巴拉芳 (2004) 鋼琴協奏曲
DURATION: 12 minutes
曲長：12分鐘
INSTRUMENTATION: 1 Piccolo, 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 1 English Horn, 2 Clarinets in Bb, 1 Bass Clarinet in Bb, 2 Bassoons, 1 Contrabassoon, 4 Horns in F, 3 Trumpets in C, 2 Trombones, 1 Bass Trombone, 1 Tuba, Timpani, 3 Percussionists, Harp, Piano, Strings
樂器：短笛x1、長笛x2、雙簧管x2、英國管x1、Bb調豎笛x2、Bb調低音豎笛x1、低音管x2、倍低音管x1、F調法國號x4、C調小喇叭 x3、長號x2、低音長號x1、低音號x1、定音鼓、三位打擊樂手、豎琴、鋼琴、絃樂
PREMIERE PERFORMANCE 首演:
February 1, 2005
/ 2005年2月1日
Hill Auditorim, Ann Arbor, MI, USA / 美國密西根 Hill 音樂廳
Ming-Hsiu Yen 顏名秀, piano 鋼琴
Nikolas Caoile, conductor 指揮
University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra 美國密西根大學交響樂團
PROGRAM NOTE 樂曲解說：
Being a native Taiwanese composer and pianist, I have been thinking for some time about writing a piece for piano and orchestra related to my own country. My piece, Balafan, is based on a song of the Ami people, an aboriginal tribe in Taiwan. Music is one of the most important parts of the Ami people’s daily life. Interestingly, there is no word for “music” in their language, only the word “song.” They sing for every occasion. “Balafan,” meaning literally shouting for joy, is also a particular song that they sing when visiting friends or when their friends visit. The Ami songs are sung by groups of people in various ways, including homophonic, leading/responsorial and polyphonic free, often highly ornamented contrapuntal styles. These musical characteristics were very much in my mind when I was composing this piece.
This piece consists of three main sections. Starting with a piano solo, the original Balafan melody, based on a pentatonic scale, has been chromatically twisted, which I would like to use to symbolize the difficult struggle of the Ami’s cultural identity throughout history. Later after a very contrapuntal and fragmented presentation of the melody in both the piano and the orchestra parts, the music goes into the middle section, a dance with unexpected accents, grace notes and leading/responsorial writing between the piano and the orchestra. Gradually the texture becomes thicker and builds up with chordal and rhythmic intensity. Finally this section reaches a climax with the piano playing a huge double forearm cluster. The last section which follows is based on the alternation between the twisted melody and the original one. The latter, symbolizing purity and innocence, gradually takes over.
Website update: February 5, 2012
Copyright © Ming-Hsiu Yen, 2006-2012. All Rights Reserved.