Patrick Yim - Memory - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

The music on MEMORY, the Navona Records debut by acclaimed violinist Patrick Yim, is linked together by the themes of memory, culture, and identity. The album's title track was composed by the Chinese-born composer Chen Yi who searched for a harmonious marriage of centuries-old Western and Chinese musical traditions as she remembered her beloved violin teacher, Lin Yaoji. In the liner notes for this bittersweet and poignant piece, the composer addresses her mentor directly, saying Inch... I expressed my deep sorrow in the music, to remember your fatherly mentorship.Inch Away, Alone, Aloft, written by Kai-Young Chan, is a touching and penetrating work which draws upon an ancient Chinese tale about the loneliness and regret of the legendary Moon Lady. The melodic materials and overall character of the piece are based on a poem by Tang Dynasty poet LI Shangyin, who expressed with his words the Moon Lady's deep emotions. Miles upon Miles is composer Yao Chen's personal meditation on three of the myriad facets of the Silk Road, which unleashed the free flow across borders of sound. The composition's first movement, InchSilk Road,Inch makes strong use of tremolos and trills to evoke a specific atmosphere, a rhythmic momentum that heightens the degree of expression before ultimately fading into a more peaceful environment. InchBuddhist MantraInch is marked by the use of open strings, built on a cascade of restless three-note patterns that are always striving forward until a moment when the mantra takes effect and sustained harmonics rise to the fore. Pizzicato is the dominant trait of InchKung Fu,Inch the closing movement, which is sprightly but sophisticated, exciting and endearing. Miles upon Miles, composed for amplified violin and electronics by Austin Yip, is in three movements entitled InchI. Gilt BronzeInch, InchII. CameleerInch, and InchIII. SancaiInch, referring to