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Wen De-Qing

(10. 07. 1958)

Wen De-Qing
Wen De-Qing
Composition Department, Shanghai Conservatory of Music
20 Fenyang Road
200031 Shanghai
China

Tel: +86 21 64 31 37 01
Mobile: +86 1380 1928 244
Fax: +86 21 64 31 37 01

www.deqingwen.com/



Genre: Classical Music
Professional activity: Composers
Biography
* 10. 07. 1958.

Born in a small village in Southern China, Wen studied composition in China, Switzerland and France, with Guo Zu-Rong, Shi Wan-Chun, Luo Zhong-Rong, Jean Balissat and Gilbert Amy. He was a visiting scholar at Columbia University in New York City while 2005 to 2006. At present, as a professor he is teaching "analysis and performance of contemporary music" in Shanghai Conservatory of Music.
His music is a mixture of traditional Chinese music and complex western techniques. These are combined with his own creative inspiration.
Wen is deeply influenced by Chinese culture, particularly philosophy, painting and calligraphy. He adapts a new system to express his message in each piece. He also tries to use everyday objects such as cans, bottles, glasses, wind machines, tap water and paper.
His music has been performed around the world. He has been honoured with concerts dedicated to his compositions in China, France, Denmark, Switzerland and the United States. Deqing Wen's CD is published by Stradivarius (Italy) and Musiques Grammont Portrait of Switzerland. He has been awarded numerous prizes (among others, the Prix Cultura 1999 of the Foundation Kiwanis and the 2001 Composer Prize of the Foundation Leenaards of Switzerland). His commissions include Pro Helvetia, the Festival Archipel, the Association des Amis de la Musique , the Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik for Arditti String Quartet, Radio-Espace 2 for the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and the Taipei Chinese traditional orchestra of Taiwan. His opera "Le Pari" (The Wager) has been performed in the Amadeus Festival of Geneva (Switzerland), in the Great Theatre of Shanghai (China) and the Beijing International Festival in 2003 and 2004.
Since 1991 Wen has been living in Geneva. He is a member of the Association Suisse des Musiciens and the Societé Suisse pour les Droits des Auteurs d'Oeuvres Musicales. Over these past few years, he has returned to China several times to take part in musical exchanges between China, Switzerland and France.


Work list

vent et neige dans la nuit

Instrumentation: for pipa and string quartett


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Ji I et Ji II (1992-1993)

Instrumentation: for piano

'Ji' means stratagem, guiding principle or calculation. I was inspired by the sound of the 'qin', the ancient Chinese zither, and paid particular attention to textures in this piece. Piano strings, when pressed with a finger in several places, produce different levels of sound, harmonics, glissando and pizzicato effects that evoke the sound of the 'qin'.

Duration: 8' 00"

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Distance (1992)

Instrumentation: for mezzo-soprano, tenor, twelve female voices and three percussionists

Texts: Chinesisch

Text: four ancient Chinese poems. The female chorus is dispersed in four groups located on each side of the audience; each chorus-singer also plays a percussion instrument. The soloists on stage create a feeling of distance.

Duration: 14' 40"

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De la Neige en Eté (Snow in Summer) (1992-2022)
Concerto

Instrumentation: for violin and large orchestra (3.3.3.3/4.3.3.1/3perc/hp/30.12.10.8)

This piece is inspired by a Chinese drama of the 12th century. A woman is unjustly exectued, nature testifies her innocence: her blood doesn't drop to the ground but flies away on a white blanket; a heavy snow falls in the middle of summer and the winds begin to howl.
The rhythm is influenced by the poetic form of the Song dynasty (960-1279). The organisation of the musical material is inspired by certain codes which allow one to understand the taoistic texts.


Duration: 16' 00"

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Parts: CHF 150.-
Complainte (Lament) (1994)

Instrumentation: for one reciter of Peking opera and three percussionists

Texts: Chinesisch

I chose unusual percussion instruments on purpose because these objects are part of our everyday life, yet their sound is rarely heard in concert halls. Some instruments and tones have symbolic meanings. Because there is no set pitch, rhythmic organization is of the utmost importance.

Duration: 13' 00"

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CHF: 19.30
Le Souffle (1994)

Instrumentation: for six instruments (flute, clarinet, violin, violoncello, piano and percussion)

For the Chinese, the 'Yin' and the 'Yang' were in the universe from the beginning and all creatures are animated by the 'Qi', the breath of life. Inspired by the order of the 64 hexagrams of the Book of Mutations and their composition in six masculine or feminine symbols, I divided this piece into six registers and wrote the music of the 64 hexagrams consecutively for six musicians.

Duration: 8' 00"

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String Quartet No. 1 (1995)

This piece is deeply imbued with my nostalgia for China.
I. I have chosen to base the whole movement on harmonics, inspired by the Taoist aesthetic precept valuing the search for "emptiness".
II. In this movement the musicians do not use the bow instead all play with plectrums.
III. Fourths and fifths dominate these melodies, underlying the entire melancholic movement.
IV. The movement starts pianissimo with micro-intervals hit on the key with the left-hand fingers, and is gradually amplified with the development of the musical material, reaching a climax that ends the piece.


Duration: 22' 00"

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Wu (Awakening, zen Buddhism) (1995)

Instrumentation: for Soprano, alphorn and double-bass

Texts: Chinesisch

A wealth of discourse is presented in this piece, a poem interpreted according to the Yi Chang technique used for thousands of years to declaim poetry, quotes from contemporary Zen texts, Buddhist prayers and the Swiss yodel.

Duration: 15' 25"

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Spring, the river, flowers, the moon, the night (1996)

Instrumentation: for twelve female voices

Texts: Chinesisch

My intention in approaching this poem was to express its meditative mood, sadness and beauty as well as the feelings of the poet who expresses deep love and enthusiasm for life. I have used a French translation of the poem and was inspired by traditional techniques used to transpose Chinese poems into music. Some Chinese instrumental sounds have been changed into voices.

Duration: 12' 00"

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Traces I (1996)

Instrumentation: for clarinet and piano

Inspired by Chinese calligraphy. As a way of reaching a fusion of the visual and the auditory - while the two instruments play I do some calligraphy.

Duration: 6' 00"

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Traces II (1996)

Instrumentation: for nine instruments (fl.cl/2perc/pf/vn.va.vc.db)

Chinese calligraphy is the essence of Chinese art. For me personally, it stands as an original score. From written characters, sounds emerge. With the words, music is created.

Duration: 12' 00"

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CHF: 24.60
The Trill of Steppe (1997)

Instrumentation: für Violine, Cello und Klavier


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CHF: 35.40
Petit Chou (Small Cabbage) (1997)
Variation

Instrumentation: for Er hu (Chinese violin) and string quartet

'Petit Chou' is a Chinese folk song telling the sad history of a little girl who carries this name. This song is composed of six bars with each one forming the object of a variation. The complete theme is only apparent at the end of the piece.

Duration: 13' 00"

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Divination (1997)

Instrumentation: for six instruments (flute, clarinet, violin, violoncello, piano and percussion)

The ideal for ancient Chinese civilization is that nature and man are one. Although this piece seems to describe a divination ceremony and the natural elements, it mainly expresses the human feelings.

Duration: 19' 00"

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Quatuor à cordes No. 2 (1997)

From my point of view, the audio-visual facilities can coincide. The writing of this piece has been directly influenced by the aesthetics of traditional Chinese painting (as well as its tools).

Duration: 24' 00"

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CHF: 30.00
(Material available from the composer)
Ballade (1998)

Instrumentation: for pipa (Chinese lute) and string quartet

The musical material is based primarily on the superposition of the intervals of fourths, second major and fifth, like the tuning of the pipa in A, D, E, A. The string quartet imitates the pipa in its play and thus creates an ambiance that intermingles two types of instruments.

Duration: 10' 00"

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CHF: 20.40
Traces III (1998)

Instrumentation: for oboe solo

In this piece I was mainly interested in the change of time and pulsations as well as the particular instrumental techniques of the oboe.

Duration: 8' 00"

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CHF: 13.80
kung-fu (1998)

Instrumentation: for solo percussion

The cry is a way of inducing the energy of Kung fu. The vocal imitations of the percussion sounds are a result of this Chinese oral tradition. One finds the contrast of yin and yang in the mixture and diversity of the changes in timbres and rhythms.

Duration: 11' 00"

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The shepherd boy's flute (1999)

Instrumentation: for flute solo

Among the flowers, the music of a shepherd boy is passing.

Duration: 7' 00"

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Quatre poésies (1999)

Instrumentation: for chamber orchestra (1.1.1.1/1.1.1.0/perc/hp.pf/1.1.1.1)

The four poems are inspired by the poetry of Li Bai (701-762) one of the greatest Chinese poets, who lived in the Tang dynasty. The titles of the four movements (The mountain; The women; The dream; The wine) correspond to the topics which Li Bai liked most in his life as a bohemian and which appear often in his poetry.
Chinese poetry has always had a strong connection with painting and music. The timbre of the rhymes, the sound of a word or a sentence, the rhythm of the verse and the number of the metrical feet are in a musical order and the lecture of a chinese poem gives the impression of a melody. It has to be mentoined that a long time ago the poems were written to already existing music. If somebody in China wants to express his admiration for a painting or a musical work, then the biggest compliment would be to call it poetic.


Duration: 24' 00"

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CHF: 74.70
Parts CHF 91.80 in total (sold separately)
Variations of a Rose (2000)

Instrumentation: for large orchestra (3.3.3.3/4.3.3.1/3perc/hp/pf/16.14.12.10.8)

The theme of the work is borrowed from a folk song of Xianjiang province (China) "A lovable rose".
How deep love is, how deep it hurts.

Duration: 14' 00"

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CHF: 32.00
parts: CHF 108.00
Love Song (2000)

Instrumentation: for large orchestra (3,3,3,3 - 4,3,3,1 - perc(3), hp, pno - 16,14,12,10,8)

The theme of the work is borrowed from a folk song of Xinjiang province (China): "A lovable rose". How deep love is, how deep it hurts.

Duration: 12' 00"
Manuscript
Piping and Drumming (2000)

Instrumentation: for wind and percussion instruments (fl.ob.cl.asx.bn/tpt.tbn/3perc/pf)

'Piping and Drumming' is a traditional Chinese musical form that uses only wind instruments and percussion. It is often played at ceremonies.

Duration: 12' 00"

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CHF: 42.60
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Soliloqui (2000)
Trio

Instrumentation: for twelve crystal glasses

Duration: 5' 00"

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CHF: 10.80
The Song of Chinese Guessing game (2000)
Trio

Instrumentation: for violin, oboe and Bb clarinet

Comissioned by the 'Conservatoir de Musique de Genève' for the students of the second classes. The theme of this piece is borrowed from the folkloristic Chinese song 'Cai diao'.

Duration: 3' 00"

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CHF: 13.80
Silk Bamboo (2001)

Instrumentation: for flute and string quartet

This piece is inspired by 'Sizhu' (silk and bamboo). 'Sizhu' is a traditional Chinese musical form used popularly in Central-East and Southern China. The silk bamboo ensemble consists of "soft" instruments with si silk strings (pipa, erhu, zheng) and zhu bamboo instruments (bamboo flutes, dizi). In this work the composer tries to integrate the ideas of traditional Chinese music with modern Western composition techniques. The silk is soft - 'Yin' (feminine): pianissimo and lento. The bamboo is hard - 'Yang' (masculine): fortissimo and allegro. Although the instruments, the musicians, the way of composing and time have all been transformed the spirit of the music and the Chinese emphasis of the musical language remains unchanged.

Duration: 10' 00"

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Ronde des Pagodes (2001)

Instrumentation: for four-handed piano

I revisited 'Laideronnette, Impératrice des Pagodes' by Maurice Ravel; this work is inspired by China and I am a Chinese composer. But the result shows that Ravel's piece is much more Chinese then mine! In the last ninety years the musical language has been revolutionised more than once and this can certainly be heard. Yet something has been kept by the music, something which reveals the imagination, the sentiments, the colour, the form. The first theme of my piece comes from the second piano in the introduction of Ravel's piece - even if it may seem deformed. The music then simply follows the text of Madame d'Aulnoy.

Duration: 5' 40"

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CHF: 21.60
Le Pari (The Wager) (2002-2003)
Chamber Opera in two acts and four scenes

Duration: 90' 00"

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CHF: 165.60
Shao Yue (The Music of Shao) (2002)

Instrumentation: version for contrabass solo

The title originated from the the Chinese ancient music "Shao". In 517 B.C., Confucius arrived in the country of Qi. On hearing "Shao" in the royal palace, he praised it highly as being "the most beautiful, and also the most honest!" "Confucian Analects" include: "after hearing Shao, Confucius was so touched that he could not enjoy the taste of the meat for three months".
Utilises modern techniques which avoids the loss of the graceful characteristics of the guqin (Chinese ancient lute - about 3000 years old, with seven strings). The piece, originally composed for quqin, is now transposed to double bass. It simultaneously benefits from many of the quqin's special skills so its status is neither quqin nor double bass, neither Orient nor Occident, neither classic nor contemporary, neither traditional nor modern… between conscious and unconscious.

Duration: 7' 00"

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CHF: 14.00
Shao Yue (The Music of Shao) (2002)

Instrumentation: version for guqin (Chinese sitar) solo

Modern techniques were employed to compose this piece for guqin (Chinese ancient lute with seven strings - about3000 years old). The title originated from the the Chinese ancient music "Shao". In 517 B.C., Confucius arrived in the country of Qi. On hearing "Shao" in the royal palace, he praised it highly as being "the most beautiful, and also the most honest!" "Confucian Analects" include: "after hearing Shao, Confucius was so touched that he could not enjoy the taste of the meat for three months".

Duration: 7' 00"

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Wind and Snow in the Night (2002)

Instrumentation: for pipa (Chinese lute) and string quartet

Duration: 8' 00"

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CHF: 23.00
Yang Liu Xiao (2002)

Instrumentation: for xiao (chinese flute) (or flute), bottle, crystal glasses and percussion (14 players)

Duration: 6' 00"

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Les saules ne se plaignent pas aux sons de la flûte (2002)

Instrumentation: for xiao (chinese flute) (or flute), bottles, crystal glasses and percussion (14 players)

Duration: 6' 00"
Manuscript
CHF: 21.00
Traces IV (2004)
Concerto

Instrumentation: for suo-na, calligraphy and large orchestra (3,3,3,3- 4,3,3,1 - perc(4), hp, pno - 12,10,8,8,6)

Duration: 16' 00"

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CHF: 54.70
parts: CHF 163.80
Traces V (2005)
Concert

Instrumentation: for erhu and traditional Chinese orchestra

Duration: 22' 00"

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CHF: 66.70
Love Song and River Chant (2006)

Instrumentation: for piano solo

Pentatonic music is a yoke for a Chinese composer. I want to shake it off, but at the same time I want to keep some trace of this "yoke". My goal with this piece is to demand virtuosity and to obtain a new sound for the piano. The first song is based on the folk song "Small Road". The original song contains a deep helplessness. The melody is continually descending, perfectly expressing the sense of the lyrics. In China, love between the young was taboo in the past. My composition's melody continually rises, and the whistling of the pianist in the coda may be considered a kind of rebellion. I composed the second song myself - it imitates the style of a river chant. The song conjures up the image of the incredible manpower required for this task.

Duration: 9' 30"

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CHF: 16.80
Love Song and River Chant (2006-2014)

Instrumentation: for orchestra (pic.2.3.3.3/4.3.3.1/3perc/hp/str)

Pentatonic music is a yoke for a Chinese composer. I want to shake it off, but at the same time I want to keep some trace of this "yoke".
The first song is based on the folk song "Small Road". The original song contains a deep helplessness. The melody is continually descending, perfectly expressing the sense of the lyrics. In China, love between the young was taboo in the past.
I composed the second song myself - it imitates the style of a river chant. The song conjures up the image of the incredible manpower required for this task.

Duration: 9' 00"

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CHF: 30.70
(Parts: CHF 97.20)
Spring, River and Flowers on a Moonlit Night (2006)

Instrumentation: for pipa (Chinese lute) and chamber orchestra (1.1.1.1/1.1.1.0/perc/hp.pf/2.1.1.1)

Duration: 18' 00"

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CHF: 64.70
Moving Ants (2006)

Instrumentation: for four pipas

The theme is derived from a children's song sung in my hometown of Shuiji, which I sang over and over again when I was a little child and had so much fun watching the ants busily moving around. The four different layers constitute a complex texture, moving at four different speeds. The sound of the music is endowed with sound density and tension, great vibrancy and exuberant feelings in the tightened harmony of the 1/6 tones, an endless flowing of rhythms and variety of forces.

Duration: 9' 00"

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CHF: 22.80
Ink Splashing I (2007)

Instrumentation: for nine instruments (fl.ca.bcl/tbn/perc/pf/v.va.vc

In light of this traditional Chinese painting technique, this music represents breathtaking movements of ink in different shades ranging from thickening (using intensification of texture and crescendo) through diluting (lessening texture and diminuendo), interweaving and mutual penetration of dry and washy ink (abundant timbres and minimum variation), saturated and forceful strokes (tutti of multiphonic sounds), light and hollow strokes (harmonic glissandos), and finally fading or settling into an enchanting fairyland (wreathing of after-sounds).

Duration: 13' 00"

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Two Birds in One Cage (2007)
In honor of Philippe Albera

Instrumentation: for oboe and english horn

The piece was inspired by the singing of my neighbor's two beautiful birds encased in one cage in front of my new residency in Fuzhou, China. Their singing aroused my curiosity. What were they singing for? How well were they getting along with each other? What were they discussing? About the past or the future? Life or death? Love or hatred? Nature or art? Freedom or confinement? Food or philosophy? Were they happy or sad? What if it was I myself who was encased in the cage with my love? No, no, no... It is not a good idea for us, but my neighbor and his wife should be!

Duration: 9' 30"

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CHF: 17.40
A New legend of Yang Zongbao and Mu Guiying (2008)

Instrumentation: for voice and recorder

The hero Yang Zhongbao and his wife Mu Guiying were two of the impressive warriors from the famous historical story in China, Heroic Legend of the Yang's Family, which was set in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). Although as time goes, the social value has been changed and people today easily find incredible and ridiculous what was cherished in the time of Yang Zhongbao and Mu Guiying, they still love the story. That is where the charm of traditional culture lies.
This piece makes the two ancient characters live in today's setting by traveling through time and do what they did in their own time, which is full of humor and wit. Besides, it combines factors of contemporary music with the Chinese traditional form of talking and singing, the arrangement of the tenor and soprano part sung by one male and the artistic appeal of Xi'an dialect and Qin Opera of China.

Duration: 12' 00"

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CHF: 25.20
Zheng (Im Wettstreit) (2008)
Concertino

Instrumentation: for orchestra (2.2.2.2/2.1.0.0/perc/8.7.6.4.2)

Inspired by the Chinese translation for the theme "in competition".
I composed this concertino, commissioned by the Young •Euro •Classic •Festival Orchestra with the theme "In Competition" . This theme, though exactly appropriate for the spirit of the Olympic Games, posed a really tough task in music, for it is impossible to evaluate music works through competition. But inspired by the sound of the character "zheng" in the Chinese translation for "In Competition", I associated the theme with the Chinese instrument Zheng, a zither with 25 strings, because the two characters share the same sound in Chinese, and came up with the idea of composing a Zheng concerto in respect that concertos imply competition between the solo instrument and the orchestra. Unfortunately this idea was rejected by the commissioner for the sake of a solo instrument not included in the budget. With no alternatives, I composed this Zheng concertino without a Zheng by imposing some unique features of Zheng, like plucking, arpeggio, glissando, and grace notes, on all the instruments. To my great joy, it not only produced a strikingly fresh orchestra sound effect, which is totally different from any other orchestral music works of my own, but also gave me a new train of thoughts to combine western and eastern music styles, for which I owed my hearty gratitude to the music theme commissioned by the Young •Euro •Classic •Festival Orchestra and its demanding restrictions.

Duration: 9' 00"

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CHF: 28.70
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The Sound Shining (2009-2010)

Instrumentation: for erhu and ensemble (erhu, fl, cl, ob, tbn, perc, pf, 2v, va, vc)

Sun Wenming (1928-1962) was a blind but great Chinese folk erhu player and Avant-garde composer, whose playing techniques and cutting edge ideas in timber can hardly be matched even in the modern times and whose composition based on the harmonic series was fully 20 years earlier than the Spectral Music in France.
His erhu Solo The Double Erhu Sounding is quoted in this piece as its second theme while its pitch materials derive from its erhu tuning tones of G and D and their harmonic series and distortions.

Duration: 12' 00"

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Sound Gone to The Heaven (2009)

Instrumentation: for viola solo and six violas

This piece is dedicated to my beloved elder uncle.
My elder uncle had been offering the five children in my family with parental care and financial help since my father died early when I was young. Now he has gone to the heaven but his figure seems even greater and clearer just as sound is while rising high up the earth, revealed by the Buddha.
In this piece, harmonic series sequence based on the note of C serves as a symbol of death and heaven, and subharmonicity series sequence based on the note of E as a symbol of life and the earth. Interpolation is also used to make additions, blending and transition. Added to this, the spectrum music technique and the music-making software Open Music help me discover a fresh way to express my emotions.

Duration: 8' 00"

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Les musiciens de Brême (2010)
Children's opera sung in French

Texts: De-Qing Wen

Cast:
The donkey - bass
The dog - baritone
The cat - mezzo
The cock - tenor
The robbers - baritone

Musicians
1 oboe, 1 clarinet, 1 saxophne, 1 trumpet, 1 trombone, one percussionist, 1 double bass, 1 conductor

The libretto is based on the fairy tale "The Town Musicians of Bremen" by the Grimm brothers.
A donkey, whose owner wants rid of him because he is old and useless, flees and makes his was to Bremen to become a town musician. On the way he meets a dog, who is too old for hunting, a cat, who is too old to catch mice and a cock, who is also too old and only good for the pot. One night, tired and hungry, the animals rest in a forest. They see a light, approach it and find a wooden cabin. Inside they see group of robbers sat at a table full of goodies. The animals decide to rid the cabin of the robbers by scaring them: one climbs on top of the other and each screams a blood-curdling sound. The robbers flee and the animals make themselves comfortable, fill their bellies and sleep happily.

Duration: 45' 00"

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CHF: 97.90
The Four Seasons in My Childhood (2010)

Instrumentation: for children's or women's choir

I'm heartedly thankful to Mr. Jacques Clos, the former director of Conservatoire de Musique, de Danse et d'Art Dramatique du Pays de Montbeliard (France), whose commission sparkled this
composition. To present four seasons in a Chinese Child's eyes I've carefully chosen four of Chinese nursery rhymes respectively from Fuzhou, Wuhan, Shuiji and Shanghai, among which the one from Shuiji is full of my life in the childhood. The dialects used in this piece keeps the locutions and musical styles peculiar to the locality.

Duration: 18' 00"

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CHF: 70.20
The Tender Language of Wu (2011)

Instrumentation: for guqin, pre-recorded tape and string quartet

Commissioned by the Guqin player Ms. Dai Xiaolian, I composed "The Tender Language of Wu" for guqin, pre-recorded tape and string quartet. The tape recording was completed with the help from Suzhou native students Li Mingyue, Zhou Heqing, Lu Wenyi and Gu Yunyu from the Musicology Department of Shanghai Conservatory of Music and Zhang Shichao from the Composition Department of the same school.

Suzhou dialect is often considered to be soft, light, and flowing, therefore given a good name Wu nong ruan yu , which literally means "The Tender Language of Wu". Guqin and western string instruments are both characteristic of gentleness and elegance. I had intended to create a dialogue between these different factors by integrating the ancient Chinese and western string instruments with the tender language of Wu and modern digital audio technology.

Duration: 10' 00"

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CHF: 19.30
parts: CHF 21.60
Daybreak (2011)

Instrumentation: for large orchestra (3.3.3.3, 4.3.3.1, 3perc, 1harp, 14.12.10.8.6)

With the title "Daybreak", we needn't any specification for the piece in the concert program as the title explains itself explicitly.

Duration: 11' 00"

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CHF: 39.30
parts: CHF 90.00
An Ear to Flowers (2012)

Instrumentation: for large orchestra (3.3.3.3/4.3.3.1/4perc/hp/str)

One day, Wendy, my three-year-old daughter, came to me and said, "Daddy, I was listening to the sound of flowers"and I was really astonished by her poetic language. I know she is fond of flowers but what I don't know is that she has a potentiality to be brought out as an obscure poet. Then I asked, "How is the sound like?" She sang, "Do----". I couldn't believe my years that I asked her repeatedly and there came the same answer as before. That touched off a train of my thoughts and I wrote this new piece by using the technique of distorting the spectrum based on note C and E as well as interpolation. And I decided the copyright of this piece is reserved for myself and its author royalties go to my daughter.
This piece was commissioned by "Hu Jingmin" Contemporary Music Foundation.

Duration: 13' 00"

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CHF: 44.00
parts: CHF 91.80
Fantasia of the Peony Pavilion (2013)

Instrumentation: for orchestra (3.3.3.3/4.3.3.1/4perc/hp/14.12.10.8.6)

I can safely say "The Peony Pavilion", a Kun Opera by Tang Xianzu, is the most audacious play in the Chinese opera history for trying to smash the bonds of feudal ethics by glorifying a brave pursuit of love. Picking up the pitch materials from one measure of this opera and the elements of Luogu Jing, a Chinese traditional vocal notation for percussion, I hope this piece would serve as a grand respect for Tang Xianzu through weaving an adventurous but organic fabric of heaven and hell, man and ghost, love and lust, dream and reality, merit and demerit as well as tranquility and bustle, just like a reflection in a mirror.

Duration: 17' 00"

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CHF: 49.30
parts: CHF 106.20
Nostalgia (2014)

Instrumentation: version for orchestra (3.2.3.2/4.2.3.1/4perc/pf.hp/str)

Duration: 8' 00"

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CHF: 29.30
parts: CHF 80.00
Shanghai Prelude (2015)
Konzert

Instrumentation: für Cello und Orchester


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CHF: 45.30
parts: CHF 113.40
Ink Splashing II (2017)

Instrumentation: for string quartet

Commissioned by ProQuartet & Philharmonie de Paris.
The first performance was given by le Quatuor Akilone in l'Amphitheatre de la Cite de la musique, 11 Feb. 2018.

Duration: 13' 00"

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CHF: 23.40
Parts CHF 30.60
The Deep Tunnel (2017)
Oratorio

Instrumentation: for bass bariton, tenor, mix choir & orchestra

Duration: 16' 30"

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CHF: 41.30
Parts: CHF 150.-
Ink Splashing IV (2018)

Instrumentation: for eight instruments

Duration: 11' 00"

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CHF: 53.40
Parts CHF 36.00
Ink Splashing V (2019)

Instrumentation: for solo Chinese guqin and orchestra

Ink Splashing is one of the techniques for traditional Chinese painting. This painting technique was accidentally innovated by Wang Qia, an artist in the Tang Dynasty, who, in an inebriation, threw ink onto a piece of silk on a desk, and turned the traces of seeping ink into an unexpectedly remarkable landscape painting in an impressionistic manner. It was later developed into a methodical and systematic formula with a combination of washy and thick ink.

Duration: 13' 20"

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CHF: 36.70
parts: CHF 115.20
Lament of the Grassland (2019)

Instrumentation: for string quartet

Duration: 12' 40"

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CHF: 44.40
Score incl. Parts
Score also available individually
Midnight Tune (2019)

Instrumentation: for Soprano, piano and orchestra

Midnight Tune is inspired by the poem Midnight Piano Tune by Xi Chuan, a China's modern poet, who was provoked by a piano tune he heard at midnight into deep reflections on the nature of life. The poet stunned me so much with his mind-blowing imagination of images, otherworldly and creative use of words, and the rich musicality and distinct rhythm in the poem that I could not tell whether I was lost in the extra-powerful magic power of the modern poetic language or overwhelmed by the glass sky-walk built by the modern poem between reality and fantasy, or whether my music gave his poem wings or his poem brought my music to life.

Duration: 12' 30"

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CHF: 47.30
Parts: CHF 85.-
Three Super-etudes (2020)

Instrumentation: for Orchestra


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CHF: 41.30
Diapason (2020)

Instrumentation: for solo oboe

Duration: 1' 10"

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CHF: 9.00
Concavity and Convexity (2020)

Instrumentation: for percussion solo

Commissioned by China-Fujian Musicians Associasion

Duration: 5' 00"

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CHF: 21.00
A Song Once Sung (2021)

Instrumentation: for marimba, pipa and guzheng


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CHF: 52.20
including parts
Gutgori (2021)

Instrumentation: for gayaeum and string orchestra

Duration: 14' 00"

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CHF: 45.00
Parts: CHF 75.-
Xixia Suite (1985/2022)
Extra the music of ballet "The Girl of Xixia"

Instrumentation: for orchestra

Duration: 17' 00"

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CHF: 63.30
Turkish March (2022)

Instrumentation: version for orchestra

The parts are total 56.40 CHF.


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Village Sauvage (2022)

Instrumentation: for saxophone quartett


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CHF: 50.70
including parts
Discography
Nouvel Ensemble Contemporain (Grammont Porträt Nr. MGB CTS-M97, 2006)
Interpreters:
Spina, Anna
Monot, Pierre-Alain
Nouvel Ensemble Contemporain NEC
Works:
Wen, De-Qing: Quatre poésies (1999)
Meierhans, Mela: Souffle combattant (2005)
With more works of: Georges Aperghis
Info: www.fonoteca.ch
Centre International de Percussion (Grammont Porträt Nr. 81, 2003)
Interpreters:
Centre International de Percussion
Works:
Hauser, Fritz: zytraffer (1992)
Rappaz, Marc-André: Stances sur "La mort de Marie" (1992-1993/2000)
Schlaepfer, Jean-Claude: Instances III (1994)
Wen, De-Qing: kung-fu (1998)
With more works of: Franco Donatoni, Lou Pelosi
Info: www.fonoteca.ch
Ensemble Contrachamps (Grammont Porträt Nr. 82, 2003)
Interpreters:
Holliger, Heinz
Cuendet, Olivier
Ensemble Contrechamps
Works:
Lehmann, Hans Ulrich: Book of Songs (1998-1999)
Dayer, Xavier: "J'étais l'heure qui doit me rendre pur..." (1998)
Wen, De-Qing: Piping and Drumming (2000)
With more works of: Brian Ferneyhough, Elliott Carter
Info: www.fonoteca.ch
Bibliography
Eisler, Daniel: A la croisée des mondes. Wen Deqing, in: Dissonance 108 (2009), S. 42-43
Meyer, Thomas: Suo-na und Pipa plus Orchester, in: Dissonanz 108 (2009), S. 52
Gartmann, Thomas: Wen Deqing: Interview, Werke, Biographie, Literatur, in: Contemporary Swiss Composers, Zürich 1999


Last updated: 2020-10-06 16:48:10