Hwaen Ch'uqi: Faded Leaves, CWV 39

Описание: Faded Leaves, CWV 39
For Piano Solo, With Obligato Orchestral Bass Drum
Composed by Hwaen Ch'uqi
Performed by Kimball Gallagher, Piano; and Sae Hashimoto, Orchestral Bass Drum

I. Tawantinsuyu: Farewell, Beloved Of My Soul [0:00]
II. Italy: In Memoriam Domenico Scarlatti [7:57]
III. Viet Nam: Dirge For The Sisters Trung [11:10]
IV. France: Valse Sentimentale [13:03]
V. India: Love Duet [18:09]
VI. Germany: Sehnsucht [20:21]
VII. Tawantinsuyu: Threnody On The Death Of Inti's Land [26:37]

From the Preface to the Score:

"The `programme' for this work, I am the first to acknowledge, falls completely apart where any discussion of plausibility is concerned. But whereas no one is a greater proponent of suspension of disbelief than am I, I now invite - nay, impel - performer and listener alike to abandon all critical notions of anachronism and to employ without reservation this marvelous tool to the end of full enjoyment of the musical odyssey that lies just beyond these pages.

Sometime before November of 1532, an Inca is forced to leave his native land, Tawantinsuyu. The reason for and terms of his sudden exodus are unknown, even to this writer. Indeed, the possibility exists that his exile is self-imposed. Whatever the case, he is rent in spirit, and devoid of any notion of future joy. Alone, he wanders over the world, preserving as in a diary and in that fine and mystical language of ordered tones his findings `von fremden Ländern und Menschen.' It must be noted that, as such a scribe, he is wholly detached, a mere witness to the customs and events that he records. After what seems to him to be `a time, times, and the division of time,' he at last summons the courage to return to the jewel of his heart, only to discover a rased kingdom and a shattered people.

...

Finally, in a desperate attempt to stem the inevitable tide of others' unwelcome constructs superimposed upon my work, I hereby declare in no uncertain terms that there is to be heard in or evinced from this music not a single undertone, overtone, or actual tone of any social or political agenda, commentary, or implication. At best, it is the exploration of a lone, conjectured angle of a monumental story; Otherwise, the supplied narrative serves as a convenient vehicle for musical experimentation and as a practical means of fulfilling the specific demands of an unusual commission."

To purchase a score of hte work, please visit:
https://www.lulu.com/shop/hwaen-chuqi...

To learn more about Inca pianist and composer Hwaen Ch'uqi, please visit:
http://www.incawarrior.com/