2023.11.08 Performed by the Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra
National Recital Hall, Taipei, Taiwan
Photo taken and the manuscript written at the Copland House

Program Notes

“Only a short distance have I gone astray, and I know today I am right, if yesterday was a complete mistake…” 
(Quoted from “Homeward Bound” by Tao, Yuanming, translated by Lin, Yutang)

In recent years, I have repeatedly meditated on the relationship between humans and time: What will my role and my perspective be after everything changed in time?  How do I perceive the time that has changed everything?  Following this, a number of my recent project focus on a meditation on humans and nature as well on humans’ impact on the environment with interpretations and re-interpretations of the symbols of rising water and receding nature.

towards drifting pines extends the poetic ideas of pines that I use in multiple of my previous works and re-interprets and re-orchestrates them into a new musical texture.  The title directly responds to my 2008 work, Under the Pines, reflecting a meditation in nature when time slowly passes.   Differing from the calmness and peacefulness when I composed Under the Pines, towards drifting pines reflects my resonance with Tao’s poem and conveys a spiritual state of endless drifting and internal isolation.

樂曲解說

「實迷途其未遠，覺今是而昨非……」

這幾年我常在思考人與時間的關連：在一切變遷之後，自身所處的當下是怎樣的視野與角色、在時間裡的感知又是怎樣的狀態。近來數首已完成與手上正在著筆的作品，也都陸續環繞著類似的課題，關於人與自然，以及人類對於環境的影響。因此我以「湧上的水」與「消逝的自然」，兩個與自身情感與生活經驗最位密切關連的題材，透過不同的視角來為關於時間的沉思著墨。
此曲延續多首前作關於「松樹」之樂念加以配器、整合為嶄新的音樂織體與面貌。標題《無歸之松》與自身2008年之另首絲竹樂作品《松下》相呼應，同樣在彷彿時間靜止的大自然間沉思，但今已非昔。比起當年寫作《松下》時秋意微涼、海風吹拂的愜意，《無歸之松》借用【歸去來辭】中詩人感嘆迷途之意象，以反映足跡與記憶皆漸行漸遠、飄泊無可依歸的心境。

towards drifting pines (2023) for di, sheng, pipa, daruan, zheng, erhu, and 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)

A renaissance style piece for classical guitar. Composed and performed by Federico Bonacossa.

Tre pezzi in stile antico - I. Ricercare

An original work written in renaissance style. Composed and performed by Federico Bonacossa

Tre pezzi in stile antico - II. Pavana

An original work in renaissance style, written and performed by Federico Bonacossa

Tre pezzi in stile antico - III. Toccata

Adrift

Night Soundscape captured by DPA 5100, mixed down to stereo

Night Soundscape at USJ 2 garden

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.

towards drifting pines (2023) for di, sheng, pipa, daruan, zheng, erhu, and electronics

Chen-Hui Jen, Composer