OXFORD CHAMBER MUSIC
OXFORD CHAMBER MUSIC ZHOU LONG CLOUD EARTH For Flute/Piccolo, Clarinet/Bass Clarinet in Bb, Percussion, Piano, Violin and Cello OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
ZHOU LONG: CLOUD EARTH For Flute/Piccolo, Clarinet/Bass Clarinet in Bb, Percussion, Piano, Violin, and Cello Cloud Earth was commissioned by The New York New Music Ensemble. It was premiered on 16 April 2012 at the Merkin Concert Hall, New York City, as part of the New York New Music Ensemble’s 35th Anniversary Celebrations. The commission was made possible by The Argosy Foundation Contemporary Music Fund. Cloud Earth was inspired by two poems from Jiu Ge (English: Nine Odes), a set of short poems sometimes attributed to Qu Yuan and published in the Chu Ci (Songs of Chu, sometimes known as Songs of the South). They are some of the finest examples of ancient Chinese shamanic poetry. Despite its title, Jiu Ge actually includes eleven songs. The two poems which inspired Cloud Earth are To the God of Cloud and To the Lord of River Xiang. To the God of Cloud portrays the music and dance used to worship of the Cloud God. Lord of River Xiang is a poem about the Earth God. Cloud Earth is in four sections. The first section starts in a slow tempo, using repeated patterns on a single note, harmonics, and glissandi to create a musical interpretation of clouds. The repeated patterns give a feeling of continuity, while the colorful background of percussion and strings creates a mysterious atmosphere. A song-like melody, introduced by the clarinet, is echoed by flute and percussion, leading to a more active passage in which dense rhythms and a dominant bass create the work’s first climax, before dying away to a chant-like pattern in the strings. The string writing then gradually becomes more active as it crescendos towards the next section. The second section of Cloud Earth opens with a three-part stretto for flute, violin, and cello over a rhythmic chordal figure for the piano and percussion. Tension builds throughout this part of the work, until it is suddenly dispersed by a descending glissando on the piano and the start of a lyrical passage. The third section is in a fast tempo, beginning with alternating dialogue between the percussion instruments, supported by pizzicato strings and punctuated by sforzando chords on piano. Piccolo and percussion begin the final section of Cloud Earth, with underlying rhythmic patterns alternating between bowed and pizzicato articulation. As the work progresses towards its climax, the tempo quickens and the meters become irregular, but in a surprising final passage the music ultimately returns to a mysterious, lyrical atmosphere. Percussion Instrumentation Marimba, Vibraphone, Crotales Claves 5 Wood Blocks 4 Tom-tom Bass drum Suspended cymbal 2 Opera gongs (6”,11”) 2 Gongs Wind gong Tam-tam
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