Eventide Clouds and Bright Hopes, for Orchestra (2018)

Eventide Clouds and a Bright Hopes, for Orchestra (2018) [9’00”]
Winner of the Indiana University JSoM Composition Department New Voices Composition Competition

8:00 p.m., Dec 5, 2018 │ Indiana University JSoM “New Voice” Winners’ Concert
Musical Arts Center, Indiana University JSoM, IN, United States

Indiana University JSoM Concert Orchestra │ David Dzubay, conductor
Sound Recording Copyright 2018, Trustees of Indiana University

Citation from Herald-Times Online, MUSIC REVIEW: New Voices concert: IU orchestral score contest produces fascinating new works, by Peter Jacobi H-T Reviewer,  Dec 6, 2018:

“…Taiwanese composer Yi-De Chen contributed “Eventide Clouds and Bright Hopes” to the program, a conventionally orchestrated item strong in dissonance and abstraction, the likes of which one has heard before but which also indicated Chen’s ability to adroitly massage a large instrumental unit.”

Program Note

This work is divided into three main sections, with an introduction and a coda. At the macro level, the opening and the three main parts contrast with each other. At the micro level, all the sections are based on two motives – melodic one and rhythmic one – each comparing the other.

The introduction is very straightforward, introducing the lyrical melodies in the first section. A long passage follows these melodies in the extremely low register and develops into a big mass. The second section, by contrast, is characterized by soft dynamics and elaborate ornaments. The third section leads the music to the unsettled atmosphere. The most notable moment in this section occurs when a short choir-like, tonal music fragment is introduced. The tonality symbolizes the conflict between agony and hope.

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《夕陽與微笑》 （給管絃樂團）(2018) [9’00”]

2018年12月5日，週三，8:00 p.m. │ 雅各布斯音樂學院作曲系─新聲作曲獎音樂會
印第安納大學音樂藝術表演中心，布魯明頓市，印第安納州，美國

樂曲解說

這首作品分為序奏、三個主要段落與尾聲。若以宏觀角度而言，序奏和三個主要段落之間呈現相互對比。而自微觀層面而言，所有段落都基於兩個動機－旋律動機與節奏動機。

序奏非常單純，於樂曲第一段落介紹抒情旋律：在極低的音域中，這些旋律伴隨著漫長的段落，並發展成為一個巨大的整體。相比之下，第二段落的特點是柔和的動態和精美的裝飾。第三段落將音樂引向不穩定的氛圍。這首作品中很值得注意的時刻位於曲末，當音樂之衝突與對立時，聖詠合唱曲片段之引入，這象徵著痛苦和希望之間的衝突。