The Swash of Water and Red (for String Quartet)
Composed for and premiered by the Ohio-based Sonus Artis String Quartet, The Swash of Water and Red comprises five movements with the whole resembling a suite held together by a number of means, including the use of non-traditional performance techniques meant, in the composer’s word, to imbue the composition with a certain oriental flavor.

I. “Icy, Silent Morn”.
The movement commences with violin I assuming the leading melodic role, while violin II, viola, and violoncello provide an accompaniment of strummed pizzicato chords such that the latter grouping might emulate sounds produced by the Chinese stringed instrument known as the pipa—an emula- tion further enhanced by the fact that the second violinist and the violist are encouraged to hold their instruments in the manner of a guitarist. This opening gambit gives over to an extended passage where the ensemble is divided among high- and low-voiced pairings: the two violins sound alone but then trade off with the viola and violoncello while the violins rest. Even when the full four-voice texture returns a little beyond the halfway point of the movement, however, Hu continues to treat the ensem- ble in pairings albeit variously combined. One is struck by the prevalence of melodic intervals compris- ing a second or a third, often rendering a drone-like effect against a rather pronounced dynamic level generally ranging from mezzo forte to forte.

II. “Riverflight”.
The pacing of “Riverflight” is quicker than that of “Icy, Silent Morn,” both in terms of an overall increase in tempo (slight though it may be) and on account of sixteenth-note motion that rarely ceas- es. But the distinctions between the two movements extend to additional levels, including the cultur- al; if the earlier movement projects a veritable hybridization, drawing upon oriental and occidental compositional techniques, then the later movement most directly settles into a western mold, at least until its waning moments. Such generalizations, of course, carry with them the risk of being either too prescriptive or too simplistic, but “Riverflight” unfolds in a manner associated with a centuries old western contrapuntal technique known as the “caccia,” though here less strictly employed than his- torical representatives of the genre tend to be. In the first third of the movement the melody is trans- ferred from instrument to instrument, and in the following order: violin I is succeeded by violoncello, violin II, and finally viola. The remainder of “Riverflight” features sojourns in and out of four-voice tex- ture often realized via cascading techniques where the temporal delay among entries is brief.

III. “The Anguish of Red”.
Although divisible into two broad sections, “The Anguish of Red” is unquestionably episodic. The forte unison passagework of the initial measures involves the entire quartet and establishes an anxi- ety-ridden tone, a tone that recurs a number of times over the course of the movement. In addition, even after both the unison and the ensemble approach dissipate, each new gesture continues to exhib- it a “clipped” nature predicated upon certain of the opening rhythmic motives. Two related points con- cerning section B of “The Anguish of Red” warrant comment, the one having to do with what is encoun- tered at the midpoint of the section and the other at its conclusion. The near frenetic level of activity that characterizes section B is offset in deft fashion by a slower moving and harmonious episode focusing on the quiet projection of consonant vertical major thirds. The effect is brought into greater relief when held up against the concluding passage of the movement where quintuplet gestures give over to a unison descent from the penultimate to the final note expressing a dissonant melodic inter- val involving the specific tritone F and B natural—the diabolus in musica.

IV. “Orchid of Contemplation”.
The longest movement in The Swash of Water and Red, “Orchid of Contemplation” also represents a return to the hybridization of oriental and occidental compositional techniques heard in “Icy, Silent Morn.” Marked “lament” in terms of its tempo indication, the adjective “introspective” seems appro- priate with respect to overall mood. As with several movements in the suite, the melody passes from instrument to instrument and especially in the first of the two sections in “Orchid of Contemplation,”
where glissando, tremolo, and strummed effects dominate the aural landscape. Several of the effects continue into the second half of the movement. Here, however, both flautando and harmonic sound pro- duction enter into the equation. As a result, the principal melodic line is frequently “covered” by high- er and sustained notes in the accompaniment—an effect that would not be out of place in the late string quartets of Beethoven.

V. “Dragonfly Ribbons”
In certain regards “Dragonfly Ribbons,” the fastest-paced movement of the five, represents an amalgamation of all that has preceded it, and yet a greater degree of percussive effects animate the surface—effects such as “Bartók” (“snap”) pizzicatos, and string slaps (in the violoncello). The com- plete movement is essentially subsumed under a single arch, where division points are glossed over by the continual reentry of the melodic line at higher and lower pitch levels. This Baroque procedure is “modernized” on any number of counts, as when pizzicato sections dissolve into and out of the melod- ic frame. The motoric flow in “Dragonfly Ribbons” seldom lets up, and stands as the equivalent of a carrier wave facilitating motion toward the ultimate harmonic goal: an A major chord realized only in the last measures of The Swash of Water and Red.Notes by Greg Marion


The Swash of Water and Red (for string quartet)

In 2010 I had the great fortune of meeting poet Malachi Black and was quickly drawn to his words.  His poems, which form vivid images in my mind, have such a natural musical flow that I immediately wanted to set them.  The poems for Three Songs evoked three distinct feelings in me such that I felt they would work well as a set.  

In “Insomnia & So On,” there is stillness, a sense of desperation and frustration of being stuck in the endless hours of unrest.  The instruments paint a backdrop for the voice, gently pulling and pushing so there is never quite a sense of rest and relaxation.  In “You,” accusations fly off the soprano’s tongue as her melody dips and soars, quickly keeping up with the words in the poem.  In the last song, “Drifting at Midday,” there is finally a sense of comfort, of quiet realization.  The instruments create a consonant foundation for the soprano to find peace through the text.  

Many thanks to Malachi Black, new friend and collaborator, Jennifer Goltz, soprano extraordinaire, Chris Kim, superb conductor, and the fantastic musicians of Brave New Works for the opportunity to have my music brought to life.

Three Songs (for soprano and mixed ensemble)

Amor
Besides being a painter, sculptor, and architect, Michelangelo was also a productive poet, leaving over 300 poems for those of us enamored with his creative spirit to examine in efforts to understand the man behind the art.  When given the opportunity to write a work for Denison University’s 2006 tour of Italy, I chose Michelangelo’s Amor.  I was struck by his passion and his images in his text and felt that a choir and string setting could capture its mood.

Text: 
Amor, la tuo beltà non è mortale:
Nessun volto fra noi è pareggi
L'immagine del cor, che 'nfiammi e reggi
Con altro foco e muovi con altr'ale.

Love, your beauty is not a mortal thing:
There is no face among us that can equal
The image in the heart, which you kindle and sustain
With another fire and stir with other wings.

Translation by James M. Saslow, from The Poetry of Michelangelo: An Annotated Translation. Copyright © 1993 by Yale University Press.  Reprinted with permission.


Amor

The inspiration for Spheres of Influence comes from the idea that our identity is in part formed by those around us. As individuals, our actions and decisions are often determined by how we were raised, the culture we grew up in, and the influence of our friends. As parents, we hope our words will have lasting effects, to guide our children even when they are out of our sight and we are out of their minds. As artists, we are influenced by our teachers, and their teachers, and master artists from the distant past as well as living artists around us today. Some of these influences can be directly found; others are within our subconscious.
Spheres of Influence is a single movement work in three sections. The musical ideas influence one another, and the various combinations, or “spheres” of instruments - various solos, duos, and trios, influence the remaining instruments. This work also owes as a source of inspiration the music of Tchaikovsky, Vaughan Williams, Copland, Stravinsky, among others. As an Asian-American composer, music of both my cultures are present as well. Spheres of Influence begins with a anticipatory fanfare growing organically out of a single pitch. The middle section features longing melodies on various instruments representing the eventual parting between a parent and a child. The third section is relaxed, as one needs to “let go” and trust that the positive influence we have had will flourish in those around us. Throughout the work motives reoccur and are reconfigured, influencing other sections of the piece.
Spheres of Influence commissioned by the Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival, Timothy Christie, Founder and Artistic Director, for its sixth season. The premiere was performed by Stephen Miahky and Christina McGann violins; Julia Salerno and Timothy Christie, violas; and Felix Wang and Norbert Lewandowski, violoncelli on June 11, 2013.

Spheres of Influence

Joy Rising, for solo violin, is a five-movement work dealing with the concept of five types of chi, or wu xing, central to all elements of Chinese thought, including philosophy, music, science, medicine, astrology, and feng shui. The sequencing of the elements in this particular order (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water) represents a creative or enhancing cycle. Each element can be seen as a necessity for the next. In Joy Rising, there are internal connections among the movements. “Wood” begins the cycle with various extended techniques to allow the woodiness of the violin to resonate as the musical gesture grows organically. “Fire” contrasts the mood with a driving movement as flames burn. In “Earth” there is a sense of duality – as man and nature occupy a shared space, two musical lines intertwine. After a brief pizzicato interlude, “Metal” continues with a shiny sheen to its florid movement, while “Water” is still and contemplative. Joy Rising was commissioned by and written for Kia-Hui Tan.

Joy Rising - 3. Earth

Flight is about capturing a snapshot of flight. While writing it, an image from childhood came to mind - that of a colored-pencil drawing capturing Icarus in mid-air with his man-made wings.

Early UMich

Flight

Please Remember Me sets the words of Lance Corporal Danny Kay Crothers (US Marine Corps, 3rd Marine Division, 1st Battalion, 26th Marines, B Company) from a letter that he wrote his mother while serving overseas. His heartfelt letter details his daily experiences and contrasts it with life back home in Newark, Ohio. In the poem, he writes, “Please remember me.”

In setting his words, I was immediately struck by the fact he chose to write a poem while dealing with all the hardships he was encountering daily. I was moved imagining him finding the creative time and space to craft a poem. His words are moving, and as I set them, I realized me that the letter is more than a nudge or a plea to remember the sacrifices of those overseas; it is more than asking us to appreciate what we have --- it is a call to remember him and others after his passing. As I delved into his words, it dawned on me that Danny knew that he was not going to come back. This realization helped shape the setting of his poem. I took his words and chose a few phrases to create a refrain. This allows Danny Crothers’ words to resonate, build and last in our minds:

"Please remember me. You folks have it easy.
To think the end is near, to live a year in fear.
All any solder asks of you is, “Please remember me."

Mark Thress, tenor; Newark Granville Symphony Orchestra, Russell Mikkelsson, director; words set with permission. Photo by Lindsey McCutchan

Please Remember Me

15 minute dramatic scene - between mother and son; composed at UMich 1998 as part of the "Caterwaul" collaboration. 

Coming Home

Premiere performance of TRIP/TIC by the Worthington Chamber Orchestra, Antoine Clark, director.

Program Notes: Program notes


Who are we? Our identity consists of not only our experiences, but also the history of our parents and their parents. The events of their lives shaped their view, and as they raise their children, their history gets woven into life’s lessons handed down from generation to generation. My story spans three countries and dual cultures that have impacted my life before I even existed. World War II impacted my grandparents’ lives, transported them to a new country which affected my parents’ childhood. My parents’ desire to explore and grow brought them to the United States. And now I was raised in Iowa City, Iowa, in an abundance of cultural history and new discoveries. Among one of my earliest memories is a Chinese folk song, Kangding Love Song. 

TRIP / TIC is about journeys and influences. What does it mean to be Asian American? Is there a dominant culture? Is Chinese inspired music or “Copland-esque” music more “authentic” when talking about my identity? Or am I immersed in both, so that a new synthesis occurs?

TRIP/TIC

The Clarity of Hope, composed for the Cavani Quartet in celebration of Chamber Music Columbus’ 75th season, honors the lyrical artistry of the quartet. The fanfare is inspired by the first movement of the fanfare, A Distant Hope, that opened this season. Each member of the quartet has a moment to shine, as their lines punctuate the energy and anticipation of a fanfare - from its moments of jubilee as well as moments of reflection.

The Clarity Of Hope

As Hope Builds is inspired by the second movement of A Distant Hope, which opened the 75th anniversary season of Chamber Music Columbus last fall. Written for the amazing Callisto Quartet, each moment is a composite of separate intricate lines that form a texture of forward momentum and joy. Each artist soars in their solos that are supported by the other members of the quartet as the textures build to a thrilling conclusion.

As Hope Builds

A Wondrous Hope, composed for the Calidore String Quartet in celebration of Chamber Music Columbus’ 75th season, honors their amazing artistry. Each spring season brings joy, wonder, and hope for new energy and vitality. The lines of this fanfare build upon and support one another, culminating to a “blossoming” of energy.

A Wondrous Hope is inspired by the fanfare, A Distant Hope, that opened this concert season.

A Wondrous Hope

An Eternal Hope is composed for the Merz Trio in celebration of Chamber Music Columbus’ 75th season. With the Merz Trio’s vibrant colors and textures, the fanfare celebrates the eternal optimism for the future and our duty to bring forth a more positive world.

An Eternal Hope

"Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast. To soften rocks, or bend the knotted oak.” - William Congreve (1670-1729)

Music is vital for a society, for life. It strengthens us, it soothes us; it nurtures and it provokes. A Distant Hope, commissioned by and composed for the celebration of Chamber Music Columbus’ 75th season honors the role and importance of music and hope in our lives. While celebratory as a fanfare, it also deconstructs the various aspects of a fanfare in today’s uncertain world - its excitement, its anticipation, balanced with its repose. 
The first movement, “Skyward,” opens with calls of fanfare and joy. Motives are celebrated and festivities are represented. A section of delicate connections conveys the power of music to soothe, as the movement concludes in a contemplative pose. “Voyaging” captures the energy of motion and the exuberance of hope, signifying the preciousness of time. The power of music, its ability to heal, empower, and unite triumphantly in a flourish signifies optimism for the future.

A Distant Hope was commissioned for the American Brass Quintet in celebration of Chamber Music Columbus' 75th Season.

A Distant Hope II. Voyaging

A Distant Hope I. Skyward

The Swash of Water and Red (for String Quartet)
Composed for and premiered by the Ohio-based Sonus Artis String Quartet, The Swash of Water and Red comprises five movements with the whole resembling a suite held together by a number of means, including the use of non-traditional performance techniques meant, in the composer’s word, to imbue the composition with a certain oriental flavor.
I. “Icy, Silent Morn”.
The movement commences with violin I assuming the leading melodic role, while violin II, viola, and violoncello provide an accompaniment of strummed pizzicato chords such that the latter grouping might emulate sounds produced by the Chinese stringed instrument known as the pipa—an emula- tion further enhanced by the fact that the second violinist and the violist are encouraged to hold their instruments in the manner of a guitarist. This opening gambit gives over to an extended passage where the ensemble is divided among high- and low-voiced pairings: the two violins sound alone but then trade off with the viola and violoncello while the violins rest. Even when the full four-voice texture returns a little beyond the halfway point of the movement, however, Hu continues to treat the ensem- ble in pairings albeit variously combined. One is struck by the prevalence of melodic intervals compris- ing a second or a third, often rendering a drone-like effect against a rather pronounced dynamic level generally ranging from mezzo forte to forte.
II. “Riverflight”.
The pacing of “Riverflight” is quicker than that of “Icy, Silent Morn,” both in terms of an overall increase in tempo (slight though it may be) and on account of sixteenth-note motion that rarely ceas- es. But the distinctions between the two movements extend to additional levels, including the cultur- al; if the earlier movement projects a veritable hybridization, drawing upon oriental and occidental compositional techniques, then the later movement most directly settles into a western mold, at least until its waning moments. Such generalizations, of course, carry with them the risk of being either too prescriptive or too simplistic, but “Riverflight” unfolds in a manner associated with a centuries old western contrapuntal technique known as the “caccia,” though here less strictly employed than his- torical representatives of the genre tend to be. In the first third of the movement the melody is trans- ferred from instrument to instrument, and in the following order: violin I is succeeded by violoncello, violin II, and finally viola. The remainder of “Riverflight” features sojourns in and out of four-voice tex- ture often realized via cascading techniques where the temporal delay among entries is brief.
III. “The Anguish of Red”.
Although divisible into two broad sections, “The Anguish of Red” is unquestionably episodic. The forte unison passagework of the initial measures involves the entire quartet and establishes an anxi- ety-ridden tone, a tone that recurs a number of times over the course of the movement. In addition, even after both the unison and the ensemble approach dissipate, each new gesture continues to exhib- it a “clipped” nature predicated upon certain of the opening rhythmic motives. Two related points con- cerning section B of “The Anguish of Red” warrant comment, the one having to do with what is encoun- tered at the midpoint of the section and the other at its conclusion. The near frenetic level of activity that characterizes section B is offset in deft fashion by a slower moving and harmonious episode focusing on the quiet projection of consonant vertical major thirds. The effect is brought into greater relief when held up against the concluding passage of the movement where quintuplet gestures give over to a unison descent from the penultimate to the final note expressing a dissonant melodic inter- val involving the specific tritone F and B natural—the diabolus in musica.
IV. “Orchid of Contemplation”.
The longest movement in The Swash of Water and Red, “Orchid of Contemplation” also represents a return to the hybridization of oriental and occidental compositional techniques heard in “Icy, Silent Morn.” Marked “lament” in terms of its tempo indication, the adjective “introspective” seems appro- priate with respect to overall mood. As with several movements in the suite, the melody passes from instrument to instrument and especially in the first of the two sections in “Orchid of Contemplation,”
where glissando, tremolo, and strummed effects dominate the aural landscape. Several of the effects continue into the second half of the movement. Here, however, both flautando and harmonic sound pro- duction enter into the equation. As a result, the principal melodic line is frequently “covered” by high- er and sustained notes in the accompaniment—an effect that would not be out of place in the late string quartets of Beethoven.
V. “Dragonfly Ribbons”
In certain regards “Dragonfly Ribbons,” the fastest-paced movement of the five, represents an amalgamation of all that has preceded it, and yet a greater degree of percussive effects animate the surface—effects such as “Bartók” (“snap”) pizzicatos, and string slaps (in the violoncello). The com- plete movement is essentially subsumed under a single arch, where division points are glossed over by the continual reentry of the melodic line at higher and lower pitch levels. This Baroque procedure is “modernized” on any number of counts, as when pizzicato sections dissolve into and out of the melod- ic frame. The motoric flow in “Dragonfly Ribbons” seldom lets up, and stands as the equivalent of a carrier wave facilitating motion toward the ultimate harmonic goal: an A major chord realized only in the last measures of The Swash of Water and Red.  Notes by Greg Marion

01 Swash I  Icy, Silent Morn

02 Swash II  Riverflight

03 Swash III  The Anguish of Red

04 Swash IV  Orchid of Contemplation

05 Swash V  Dragonfly Ribbons

01 Insomnia & So On

02 You

03 Drifting at Midday

Passions deals with the intermingling of influences in my life as an Asian American: the folk tunes that have surrounded me since my childhood and the western-based education of classical music and twentieth-century techniques. For Passions, I composed music idiomatic for the er-hu (Chinese fiddle) and the sheng (Chinese aerophone) and combined attributes for violin lines. As a contrast, the music for the piano alternates between various pentatonic tapestries and neo- romantic, neo-tonal influences.

Compositions

Passions

Snow Ash (2008) as performed by Scott Conklin and Alan Huckleberry.

The composition symbolizes my various sensory experiences during a summer at Banff, as man and nature collided and obscured my view, a view at once directed by an awe-inspiring response to the innate beauty of the landscape, and mans seemingly cavalier capacity to exploit it.

Snow Ash

The Journey Reflected, for oboe and large mixed ensemble, performed by Andrew Parker, oboe, and the University of Iowa Center for New Music, David Gompper, director.

The Journey Reflected - I. Navigation

Hózhó

1.	Dance
2.	Protection Song
3.	Hózhó

Hózhó is inspired by the Native American Music of New Mexico, specifically, of its Pueblo, Navajo, and Apache tribes.  Various structural elements of Pueblo dance songs are incorporated in the first movement.  There are many protective songs in Apache music, such as music that would protect against anything that might befall a traveler during his or her journey. Hózhó translates to a sense of harmony and balance in life and living.  The last movement is inspired by monophonic Navajo music. Hózhó was commissioned by Chris Beaty and Eric Lau.

Ching-chu Hu

Pinned to spotlight

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