Post by UtmostVacuity on Sept 8, 2004 4:16:24 GMT
This is not the place for an extended statement, and I'm not sure how I would make it. I'm interested in how other qin players out there have exercised their creativity not only in interpreting the received repertoire, but in creating new music. By this I mean any of the following:
* improvisation
1. free/no system
2. closely derived from traditional qin music, cf. Li Xiangting
3. borrowing from established systems of improvisation, such as Raga or Maqam.
* composition, written or unwritten
* combining multiple scores and adding to them to create a new edition of a piece, cf. Zha Fuxi with Dong Ting Qiu Si.
* playing in ANY performance context other than (a) solo, (b) qin/xiao in unison, (c) qin/voice in unison. Since the 1950s all kinds of work has been done with orchestras, both Western and 'Chinese' (meaning modified Chinese instruments with significant Western influence in orchestration). Why stop there?
I am fully committed to rigorous interpretations of the traditional repertoire, and find classical qin aesthetics sublime. But I'm also very energetic in my pursuit of new sounds, since I also love Indian and Middle Eastern systems among others. I agree with Henry Kaiser: the qin is an *ideal* instrument for improvisation, and it's puzzling that the received tradition is so relatively constricted. My first public performance was in fact a duet with a Carnatic (South Indian) violinist, and we two will continue collaborating. All kinds of problems arose when we tried to juxtapose our styles. Maybe later I'll post a detailed account of what we did during our performance. But first I want to ask the board: what are your experiences in this area? If you're interested in expanding the scope of qin music, what ideas do you think bear further attention?
* improvisation
1. free/no system
2. closely derived from traditional qin music, cf. Li Xiangting
3. borrowing from established systems of improvisation, such as Raga or Maqam.
* composition, written or unwritten
* combining multiple scores and adding to them to create a new edition of a piece, cf. Zha Fuxi with Dong Ting Qiu Si.
* playing in ANY performance context other than (a) solo, (b) qin/xiao in unison, (c) qin/voice in unison. Since the 1950s all kinds of work has been done with orchestras, both Western and 'Chinese' (meaning modified Chinese instruments with significant Western influence in orchestration). Why stop there?
I am fully committed to rigorous interpretations of the traditional repertoire, and find classical qin aesthetics sublime. But I'm also very energetic in my pursuit of new sounds, since I also love Indian and Middle Eastern systems among others. I agree with Henry Kaiser: the qin is an *ideal* instrument for improvisation, and it's puzzling that the received tradition is so relatively constricted. My first public performance was in fact a duet with a Carnatic (South Indian) violinist, and we two will continue collaborating. All kinds of problems arose when we tried to juxtapose our styles. Maybe later I'll post a detailed account of what we did during our performance. But first I want to ask the board: what are your experiences in this area? If you're interested in expanding the scope of qin music, what ideas do you think bear further attention?
