Traditional Cycle of the Seasons..................................... 36 Section Overview........................................................................................... 37 Analysis.......................................................................................................... 38 Autumn ...................................................................................................................... 46 Overview........................................................................................................ 46 Comparison to the Traditional Cycle of the Seasons..................................... 46 Section Overview........................................................................................... 47 Analysis.......................................................................................................... 48 Winter ...................................................................................................................... 57 Overview........................................................................................................ 57 Comparison to the Traditional Cycle of the Seasons..................................... 57 Section Overview........................................................................................... 58 Analysis.......................................................................................................... 61 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................... 71 Final Comparison of Si Ji (Four Seasons) for Orchestra and the Traditional Cycle of the Seasons.................................................................................................. 71 Final Reflections ........................................................................................................ 75 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................ 77 APPENDIX A. GLOSSARY................................................................................................. 83 APPENDIX B. CONSENT LETTERS ................................................................................ 84 vii LIST OF EXAMPLES Example Page 1 Ba Ban, the Source Tune ......................................................................................... 8 2 The Eight Trigrams of the Yi Jing.............................................................................. 14 3 Section Overview of Si Ji (Four Seasons) for Orchestra.......................................... 17 4 Energy Flow in the Traditional Cycle of the Seasons................................................ 19 5 Dynamic to Intensity Conversion Table .................................................................... 20 6 Section Overview for Spring ..................................................................................... 25 7 Chromatic Motif (m. 3-4) .......................................................................................... 26 8 Ba Ban Theme (m. 5-6) ............................................................................................. 26 9 Trumpet Swells (m. 4) ............................................................................................... 27 10 Beginning of Traditional Ba Ban Tune...................................................................... 28 11 Layered Entrances (m. 5-6)........................................................................................ 28 12 Intensity Flow of Spring, Section 1a (m. 1-11) ......................................................... 29 13 Intensity Flow of Spring, Section 1b (m. 12-29) ....................................................... 31 14 Woodwinds before String Melody (m. 41-44)........................................................... 32 15 Intensity Flow of Spring, Section 2a (m. 30-46) ....................................................... 33 16 Intensity Flow of Spring, Section 2b (m. 47-58) ....................................................... 35 17 Section Overview for Summer................................................................................... 38 18 Chromatic Cluster (m. 59-60).................................................................................... 39 19 Woodwind Runs and Tpt. and Ob. Accents (m. 61).................................................. 40 20 Ob. and Tpt. 1 and 2 Melodic Fragmentation (m. 67) ............................................... 41 viii 21 Intensity Flow of Summer, Sections 1-5 (m. 59-104)
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