Xiaogang YE (b. 1955)
December Chrysanthemum – Chamber music of Xiaogang Ye
Les Temps Modernes/Fabrice Pierre
rec. 2016, Ferme de Villefavard, Limousin, France
DELOS DE3559 [55:13]
Harold Wilson was fond of saying that a week is a long time in politics, while Lenin had it that there are decades where nothing happens and weeks when decades happen, and nowhere has either been truer than in China, where there was a time when no-one dared to write music such as this and Beethoven’s was banned as ‘bourgeois’. Of course, culture still suffers there and artists like Ai Wei
Wei have to keep their artistic heads down (in his case in the UK), but in music there has been a sea-change in attitudes. In China today, there are estimated to be upwards of 40 million who are studying the piano; people like Lang
Lang have shot to super-stardom and no international competition would be complete without at least one Chinese competitor. Xiaogang Ye is not only widely considered to be one of China’s leading contemporary composers but has for three decades been held in such high esteem that I wonder how he has escaped my notice.
One of the things that make reviewing discs so worthwhile for a writer is the amount of new knowledge the or she can acquire, particularly if they are unfamiliar with the music, composer or instrument in question. In this case, the composer and the music are completely new to me as, is the zheng, the instrument used on tracks 1 & 6. Western music is around 900 years old if we take virtually the first composer known to us which, if I’m not mistaken, is Hildegarde of Bingen (1098-1179) and no instruments used in her time have survived into the modern era, whereas the zheng has a history going back 2,500 years, even though it has gone through many developments. The modern version of what is also known as the Chinese zither is almost 2 metres long with 21, 25 or 26 strings. It is the ancestor of several other similar Asian zithers: the Japanese koto, the Korean gayageum, the Mongolian yatga, the Vietnamese đàn tranh, and the Sundanese kacapi (the Sundanese are an Indonesian minority people). The zheng is made of Paulownia, a tree native to China, Laos, Vietnam, Japan and Korea. That is a lot of newly acquired knowledge before even hearing a note of the music!
Xiaogang Ye’s booklet notes are illuminating and in respect of the first piece he explains that Basong Cuo is one of nine lakes in Tibet which are considered holy. The music seeks to describe the atmosphere of the lake and the emotional reaction one might experience on seeing it. The zheng, and harp seem perfect for expressing ripples upon the lake’s surface - at least, that’s what I felt on hearing the piece -and the flute, clarinet, violin and cello combine to create the rest of the scenic picture of the lake’s setting within the landscape and the incredibly potent spiritual reaction a human presence might experience on seeing such a stunningly calming vista.
Each title is telling and the second piece for piano trio, Colorful Sutra Banner, is inspired by banners which are prayer flags which are also considered of huge religious significance. As with the first piece, the music aims to express the breath-taking landscape as well as the “spiritual philosophy and beliefs of the Tibetan people”. Never having been there, I find it difficult to say how successful the composer has been in achieving this aim, but I did think that the use of lower registers and, at times, a rather agitated attack ,did not immediately conjure up the same peaceful aura which had been created in the opening piece.
The album’s title track December Chrysanthemum; it is the result of a commission from The Beijing Nicolet International Flute Competition committee and is a hauntingly beautiful work with a sad emotional attachment on behalf of the composer, given that it was written in memory of his deceased little daughter. Of course, if we in the West know little of Chinese aesthetics, we do know that the chrysanthemum has a powerful significance in Chinese culture and as I read online, “it is a symbol of longevity because of its health-giving properties. Because of all of this, the flower was often worn on funeral attire.” I also learned that since 1983 there has been a chrysanthemum festival in Beijing and in 2017 alone almost three million pots of them were on display both inside and outside across the city.” A further entry explains why the flower expresses such powerful feelings for people there: ‘The chrysanthemum blooms in bright colors during chilly autumn, a time when most flowers wither. Facing coldness and a tough environment, it blooms splendidly without attempting to compete with other flowers – this unique aspect of the chrysanthemum makes it a symbol of strong vitality and tenacity in the eyes of scholars.” As the composer explains in his notes, “Even as the music evokes bleak vistas of a snow-covered wasteland, it also suggests traces of the undying forces of life, stimulating feelings of hope in people’s hearts, even in the face of an often cold and uncaring world”. The two instruments certainly manage to convey this feeling of a plant which resolutely refuses to be prevented from flowering by the most inhospitable environment and as such is a symbol of hope.
Namucuo for solo piano describes another of the sacred nine Tibetan lakes at an elevation of 4,700 metres (over 15,000 feet). It is one of the three most sacred of these lakes and is surrounded on all sides by snow-capped mountains. Xiaogang Ye wanted to express his feelings following a visit he made there in 2001; the music is suitably ethereal and evocative of what must have been a very emotional experience. The piano’s upper register is used to good effect to mirror the tranquillity of a magical place.
Another flower which means much in Chinese culture is the hibiscus and the piece of the same name Xiaogang Ye composed for an ensemble comprising six players is here performed by five: flute, clarinet, violin, piano and percussion. The flower is significant as a result of what the composer explains is its “strong symbol of transient beauty” It also symbolises fame, riches, glory, and splendour while at the same time representing the fleeting nature of such outward trappings of ‘success’. Why the cello part was omitted from this performance is not explained.
The final piece in this intriguing programme is scored for shakuhachi and koto, here in a version for zheng and flute. The reason for this was as Xiaogang Ye explains; he wanted “to explore the timbral contrasts between a traditional Chinese instrument and a mainstream Western instrument”. The contrasts are striking with the zheng embodying “the Eastern stylization of ease and comfort, while the flute evokes the inner heart’s sadness and tension”. This is another hugely ethereal piece which enables Xiaogang Ye to play to his strengths with supremely lovely harmonies throughout its eight minutes.
While the music of China has a particular sound which is very distinctive, Xiaogang Ye’s music is much closer to what we in the West are used to and were it not for the zheng with its noticeably different sound, particularly in its lower registers, the music could easily be thought to be by a Western composer. This is another expression of how many changes have occurred in the acceptance of music from “the West” - not that I wish to see Chinese music subsumed by anything from outside or that I want anyone to think that I believe any music from anywhere is more interesting or more valid than any other, but it is interesting nevertheless. What it does ensure, however, is that we can experience and relate to the changing trends in music from China and opens up the possibility of discovering more from the composers there - and that can only be good for them, for music and for cultural exchange generally. As such, this is a fascinating and important release. The ensemble Les Temps Modernes play wonderfully, giving the music its best possible chance of attracting new listeners to Chinese contemporary music - and it is very well recorded.
Steve Arloff
1.Basong Cuo for Zheng and Five Players, Op.65 [11:06]
2.Colorful Sutra Banner for Piano Trio, Op.58 [10:18]
3.December Chrysanthemum for Flute and Piano, Op.52 [7:39]
4.Namucuo for Piano, Op.53 [6:26]
5.Hibiscus for Six Players, Op.48 [11:42]
6.San Die for Zheng and Flute, Op.7a [8:02]
Performers
Michel Lavignolle (flute),
Jen-Louis Bergerard (clarinet)
Claire Bernard (violin)
Florian Nauche (cello)
Emmanuelle Maggesi (piano)
Anna Astesano (harp)
Benoit Poly (percussion)
With Su Chang (zheng)
