Ensemble Yin - Festou: Omikuji - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

The Ensemble InterContemporain and it's musical director Pierre Bleuse continue their monographs on the great figures of contemporary musical composition. After the multi-award-winning Ligeti, it is the composer Unsuk Chin who is celebrated here. Of Korean origin, she moved to Germany in the 1980s. Her music shines with an immediate sensuality, and the inexhaustible transformations of her instrumental polyphony produce unprecedented sound constellations. This programme presents her piece Gougalon (2009/12), which evokes the memory of the travelling amateur theatres of her native country, with deliberately offbeat instrumentation in six episodes. She presents it as 'imaginary folk music that is stylised, fractured and only appears to be primitive.' Chin titled her 2013 piece for large ensemble Graffiti. All sound registers are exploited in a colourful, lively, and varied manner. 'The musical language of Graffiti oscillates between roughness and refinement, complexity and transparency,' says the composer. Her double concerto for piano and percussion completes this programme. Album Tracks 1. Gougalon, Scènes de Théâtre de Rue, Pour Ensemble-I. Prologue - Dramatic Opening of the Curtain 2. Gougalon, Scènes de Théâtre de Rue, Pour Ensemble-II. Lament of the Bald Singer 3. Gougalon, Scènes de Théâtre de Rue, Pour Ensemble-III. the Grinning Fortune Teller with the False Teeth 4. Gougalon, Scènes de Théâtre de Rue, Pour Ensemble-IV. Episode Between Bottles and Cans 5. Gougalon, Scènes de Théâtre de Rue, Pour Ensemble-V. Dance Around the Shacks 6. Gougalon, Scènes de Théâtre de Rue, Pour Ensemble-VI. the Hunt for the Quack's Plait 7. Double Concerto Pour Piano, Percussion Et Ensemble 8. Graffiti Pour Orchestre de Chambre-I. Palimpsest 9. Graffiti Pour Orchestre de Chambre-II. Notturno Urbano 10. Graffiti Pour Orchestre de Chambre-III. Passacaglia

Album Tracks 1. Sanaalijal Pour Flute Solo Et Ensemble de Treize Instruments 2. Bell (E) Pour Piano Et Ensemble de Treize Instruments 3. Les Ruptures D'icare - Quatuor À Cordes I. Avec Une Infinie Tendresse 4. Les Ruptures D'icare - Quatuor À Cordes II Lent Et Désepéré 5. Les Ruptures D'icare - Quatuor À Cordes III. Paisible, Mais Réflexif 6. Les Ruptures D'icare - Quatuor À Cordes IV Avec Une Tendresse Feint 7. Torrent Pour Violoncelle Et Ensemble de Dix Instruments Senza Misura Tempo =-60-1-Cadenza Avec Délicatesse 8. Torrent Pour Violoncelle Et Ensemble de Dix Instruments Cadenza 2-Lento-Rubato Souple Et Grésillant-Più Vivo Avec Une Extrême Délicatesse 9. Torrent Pour Violoncelle Et Ensemble de Dix Instruments Cadenza 3-Lento, Statique Et Intériorisé 10. Torrent Pour Violoncelle Et Ensemble de Dix Instruments Terrifiant 11. Torrent Pour Violoncelle Et Ensemble de Dix Instruments Cadenza 4-Lento

Chicago's Civitas Ensemble presents a spectrum of new instrumental works by living Chinese composers, each with a unique perspective on Western and Far Eastern musical sensibilities. Spearheaded by Shanghai-born violinist Yuan-Qing Yu, a Civitas founding member and assistant concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Jin Yin (InchGolden ToneInch) comprises world-premiere recordings of works by Yao Chen, Vivian Fung, and Lu Pei, plus specially made new arrangements of pieces from Zhou Long and Chen Yi. First recordings include Yao Chen's mystical, rhapsodic Emanations of Tara, named for a revered figure in Tibetan Buddhism and written expressly for the Civitas Ensemble; Vivian Fung's Birdsong, a virtuosic piece for violin and piano that opens and closes with evocations of bird calls; and Lu Pei's alternatively vigorous and lyrical Scenes Through Window, imbued with both American minimalist rhythms and South China folk traditions. Leading off the program, Zhou Long's engaging Five Elements evokes metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, while Chen Yi's serene, ethereal Night Thoughts was inspired by a Tang Dynasty poem. Both receive their first recordings in the composers' own arrangements made specifically for the Civitas Ensemble. The Civitas Ensemble named their album for the Chinese phrase meaning InchGolden ToneInch because they treasure these works for their clarity of musical expression. Album Tracks 1. Five Elements 2. Night Thoughts 3. Scenes Through Window 4. Bird Song 5. Emanations of Tara