Qigang Chen: Wu Xing (The Five Elements) (1999) | NEC Philharmonia скачать в хорошем качестве

Qigang Chen: Wu Xing (The Five Elements) (1999) | NEC Philharmonia

NEC Philharmonia, conducted by Hugh Wolff, performs Qigang Chen's "Wu Xing (The Five Elements)." This suite of five two-minute movements represents the five Chinese elements: water, wood, fire, earth, and metal. Note from composer Qigang Chen: "This commission [by Radio France] immediately raised all my interest, for the proposition coincided with a period of personal quest. The challenge pleased me and I took it up as a style exercise, supported by the pressure of the duration [limitation]...Before going further in my process, I undertook to characterize each piece by a different symbol. From there was born the idea of representing the five elements (Wu Xing). Because according to the Yi King, five elements constitute the universe: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth....To characterize musically a symbol in an extremely short time and to present a tangible material in an abstract language were my lines of strength. But even more, to establish relationships between the materials, so that each element generated the next one, as if the last was the consequence of the first." The result was a small suite of five two-minute movements, with the five Chinese elements in an order based on generation (other orders traditionally suggest other themes, such as production or overcoming). According to the foreword in the printed score, water is the strongest element for Chen, but characterized by calmness. Wood is the richest element, with a lot of variations; fire represents life (warm, but not aggressive); earth, a generative principle, is the matrix; and metal refers to strength and light. The Five Elements was a finalist in the 2001 Masterprize competition in the UK, and it has been recorded by Didier Benetti and the National Orchestra of France.