Overview
Introduction
ZHU SKETCHESOFTHEMOUNTAINSOFGUIZHOU
The composer ZHU Jian'er was born in 1922 in Tianjin and grew up in Shanghai. After studying at the Moscow Conservatory in the 1950s, he returned to Shanghai and worked as a professor of composition at the Shanghai Conservatory. Many of his works, including ten symphonies, are inspired by important historical events in modern China or essences of Chinese culture. The symphonic suite Sketches of the Mountains of Guizhou is one of his most widely performed works in China and abroad. ZHU Jian'er received an invitation to visit the Guizhou Province in 1981 and lived in the mountainous region in Southeastern Guizhou for a month. He was deeply impressed by the lifestyle of the local minorities, especially their music full of colorful chromatic notes. After returned to Shanghai, he wroteSketches of the Mountains of Guizhou for the Shanghai Spring Music Festival in 1982.
Sketches of the Mountains of Guizhou contains four movements. The first movement "A Festive Match of Lusheng" is inspired by ZHU Jianer's experience at a match of lusheng, a traditional ceremony of the Kam people. Lusheng is a free reed instrument with multiple bamboo pipes; in the movement, several lusheng bands are represented by various instrumental groups with a polytonal touch. The second movement "The Old Xiao Player" imitates the timbre of a bamboo xiao with the flute and the bass clarinet. The third movement "Romance in a Moonlight Night" is based on the Pipa love songs of the Kam people. To end the suite, the last movement "Festival" depicts a bustling Hmong festival scene full of songs and dances.
