Search - Wu Bixia, Luwa Ke, Didier Benetti :: Chen: Iris devoile, Reflet dun temps disparu, Wu Xing

Beautiful!...intense!...but...

05/12/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this CD knowing that Qigang Chen was a pupil of Messiaen. In this set of live performances, his teacher's influence is lovingly heard here. What's missing, IMHO, is a musical toughness that forces the listener to listen (i.e., strong daring melodies, vital counterpoint, rhythmically interesting accompaniment, and a more compelling sense of internal musical structure, among other components). At it's very worst, the music in this recording resembles movie music (along the lines of A Beautiful Mind, Gladiator, and A1: Artificial Intelligence): you sense this music was made to support something more interesting and visual. Otherwise, at it's very best, the music in this recording represents the first fruits in the career of a very talented, important yet accessible composer.I would be very interested in reviewing Mr Chen's future work."

Absolutely Amazing Orchestral Music

05/27/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Truly Amazing Pieces of Music. Totally agreed with what the other reviewers have said, this CD demonstrates the best of all (living or dead) Chinese composers.
I first encountered Qigang Chen's music when his "Wu Xing (The Five Elements)" was shortlisted by the Masterprize competition in 2000. It is a brilliant piece of music, but for me, it is the other two pieces that represent the best of Chen.
"Iris unveiled" combines 3 female voices (one of which being a Beijing Opera singer), 3 traditional Chinese instruments with a grand orchestra. Although it includes 9 sections, the music pretty much flows seamlessly from one to another.
"Reflection of a vanished time" for cello and orchestra is my favourite work on this CD. It is a coherent piece of music that lasts for about 25 minutes. When the ancient Chinese tune that the piece quotes throughout finally appears in its entirety (plus added western harmonization of course), one could not but be amazed how beautiful music (or even, the world) could be! Not to mention the superb playing from Yo-Yo Ma - can't imagine any other cellist could have done a better job than he has!
Although there are many Chinese composers out there, Chen's way of combining music elements of the West and the East is undoubtedly unique. Unlike some (especially later) works of composers such as Tan Dun or Zhou Long, his use of Chinese traditional instruments never sounds out of place - they genuinely fuse into the musical structure of each piece nicely. His orchestration is superb, very delicate, with a particularly strong taste of French music (shadows of Debussy and Messiaen definitely come through).
Highly Recommended!"

The Nine Faces of Iris

Gussie Fink-Nottle | California, USA | 12/31/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Iris plants are important in the myth, art, and cultivation of many societies. The Chinese composer, Qigang Chen (or Chen Qigang), has rendered a musical portrait of the female sex likened to the fragile and beautiful Iris flower.



This 2003 Iris dévoilée (Iris unveiled) recording is a much acclaimed piece of artistry. In this arranged marriage of the East and West musical ware, Chen has exotically woven a tapestry of sensual harmonics and vocalises (Beijing operatic and Western) depicting the eternal feminine mystique.* The musical metaphors of the female personae are intrinsically Chinese. There are five additional tracks on the CD. Each invokes an element of the five core progenitors that which gave rise to the physical world known to the Chinese.



This, however, is not the CD one wishes to complement the delicacies of the conversation, nor when solitude is desired.



* The nine mica panels of female attributes portraited in this tone poem are:



1. Ingenious

2. Chaste

3. Libertine

4. Sensitive

5. Tender

6. Jealous

7. Melancholic

8. Hysterical

9. Voluptuous



"