花卉組曲 (Suite for a Perennial Garden)

Jenny Xiong

46 views

Sextet

2023

13 min.

Cello

Erhu

Piano

Pitched Percussion

Sheng

Unpitched Percussion

Zheng

Program Notes: I composed 花卉組曲 (Suite for a Perennial Garden) as part of an independent project to learn about and write for Chinese instruments, funded by a Major Grant from Stanford University, that I undertook in Taiwan over the summer of 2023. During my stay in Taiwan, I studied with Professor Ching-Wen Chao, Associate Professor of Composition at National Taiwan Normal University, who offered me a diversity of opportunities to learn from and work with players of various Chinese and Western instruments. Born out of my collaboration with these musicians, 花卉組曲 (Suite for a Perennial Garden) was inspired by the tradition of bird-and-flower painting and the fruits of that tradition that I witnessed in Taiwan. As an American-born child of Chinese immigrants, I grew up in a household in which we cherished the Chinese traditions that still remained with us in postcolonial America. 花卉組曲 (Suite for a Perennial Garden) is my attempt to connect with these traditions, the musical influences of my childhood, and the Chinese-American community of which I am a part.
Recording Notes: Read on August 29, 2023 by 彭子榮 (sheng), 沈宏軒 (percussion), 陳品妍 (guzheng), 徐敬彤 (piano), 黃雨農 (erhu), and 黃宇謙 (cello) at National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Ensemble Name: 彭子榮 (sheng), 沈宏軒 (percussion), 陳品妍 (guzheng), 徐敬彤 (piano), 黃雨農 (erhu), and 黃宇謙 (cello)