for violin, viola, cello, di/xiao, guzheng, & percussion
conducted by Yu-An Chang 張宇安

Program Note:

The inspiration and elements of Sprawling Like Vines are derived from “Farewell Song” in the album of “SaySiyat of Wufeng Township,” which is included in Ostasien Institut e.V. Bonn Collection of Taiwan Music. Listening to the recording of “Farewell Song,” I perceived the subtle microtonal variations in the voices, and was fascinated with the parallel singing commonly appearing in traditional SaySiyat songs. In this piece, I attempt to combine the features of microtone and parallel singing with micropolyphony and heterophony, making the distorted fragments of “Farewell Song” entangled and spreading like vines, just as, with the passage of time, the accumulated sentiments after parting ceaselessly grow and sprawl like vines.

This piece is commissioned by Ostasien-Institut e.V. Bonn in memory of Alois Osterwalder.

樂曲解說：

《別離蔓生》的創作靈感與元素，取材自「波昂東亞研究院臺灣音樂館藏」五峰鄉賽夏族專輯的《別離之歌》。聆聽《別離之歌》時，我感受到細緻微妙的的微分音轉音變化，也著迷於賽夏族歌謠常出現的「平行複音」現象。在本曲中，我試圖將此種賽夏族特有的、帶有微分音與轉音的平行複音特色，結合微複音 (micropolyphony) 與支聲複音 (heterophony)手法，使被解構的、碎裂變形的《別離之歌》素材與音樂線條，如藤蔓般糾纏扭曲、蔓延擴散，就像那些別離後逐漸增加的思念，也正如藤蔓般，隨著時間不斷地滋長、蔓生。

本作品由波昂東亞研究院 (Ostasien-Institut e.V. Bonn) 委託創作，為紀念歐樂斯神父 (Alois Osterwalder) 並向他贊助支持的「台灣民歌採集運動」致敬。

＊binaural version optimized for headphones / 雙耳聲道版本，建議使用耳機聆聽
commissioned by Taiwan Sound Lab (C-LAB 臺灣聲響實驗室)

Program Note:

Illness² is inspired by “hypochondriasis” and “excessive dreaming,” two syndromes caused by overperception due to neurological disorder. Through distorted electronics and the ambisonic system, this piece builds up the scenarios of “hypochondria” and “dreaminess,” hoping to offer the audience a more direct and intense listening experience in the immersive space and to lead them into the inner world of the sufferers by associating their own feelings with the music.

Illness² is specifically composed and designed for the 49.4-channel immersive stereo space at C-LAB Taiwan Sound Lab.

樂曲解說：

〈病²〉靈感來自「慮病症」與「多夢症」兩種因神經失調而過量感知的病徵。作品運用扭曲變形的電聲與多聲道環繞系統，揣摩患者的感知狀態，將「慮病」與「多夢」兩種情境交錯堆疊，希望藉由沈浸式音場，帶給聽眾更直接、強烈的聽覺體驗，引領聽眾透過音樂與情緒間的連結與自身想像，進入患者的內心世界。

〈病²〉係特別為 C-LAB 臺灣聲響實驗室49.4聲道立體聲場空間設計的作品。

performed by TNUA Orchestra 北藝大管絃樂團 (Shao-Chia Lü 呂紹嘉, cond.) 

Program Note:

“Fiat Lux” is Latin for “Let there be light,” a quote from the book of Genesis, the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. My alma mater, University of California, takes “Fiat Lux” as its school motto, implying its duty of bringing new knowledge to light and illuminating solutions for bettering the human condition. Either on the concrete or on the symbolic level, light is an indispensable existence in our daily life.

In this piece, I manipulate various instrumental sounds, especially the harmonics of string instruments and the resonances of metal percussion instruments, attempting to represent the static light and the dynamic light which have diverse hues and gestures: momentary flashes of the sunrise twilight, obscure glimmer emerging in darkness, fluorescent glowing of fireflies in the summer night’s valley, illusive starlight twinkling in the sky, bright neon lights in the sleepless city, brilliant flames of the countdown fireworks show.

In 2019, I returned from the U.S. to Taiwan and luckily enough became a faculty member of another alma mater, National Taipei University of the Arts. I can still recall my professor of Western music history told us how Beethoven “went through darkness and moved forward to the light” in his Symphony No. 5. I would like to dedicate this work to these two alma maters of mine, expecting myself to serve as a medium to transmit conscientiously the light of knowledge and music.

樂曲解說：

「Fiat Lux」是拉丁文，英譯為「Let There Be Light」（意為「要有光」）。這句話出自《創世紀》，也是我的母校美國加州大學（University of California）的校訓，隱含著大學傳播知識之光的使命。無論就具體或象徵的意涵而言，「光」在我們的日常生活中都是不可或缺的存在。

在此曲中，我運用管弦樂團各樂器可能產生的聲響變化——特別是弦樂泛音與金屬擊樂器殘響——透過聲部線條的交錯層疊，以及音色的混合或銜接，試圖展現擁有不同色澤樣貌、靜態與動態的「光」：可能是瞬間乍現的日出曙光，可能是從黑暗中逐漸浮現的曖曖微光；可能是夏夜山谷螢火蟲的點點螢光，可能是夜空滿天閃爍的迷幻星光；可能是不夜城的霓虹燈光，也可能是跨年煙火的絢爛火光。

2019年，我從美國回到台灣後，有幸重返我另一所母校北藝大任教。我仍記得大學時在西洋音樂史課堂上，劉岠渭老師手舞足蹈地講解貝多芬的《命運交響曲》，告訴我們作曲家是如何透過他的音樂「穿越黑暗，迎向光明」。我欲以〈Fiat Lux〉向我的兩個母校致意，同時也期許自己，盼望知識與藝術之光能夠無盡傳播。

performed by Soo Yeon Lyuh and Ellen Ruth Rose

Program Note:

Shimmering in the Air is written for haegeum player Soo Yeon Lyuh and violist Ellen Ruth Rose. As the title indicates, this piece, by using plenty of air noise and harmonics from the instruments as well as the resonator and amplification from the electronics, aims at shaping a kind of atmosphere filled with light but bright timbres, metaphors of sparkling, shimmering fragments of lights scattering in the air, just like some fragments of memories flashing upon us yet quickly fading out and eventually forgotten in our life.

樂曲解說：

〈氤氳微光〉一曲是為奚琴演奏家 Soo Yeon Lyuh 與中提琴演奏家 violist Ellen Ruth Rose 所作（奚琴是韓國傳統二弦樂器， 演奏方式與中國二胡類似，但音色更加低沉粗獷）。 在此曲中，我大量使用器樂的氣聲與泛音，並加上共鳴共振器 (resonator)與擴音(amplification)的即時電聲效果，隱喻如碎片般散落在空氣中的微光，試圖塑造如曲名般、在朦朧中 透出輕微閃光的氛圍，同時也紀念許多生命中一閃而逝的時光片段。對我而言，這些微光彷彿一些散落在生命中的記憶碎片 ，突然閃現，卻又倏忽即逝，最終被我們所遺忘。