This title of this chamber ensemble piece is “Hermit” and with the subtitle, “in seduction from the city”.  It was inspired by the life of one of the Christian church legands, Saint Paul the first Hermit (ca. 228–343) who lived in the mountain of the dessert in a cave near a clear spring and wearing palm tree leave as his outfit, eating fruit as his main source of food, drinking lake water and spending the rest of the life in the cave over hundred years.  Composer was really admired of his life style and agreed with the notion of this simple living way and composed this ensemble piece of eight instruments as a reflection to capture the spirit of Saint Paul the first Hermit. 
Composer tried to explore the origin of various sound sources in each instrument he employed in this piece as the basic and simple voicing tone.  The elements of those voicing tone were based on the idea of producing sound in its nature.  Learning from the primitive practice is part of the major concept in making sound in this piece such air sound and percussive key click noise from woodwind instruments, scratching and vibrating one substance (bow hair) and the other (strings) and plucking strings directly on the strings through hands without playing piano keys etc.  Transforming sound was used as the priniciple idea in the musical phrase and sentence structure here in order to imitate the projecting sound from one place to a remote place.


《空谷傳音》是一部為八件西洋樂器而創作的室內樂作品。此曲於二零一四年完成。
能夠活到過百年那麼長壽的宗教傳奇聖人，聖保羅隱修士，生長於一個埃及貴族基督教家庭。他卻離開富裕華麗生活而退隱居住於大自然的沙漠去追求安靜，簡樸和潔淨靈修的生活。作著除了非常欣賞聖保羅隱修士的獨修生活和歸於大自然的純樸意念，更嚮往他自由自在與天地和諧共處的心靈、修身生活。在音樂上，作著嘗試尋求音韻聲律和器樂基本的發響原調作互通交點與共融和諧。


Hermit 《空谷傳音》......... in seduction from the city

Biography

"Stephen Yip has an extraordinary way of creating a post-Darmstadtian modernism that incorporates his Chinese roots with a subtlety that gives us a vivid experience of the inner colors of an advanced spatial sense. It leaves us with a feeling of focused tranquility. He is a genuine voice in new music today."
—Gapplegate Classical-Modern Music Review

“…..abound in colourful texture that take their cue from traditional Asian music….and ….Yip’s splendid ear and sophisticated technique stand him in good stead….”
—Gramophone Review

Stephen Yip was born in Hong Kong and now living in U.S.A. He received his doctor of musical arts (D.M.A.) at Rice University and bachelor of fine arts (B.F.A.) at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.  He has attended major music festivals including: Wellesley Composers Conference, Aspen Music Festival, International Summer Course for New Music Darmstadt, Asian Composers’ League, ISCM World Music Days, Chinese Composers’ Festival, Music X, June in Buffalo, IMPULS Ensemble Akademie, California E.A.R. Unit Composer Seminar, the 13th International Summer Program, Czech Republic, International Composers’ Workshop, Luxembourg, the International Summer Course for New Music, Darmstadt, Germany, Wellesley Composers’ Conference. Residencies include: the Atlantic Center for the Arts, Florida, Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, Nebraska, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts , Yaddo Colony, NY and the MacDowell Colony, NH.    

Yip’s works have been performed in the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Israel, Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Germany, Italy, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and Philippines.  He has received several composition prizes, included “Earplay”, “Salvatore Martirano Memorial Composition Award”, “Taiwan Music Center International Composition Prize”, “Robert Avalon Interantional Prize”, “Singapore International Composition Competition for Chinese Orchestra”,  “Haifa International Composition Prize”, First International EPICMUSIC Composition Prize, Italy, International Biennial composition competition, the Debussy Trio Music Foundation, Molinari Quartet’s Third International Composition Competition, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra Emerging, the ALEA III composition Competition, the fourth NACUSA Texas Composition Competition, the International Music Prize for Excellence in Composition 2010, by the National Academy of Music, Thessaloniki, Greece, and the 2010 Alvarez Chamber Orchestra Freestyle Composition Competition, London, England .  

His works have been performed by major ensembles and players such as Alarm Will Sound, Earplay New Music, Mivos String Quartet, New York New Music Ensemble, Great Noise Ensemble, North South Consonance, Brno Philharmonc Orchestra, inFLUX Duo, Windpipe Chinese Orchestra, Little Giant Chinese Orchestra, Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, St. Paul Chambr Orchestra, Curious Chamber Players, TIMF Ensemble, Ensemble El Perro Andaluz, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Singapore Chinese Orchestra, Avanti, Ensemble Kochi, Moscow New Music Ensemble, etc.
  
Yip’s works are recorded in the ERM-Media, PARMA, Capstone, North South recording, Ablaze records, ATMA Classique, and Beauport Classical labels.  Yip is a member of the SCI, NACUSA, and ASCAP. Currently, he is on the music faculty at Houston Community College and works as a freelance composer.

Email: yshukin71@gmail.com 
Web: www.stephen-yip.com

Hermit 《空谷傳音》......... in seduction from the city

Stephen Yip 1