For Solo Piano by Qigang Chen
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University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--Music Music 2018 “INSTANTS D’UN OPERA DE PEKIN” FOR SOLO PIANO BY QIGANG CHEN Mengying Wan University of Kentucky, [email protected] Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2018.501 Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Wan, Mengying, "“INSTANTS D’UN OPERA DE PEKIN” FOR SOLO PIANO BY QIGANG CHEN" (2018). Theses and Dissertations--Music. 132. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/music_etds/132 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Music at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--Music by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STUDENT AGREEMENT: I represent that my thesis or dissertation and abstract are my original work. Proper attribution has been given to all outside sources. 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Mengying Wan, Student Dr. Irina Voro, Major Professor Dr. Michael Baker, Director of Graduate Studies “INSTANTS D’UN OPERA DE PEKIN” FOR SOLO PIANO BY QIGANG CHEN _________________________________ DMA PROJECT _________________________________ A project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in the College of Fine Arts at the University of Kentucky By Mengying Wan Lexington, Kentucky Co-Director: Dr. Irina Voro, Professor of Piano Co-Director: Dr. Lance Brunner, Professor of Music History Lexington, Kentucky Copyright © Mengying Wan 2018 ABSTRACT OF DMA PROJECT “INSTANTS D’UN OPERA DE PEKIN” FOR SOLO PIANO BY QIGANG CHEN My monograph focuses on the Instants d’un Opera de Pekin by the contemporary Chinese composer Qigang Chen in particular how he incorporates Chinese musical elements with Western compositional techniques. The main focus of this study is an analysis with emphasis on performance issues. A brief introduction to Chinese music elements is provided to establish a context. This document provides brief information about Chinese scale modes and instruments. KEYWORDS: Qigang Chen, Pentatonic Scales, Piano Variation. Mengying Wan Student’s Signature December 1, 2018 Date “INSTANTS D’UN OPERA DE PEKIN” FOR SOLO PIANO BY QIGANG CHEN By Mengying Wan Dr. Irina Voro Co-Director of DMA Project Dr. Lance Brunner Co-Director of DMA Project Dr. Michael Baker Director of Graduate Studies December 1, 2018 Date To my family ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I owe a deep debt of graitude to the members of my committee: Dr. Lance Brunner, Dr. Irina Voro, Dr. Schuyler Robinson, Dr. Raleigh Dailey and Dr. Michael Winter. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................. v LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... vi LIST OF EXAMPLES ...................................................................................................... vii Part I: “Instants d'un Opera de Pekin”for solo piano by Qigang Chen Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 Biographical Sketch of Qigang Chen ............................................................. 4 Overview to the Peking Opera ........................................................................ 7 The Structure of Instants d’un Opera de Pekin ............................................ 10 Chinese Pentatonic Scales and Modes in Instants ........................................ 13 Thematic Development in Instants ............................................................... 19 Quartal/Quintal Harmony and Set Theory .................................................... 26 Performance Considerations ......................................................................... 36 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 42 Part II: Program notes Program I...........................................................................................................................43 Program II..........................................................................................................................47 Program III.........................................................................................................................53 Program IV.........................................................................................................................62 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................... 63 VITA ................................................................................................................................. 65 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Variation form of Instants d’un Opera de Pekin ................................................ 12 Table 2. Set thorey ........................................................................................................... 34 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Pentatonic in omit (gong) mode ........................................................................ 14 vi LIST OF EXAMPLES Example 1. Qi-gang Chen, Instants d’un Opera de Pekin, m.242.................................... 10 Example 2. Qi-gang Chen, Instants d’un Opera de Pekin, m.239 to m.241 .................... 11 Example 3. Fragmented version of the two themes of Instants d’un Opera de Pekin, m. 4. ........................................................................................................................................... 15 Example 4. Complete themes of Instants d’un Opera de Pekin, mm. 9-11. .................... 16 Example 5. Qi-gang Chen, Instants d’un Opera de Pekin, m.154.................................... 17 Example 6. Qi-gang Chen, Instants d’un Opera de Pekin. mm.156-157. ........................ 18 Example 7. Qi-gang Chen, Instants d’un Opera de Pekin. m.194.................................... 18 Example 8. Qi-gang Chen, Instants d’un Opera de Pekin, mm. 17-33. ........................... 23 Example 9. Qi-gang Chen, Instants d’un Opera de Pekin, mm. 34-43. ........................... 25 Example 10. Qi-gang Chen, Instants d’un Opera de Pekin, mm. 63-67. ......................... 26 Example 11. Qi-gang Chen, Instants d’un Opera de Pekin, mm. 101-110. ..................... 27 Example 12. Qi-gang Chen, Instants d’un Opera de Pekin, mm. 137-139. ..................... 28 Example 13. Qi-gang Chen, Instants d’un Opera de Pekin, mm. 222-223. ..................... 28 Example 14. Qi-gang Chen, Instants d’un Opera de Pekin, mm. 86-93. ......................... 30 Example 15. Planing of Debussy’s La Cathédrale Engloutie. ......................................... 30 Example 16. Qi-gang Chen, Instants d’un Opera de Pekin, mm. 221. ............................ 31 Example 17. Debussy’s La Cathédrale Engloutie. ........................................................... 31 Example 18. Qi-gang Chen, Instants d’un Opera de Pekin, mm. 228-230. ..................... 32 Example 19. Qi-gang Chen, Instants d’un Opera de Pekin, mm. 7-8. ............................. 35 Example 20. Qi-gang Chen, Instants d’un Opera de Pekin, mm. 88-93. ......................... 38 Example 21. Qi-gang Chen, Instants d’un Opera de Pekin, mm. 59-62. ......................... 39 Example 22. Qi-gang Chen, Instants d’un Opera de Pekin, mm. 119-120. ..................... 40 vii Introduction Many classically trained musicians, including Chinese performers, have not had exposure to traditional Chinese music and therefore have not developed a deep understanding of this repertory. Whether approaching this music from the perspective of music theory, musicology, or performance, one should cultivate a knowledge of traditional Chinese music in order to better understand how the two traditions have influenced one another. Western music began to gain acceptance and appreciation in China in the early twentieth century. From 1919 to