Yi Gyu Gyeong

Making Yan Cha - Mao Cha Evaluation - Wu Yi Shan Terroir

Chen was China's first woman to be awarded a master's degree in composition; she often incorporates Chinese instruments and melodies in her music. Born in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, Chen Yi (b. 1953) learned the violin at a young age and continued to play the instrument up to her graduate student years at Columbia University in the late 1980s. In fact, during the Cultural Revolution, Chen had continued to practise the violin even after having been sent to the countryside. By the early 1970s, she had returned to the city where she served as violinist with the local operatic troupe. All of these experiences provided inspiration for the compositions featured on this CD, whether in borrowed operatic and folk tunes, calligraphic gestures, huqin fiddling techniques, imitative sonorities of Chinese traditional instruments (sheng, suona, xiao or qin), inventive use of percussion, or in the vivid depiction of nature. Chen has lived and breathed Chinese operatic tradition and folk culture for decades, while at the same time steeping herself in the study of the Western canon of music.

Revolving around the first recording of Sir James MacMillan’s Kiss on Wood for viola and piano arranged and performed by Rachel Yonan, this album explores the polarity of light and darkness. Minimalist composer Arvo Pärt’s beloved Fratres and Spiegel im Spiegel bookend the program.