Commissioned by Li-Teng Huang and PIPAEnsemble
Pipa: Li-Teng Huang
Cello: Joe Wan

2025.05.03 Zhongshan Auditorium, Taipei City, Taiwan

群峰層浪 (Layering waves across the mountain peaks)，給琵琶、大提琴與電子音樂
(2025)

此作品受黃立騰與琵琶雅集委託，以台北的相關地景與記憶為發想創作，於二零二五年春季完稿。

在《群峰層浪》中，我所聚焦的是環山縱走，當風吹越山嶺、層疊的群草化成一片浪濤的景象。──在我的記憶中，在山嵐與磺氣氤氳間，春夏時是滿山綠草如茵，入秋之後則披上雲霧與芒草交織成的蒼茫。在除了風聲之外只剩下寂靜的峰頂，偶爾可以望見遠方的海，一片無盡湛藍、亦是一海未知的深遂。自從十多年前搬至沼澤地帶旅居之後，山逐漸於我賦予了特殊的意義：它象徵遺世獨立的境地，象徵不斷流逝的時間與無盡憧憬，也見證了天地萬物的恆常與多變。關於山嶺群峰的記憶是美麗、感慨、深刻、並且疼痛的。我在樂曲中探索琵琶、大提琴、以及電子音樂之間的，跨越時空與文化的對話，以共構一個有機的聲景空間：如同人生的波瀾，層層疊疊推向孤寂的峰頂，推向永無止盡的未來。

Layering waves across the mountain peaks (2025) for pipa, cello, and live electronics

My residency at Künstler*dorf Schöppingen has been full of discoveries—both internal and external—and I truly feel I have met people and encountered ideas that will carry me for years to come. It began with artist presentations by Imane Zoubai and Sohorab Rabbey, both of which struck me like lightning. One of Imane’s slides featured her drawings. On a piece of weaving-pattern grid paper, she had meticulously drawn dots, and the way these dots formed grouping patterns created a sense of rhythm. Indeed, as Imane explained, her work is inextricably tied to the notion of music—a connection I, as a musician, deeply resonate with.

Imane also served us tea on several occasions, in the traditional Moroccan way. Sweetened green tea with mint, poured from a metal pot into glasses from a distance—creating foam on the surface of the tea—was always refreshing and calming. She explained that the foam helps protect the tea from desert sand.

My piece Tea Ceremony with Grains is a synthesis of these experiences. I studied Imane’s drawing closely and reinterpreted the patterns to create a score—something akin to the piano rolls used in player pianos. The information in the score triggers various aspects of a water-like soundscape. Part of it is a recording of Imane pouring tea from a distance into a glass; another part is digitally and artificially generated. To imitate the sound of tea being poured, the piece gradually transitions from one chord to another—a process that at times manifests as a change in brightness, and at other times as a perceivable harmonic shift.

I dedicate this electronic work to Imane Zoubai and to all the fellows and staff members I have come to know during my time at Künstler*dorf Schöppingen. I look forward to creating many more pieces like this in collaboration with the wonderful people I have met—even if we are far apart.


Tea Ceremony with Grains (Homage to Imane Zoubai)

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Chen-Hui Jen is a composer, poet, and pianist, whose music presents an imaginative, spiritual, and poetic space with subtlety and sophistication. She writes music works that reflect an angle of contemporary art music that integrates time, sound, color, and poetry.

Layering waves across the mountain peaks (2025) for pipa, cello, and live electronics

Chen-Hui Jen, Composer

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