Qiuci fantasy for full orchestra

Abstract

Qiuci Fantasy is a two-movement work for full orchestra. Its inspiration comes from the Quici people, who lived about 1,400 years ago in the Kuche region of northwest China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region. The Quici people maintained their own particular instrumental ensemble that featured the konghuo (a type of harp), the pipa (a plucked instrument), and several kinds of drums, including jie drum, qi drum, and jilou drum. The Quici people danced accompanied by this instrumental ensemble. The ancient Qiuci music and dance are inherited by today's Uyghur people in Xinjiang, in such art forms as Muqam music. Inspired by Quici music and dance, I composed Qiuci Fantasy to express my feelings and emotions for this ancient Chinese culture. The mode I used in Qiuci Fantasy is one of the six most-frequently used modes in Xinjiang's Muqam music, which includes a characteristic augmented second. The first theme in the second movement includes a quotation from Xinjiang's Uyghur folk song Gulanmuhan. I utilize the unique timbres of various instruments by showing them in expressive, virtuosic and highly ornamented passages in both movements, in such instruments as harp, vibraphone, alto flute, and bassoon. Lots of pizzicatos in strings were used to imitate the pipa performance in Qiuci music.