Program Notes

Beyond the Festival (1993)

“Beyond the Festival” starts with a conventional festive tune of the Chinese New Year, which is de-constructed into a slow section intersected with proportioned silence.  Pairs of musical instruments respond to each other.  The slow process of the next moderato section serves as a transition back to the original festival tune.  The tune is not quoted literally, but is remembered and occasionally recaptured in the rhythm but then subsides quickly.  The slow and subtle section finally glides and combines with the transitional part and develops into an ending which shifts around among the players.

The tempi define the character of each section. Metric Modulation (3:2, 4:5, 4:5) of the meter ratio is emplyed for smoother changes.  The movement among the players and the grouping of the wooden or metal instruments are essential to the structure.

Ju Percussion Group commissioned this piece for the concert of the University of Michigan Percussion Music Ensemble in Taiwan.