Music Unlimited I: “Prelude to Water Melody” (水調歌頭)

Included in “Chinese Choral Music Anthology: Music Unlimited I.”

About the Work

This commissioned choral work was completed in 2006. It unfolds in sections according to the imagery of Su Shi’s ci poem. Its most distinctive feature is the piano part, which seeks new and unusual timbres through unconventional playing techniques; the choral writing explores a variety of modes of expression, including conventional singing, shouting, imitations of the heightened speech of Peking opera, chanted narration and rapid glissandi.