KIMMEL CENTER PRESENTS PERELMAN THEATER THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 7:30PM FRESH INK WU MAN, PIPA XI YANG XIAO GU Flute and Drum Music at Sunset Classical (Civil) 1. The Sound of Bells and Drums from a Distant Temple along the River. 2. Moon on the Eastern Mountain. 3. Breeze over the Quiet Water. 4. Shadows of Flowers. 5. Clouds and Water Far Away Become as One. 6. A Fishman’s Song in the Evening. 7. Waves Lapping at the Shore. 8. The Returning Boat. SHI MIAN MAI FU Ambush Laid on Ten Sides Classical (Martial) XIAO YUE ER GAO High Little Moon (Classical) ERIC MOE The Sun Beats the Mountain Like a Drum (World Premiere) WANG HUIRAN Dance of the Yi People XIAO PU AN ZHOU / ADAPTED BY WU MAN Chanting of the Monk Pu An (Classical) WU MAN Collage —Intermission— CHEN YI AND WU MAN Ancient Dances—Three Poems by Li Bai (701–762) (World Premiere) I. Cheering (Riding on My Skiff) Chen Yi II. Longing (Night Thoughts) Wu Man III. Wondering (The Cataract of Mount Lu) Chen Yi Wu Man, pipa; Robert Schulz, percussion Catherine Owens, videographer; Larry Neff, lighting design and technical adviser; Wu Man, concept Commissioned by Walton Arts Foundation. Educational and audience materials created by Walton Arts Center and the Center for the Study of Early Asian and Middle Eastern Musics, University of Arkansas. Fresh Ink’s 2005–2006 season is made possible by a grant from Mr. and Mrs. David L. Glickstein and the Philadelphia Music Project, an Artistic Initiative of the Pew Charitable Trusts, administered by the University of the Arts. N OTE S O N TH E P RO G R A M XI YANG XIAO GU Flute and Drum Music at Sunset Classical (Civil) A handwritten score for this pipa piece first appeared in 1875 as a piece with seven untitled sections. It was later discovered with subtitles among Chen Zijing’s handwritten collection of pipa music in 1898. The present score, having ten sections with subtitles, is taken from Li Fangyuan’s New Collections, 1895. This composition is of the “civil” style of pipa music. 1. The Sound of Bells and Drums from a Distant Temple along the River 2. Moon on the Eastern Mountain 3. Breeze over the Quiet Water 4. Shadows of Flowers 5. Clouds and Water Far Away Become as One 6. A Fishman’s Song in the Evening 7. Waves Lapping at the Shore 8. The Returning Boat SHI MIAN MAI FU Ambush Laid on Ten Sides Classical (Martial) Perhaps the best known of all traditional pipa works. It is a grand opus of the “martial” school of pipa music. Structured in traditional story telling form, Shi Mian Mai Fu portrays the epic battle between the kingdoms of Han (Liu Bang) and the warlord of Chu (Xiang Yu) in 202 B.C. The Han army ambushed the Chu army on ten sides and finally defeated the powerful Chu (Xiang Yu committed suicide), leading to the establishment of the Han Dynasty. The music describes how the armies set up camp, effected the ambush and fought fiercely. In it can be heard the war drums, booming guns, soldiers and horses, and the shouting of soldiers at the massacre. The victors return to camp in triumph at the end of a siring battle. Variations on a theme make use of tonal colors and timbres created by various fingering techniques to evoke a range of moods, heroism, stoicism, despair, and tragedy. XIAO YUE ER GAO High Little Moon Classical This is a popular tune for pipa from the Shanghai area that was written down toward the end of the 19th century, though the tune itself is very likely older. ERIC MOE The Sun Beats the Mountain Like a Drum (2004, World premiere) For pipa and electroacoustic sound The pipa is characterized as an instrument by an extreme range of visceral performance gestures—notes bend like crazy, strings can be twisted together, machinegun tremolos can strike at any moment. The wild physicality of the instrument is palpable, with an in-your-face presence. For the pipa’s electroacoustic partner, I looked for material that would emulate its hyperexpressive power. I enjoy the tension between digitally processed and raw sounds, and I have a decided fondness for the latter. Often the rawness is as much the result of signal noise or the artifacts of digital processing as of the handmade or found-on-theground nature of the source. Such sounds sometimes have blemishes but are not bland, and they are often hairy but not airbrushed. I have drawn from two distinct musical traditions and sound worlds. Some of the high adventure of the piece lies in how these traditions collide, rebound and are transformed and convoluted by one another. The Sun Beats the Mountain Like a Drum was composed at the Montana Artists Refuge in July 2004, and it was commissioned by the Fromm Foundation for pipa virtuoso Wu Man. I gratefully acknowledge the contributions of bluesman huddie Ledbetter (leadbelly) and percussionist Michael Lipsey for samples that are essential to the piece. Thanks also go to M.J. Williams for the loan of her percussion instruments. The work is dedicated to Wu Man, in admiration.—E.M WANG HUIRAN Dance of the Yi People (1960) This arrangement is based on folk tunes of the Yi minority people who live in southwestern China. Virtuosi techniques of the pipa are displayed such as tremolos, strumming, sliding notes, and harmonics. The music evokes the intoxicating nights on the mountainside and the joyous gathering of young people with lively dancing. N OTE S XIAO PU AN ZHOU (ADAPTED BY WU MAN) Chanting of the Monk Pu An (Classical) Pu An was a Buddhist priest in the 12th century who is said to have attained enlightenment through the chanting of sacred mantras. The first datable version of the piece is in score for the Zither qin from the late 16th century, and the first extant pipa score in 1818. Wu Man has further adapted it, including an effect which imitates the woodblock of the temples. WU MAN Collage (2000) This was inspired by all the well-known classical martial style pipa works. But it almost sounds like a rock guitar piece. —Intermission— CHEN YI AND WU MAN Ancient Dances Three Poems by Li Bai (701–762) For Pipa and Percussion (2005) I. Cheering (Riding on My Skiff) Chen Yi II. Longing (Night Thoughts) Wu Man III. Wondering (The Cataract of Mount Lu) Chen Yi Wu Man, pipa, Robert Schulz, percussion Catherine Owens, videographer, Larry Neff, lighting design and technical adviser Wu Man, concept It’s a privilege to write a new work for my friend, the pipa master Ms. Wu Man, to perform in the 05/06 concert season. I remember the first time we worked together in 1991 when Wu Man premiered my solo piece The Points on pipa, the age-old Chinese traditional instrument, at the New Work October concert series of Columbia University in New York, presented by the New Music Consort. She immediately caught my attention with her adventurous virtuosity and sensibility in the piece that involved new musical concepts and language. I have been very happy to keep track of her new experiments and success in the music field since then. Again, in 2001, I composed a trio for her to play with O N TH E P RO G R A M Yo-Yo Ma and Young-Nam Kim, commissioned by the Chamber Music Society of Minnesota for the Hun Qiao project. Wu Man loved the piece so much that she commissioned me to write another new work to perform this time. In Chinese cultural tradition, in which I am deeply rooted, music is part of an organic art form, along with poetry, calligraphy and painting. I am glad that Wu Man suggested to have our new work performed together with visual artists. We are going to combine the art forms together in one. I got my inspiration from three ancient poems, which are drawn in Chinese calligraphy, with exaggerated dancing lines and shapes in layers of ink. The music is complemented by image projection of Chinese calligraphy according to the poems. The duet Ancient Dances is written for pipa and a set of percussion instruments (including woodblock, bongo, maracas, paddle castanets, a pair of small bells, small Beijing Opera gong, two pair of small Chinese cymbals— naobo and suspended cymbal—and tabla). It consists of three movements abstractly— Cheering, Longing and Wondering, in which the music represents various expressions, in different textures and tempos (Allegro-Adagio-Moderato), inspired by the text in the three Chinese poems by Li Bai from Tang Dynasty: 1) Riding on My Skiff; 2) Night Thoughts; and 3) The Cataract of Mount Lu. The flying lines, as like mysterious and vivid ancient dances, bring the music, the calligraphy and the painting all together in our work. —Chen Yi Commissioned by Walton Arts Foundation. Educational and audience materials created by Walton Arts Center and the Center for the Study of Early Asian and Middle Eastern Musics, University of Arkansas.