Knot (parts) Orchestra; duration: 30'00" To purchase the parts, the "buy now" button on the left will bring you to a secured website where you can pay with PayPal or a major credit card such as VISA or Master card. The electronic version of the parts in PDF will be emailed to you within 24-48 hours upon receiving the amount of payment shown on the right.
This purchase is for the parts only. The full
score is sold separately for $328.
US$ 780.00
The fourth movement "Reborn"
has been awarded the 2019 Artemis Firm Festival "Women Powered Music" (finalist) World premiere of "Knot", performed by the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra (NTSO) at the Chung-Hsing Hall, Taichung, Taiwan on May 26, 2017 with Kai-Hsi Fan conducting.
"Knot" - Program Note
Composed for a large scale orchestration plus four percussions, this piece was inspired by the seminal Taiwanese literature "Turbid Waters Trilogy" and "Taiwanese Trilogy" by Zhong ZhaoZheng. The series of novels describe the early hard life and persevere mentality of the Hakka people. With virtues of diligence and thrift, they struggled through adversities, crossed foreign boundaries, and constantly challenged themselves. The music expresses the indomitable spirits of the Hakka ancestors and how they again and again untied the "knot" of hardship and difficulty in life, portraying a picture of the Hakka culture and heritage.
Movement I. Furious Waves - This movement describes the fighting history of the Hakka ancestors during the era of Japan's occupation of Taiwan. As the music begins, all the percussion instruments together depict a war torn scenery with irregular rhythms and unpredictable appearances. All the bass range instruments produce a rhythmic, uniform strong voice that represents the horns of the army and the furious roars of the people. Contemporary articulations are used to express the unease and fear of the people. It was an era of darkness, anguish, and desperation.
Movement II. Harvesting Tea - This movement describes the busy farming season of the Hakka ancestors. They sang when they picked tea leaves in order to alleviate hardships and express admirations between men and women. The music begins with Adagio; the exchanges between brass instruments and wood wind instruments imitate the lyrical conversations between the loved ones. When the tempo changes to Allegro, the first and second violins play 16th notes, with the cellos and double basses playing pizzicato. This section depicts a vivid scene of the hectic farming activities, related to the busy summer-to-fall agricultural season as described in the novels.
Movement III. Children of the Earth - This Adagio movement expresses the traditional "hard neck" spirits of the Hakka people, which supported them through constant exploration and migration to foreign lands. Under difficult circumstances, they always managed to protect their homes and maintain their family heritage. The music begins with free tempo. The violin solo tells the story with a folk-song-style melody, expressing both sad and happy moods. This section reflects what was described in the novels an indignant feeling of the Hakka people on the ceding of Taiwan during the late Qing dynasty.
Movement IV. Reborn - This movement describes the departure from the time of darkness. Surviving the wars of defending the motherland, the Hakka ancestors finally broke through the shackles and reached the milestone of a brand new era. The music begins with complex rhythms in 8/8 beat. The strings and percussions march on with a steady footsteps. The brass and wood wind instructions progressively build up the harmonies, representing the dawn of the new era. The final movement and the first movement form a contrast and correspond to each other.
This piece was commissioned by the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra in 2016.
