Chen Yi

Qi

In Qi; I used a mixed combination of western instruments; to create the sound from east; to express my feelings of the Qi abstractly - it's so untouchable; so mysterious; but so strong and powerful. It melts into air and light; it's like the space in Chinese paintings; it's filled into the dancing lines in Chinese calligraphy; it's the spirit in the human mind. In my composition; I translate my general feeling of the Qi; the element of nature; into my musical language in a quite free and slow tempo. There are also exaggerated textures with tension; in which I try to sound the inner voices and spirit of human beings; to experience this eternal power. Commissioned and premiered by the New Music Consort of New York; San Francisco Contemporary Music Players and Los Angeles Philharmonic Association with a grant provided by the Meet The Composer/Reader's Digest consortium commissioning program; the quartet is entitled Qi; and was recorded on CRI under the title 'Sparkle: Chamber Music of Chen Yi;' released in New York in 1999. I have dedicated the work to Prof. Chou Wen-Chung on his 75th birthday in 1998; to express my deep gratitude to his mentorship in my composition concept and artistic thoughts. - Chen Yi '…a marvelous hybrid piece … her music…spans vast cultural spaces with a most endearing; easy grace.' - Alan Rich; LA Weekly '…another of her fascinating cultural interweavings; a poetic essay marked by dynamic extremes and textural imagination.' - Josef Woodard; Los Angeles Times '…thrilling...exhilarating. As ever with this formidable composer; the music draws on traditional Chinese sonorities; transforming them and putting them into service of a fiercely dramatic formal plan.' - San Fancisco Chronicle '… a glittering; kinetic juggernaut of a piece; said yet more about the immense talent of the Chinese-born Chen Yi…' - Richard Buell; Boston Globe; 10/27/99 '… the improvisational fantasy of Chen Yi's lovely Qi… translates the essence of [Chinese] culture into Western instruments; tapping into their aggressive quality for dramatic impact and using snappy underlying riffs as a means of unity.' - David Patrick Stearns; Philadelphia Inquirer; 11/15/03 'This dazzling work; a sonic depiction of life force by one of the most talented of a group of recent Chinese émigré composers; combines Western and Asian sonorities and aesthetics.' - Frank J. Oteri; Chamber Music Magazine; June 2000