Speculum Musicae. Boston Musica Viva. ALBANY TROY 155 [DDD]; 60:25.
Beyond the essential question of whether or not this is interesting music, the double cultural influences of the composer creates a special tension that always gives such material particular interest. Chou Wen-Chung had a solid, Western academic training, as a student of Varèse, Slonimsky, Martinu, and Luening, at the New England Conservatory of Music and Columbia University (where he is currently an influential Professor of Composition).
But Chou, who was born in China in 1923, has spent a lifetime bringing together the dual pillars of his breeding. His central philosophy maintains that Western composers, instead of being preoccupied with polyphony, can absorb “the immense resources in musical expression afforded by controlling and varying the articulation, timbre, and intensity of individual tones–precisely the same resources that have been of primary importance to Eastern music.” The two traditions “are now merging to form the mainstream of a new musical tradition.” He might have added that the Zen Buddhist reverence for the patterns in nature that is reflected in Eastern music is another quality to be emulated by Western composers.
Chou reflects all of these considerations in his music, but his ultimate importance derives from the sheer power and passion of his individual vision. The title piece of this CD, Echoes from the Gorge, is one of the most evocative and expressive works ever written for percussion ensemble. Chou ranges from gut-wrenching, explosive power to serene, quiet beauty in this stunningly rich composition.
The most traditional Eastern music on the CD is the Suite for Harp and Wind Quintet. Chou writes with an intuitive, masterful grasp of the musical style of the land of his birth, and respectfully augments the basic elements with a Western concern for taut structure. Speculum Musicae performs this selection with breathtaking grace and beauty.
The most cosmopolitan work on the CD is also the most recent, a 1990 composition entitled Windswept Peaks. The scoring, for a quartet of violin, cello, clarinet, and piano, does not lend itself to Asian sounds, and the piece falls more naturally in the contemporary European world. Yet, the music was inspired by the Tiananmen Square massacre, employing Western techniques to express the anguish and terror of the event. As such, this closing work on this important recording symbolizes the symbiosis of East and West and the individual imagination of Chou Wen-Chung.
By Peter Burwasser