An Analysis and Comparison of

An Analysis and Comparison of the Three Woodwind Quintets by Chen Yi
Yuh-Pey Lin
A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Musical Arts
University of Washington
2010
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School of Music
UMI Number: 3421876
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Abstract
An Analysis and Comparison of the Three Woodwind Quintets by Chen Yi
Yuh-Pey Lin
Chair of the Supervisory Committee:

Professor Timothy O. Salzman
School of Music
The purpose of this study is to analyze and compare the three woodwind quintet
pieces by the Chinese composer, Chen Yi (b. 1953). Chen Yi composed her first
woodwind quintet in 1987, her second, titled Feng in 1998, and third in 2008. This essay
will examine the similarities and differences of the fusion process that Chen Yi utilizes in
synthesizing Eastern and Western techniques within these three woodwind quintet pieces.
The first chapter provides a brief overview of Chen Yi' s life and how it has
influenced her music. The following three chapters consist of the analysis of three
woodwind quintet pieces by Chen Yi with an emphasis on two important elements in her
music - the treatment of pitch materials and the form structure. In the last chapter, the
three pieces are compared to each other in order to demonstrate how the Eastern and
Western fusion process varies from her first woodwind quintet to the most recent one.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
List of Musical Examples ii

List of Tables ?
Chapter 1 : Introduction 1
Early Education 3
Experiences in the Cultural Revolution ( 1 966- 1 976) 4
Formal Conservatory Education 6
Experiences in the United States 8
Chapter 2: Woodwind Quintet (1987) 10
The Treatment of Pitch Materials 11
The Form Structure 19
Chapter 3 : Feng 27
1 . Introduction 28
2. Rondo 40
1 . Introduction 47
2. Rondo 54
Chapter 4: Woodwind Quintet No. 3 (2008) 63

1 . Introduction 65
2. Zang Songs 68
3. Miao Dance 72
1 . Introduction 76
2. Zang Songs 80
3. Miao Dances 84
Chapter 5: Conclusion 88
Bibliography 93
?
LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES
Example 2.1: Structural subsets of the twelve-tone row 11

Example 2.2: Vertical presentation of the row 12
Example 2.3 : The row with timbrai modulation 13
Example 2.4: Chen Yi's invention of the row statement 14
Example 2.5: The complexity of the row statement 15
Example 2.6: The complexity of the Chinese-influenced melodic fragments 18
Example 2.7: The variation of the twelve-tone row 19
Example 2.8: Paired presentation of the row 20
Example 2.9: The incomplete twelve-tone row in P2 with timbrai modulation 21
Example 2.10: The pitch-class sets in the Chinese-influenced melody 22
Example 2.11: Another timbrai melody of the twelve-tone row 23
Example 2.12: The symmetry of two unordered pc sets 24
Example 2.13: The dissonance between the twelve-tone row and pc collections 25
Example 2. 14: Coda: the twelve-tone row in different transpositions 26
Example 3.1: Opening melody and its amended form in Introduction 29
Example 3.2: The motives in the opening melody 30
Example 3.3: a; and the combination of the motives {a + a¡ + c) 32
Example 3.4: 02 with other motives 33
Example 3.5: Variations of the opening theme .· 34
Example 3.6: Interval expansion in c 35
Example 3.7: Interval inversions 36
ii
Example 3.8: Accompanimental vertical sonorities 38
Example 3.9: The appearances of G-D-C and [016] 40
Example 3.10: a and b in Rondo 41
Example 3.11: The motive a followed by a tritone 42
Example 3.12: The melody made of various motives 43
Example 3.13: The ostinato figure 44
Example 3. 14: B section: ostinato transformation to melody 45
Example 3.15: Comparison between mm. 1-11 and mm. 13-22 47
Example 3.16: The second subsection of the B section 50
Example 3.17: Flute solo: opening melody from the end oí Introduction 53
Example 3.18: The A section ostinato 55
Example 3.19: The melody and the accompaniment parts of the B sections 59
Example 4. 1 : Additional pitch materials in Introduction 67
Example 4.2: Accompaniment figure 68
Example 4.3 : The occurrences of [025] 69
Example 4.4: Intervallic analysis of Amaliehuo and Dui Xie 70
Example 4.5: Combinations of pitch materials utilizing sextuplets 71

Example 4.6: Two attachments after the lusheng theme 73
Example 4.7: Three attachments intertwined with [025] 74
Example 4.8: Other miscellaneous pitch materials in Miao Dances 75
Example 4.9: The last subdivision of the first A section 77
Example 4. 10: The pattern of the accompaniment figure 80
Example 4. 1 1 : The abbreviated Amaliehuo melody in the coda 82
iii
Example 4.12: The third attachment with the lusheng theme 84
Example 4.13: Comparison between two sextuplets passages 85

Example 4. 14: The third attachment in m. 84 86
IV
LIST OF TABLES
Table 3.1: The A sections 57
Table 3.2: The dividing measure numbers in each section in Rondo 61

Table 4.1: Comparison of phrase length in Ashima and Chen Yi's fixed tune 66
Table 4.2: The form of Introduction 79
Table 4.3 : The form of Zang Songs 83

Table 4.4: The form of Miao Dances 87
?
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I thank God for everything that He has given to me - His love and grace, family
and friends. This project would not be possible without the help from many individuals
in multiple ways.
Thanks to Dr. Chen Yi for providing scores, recordings and reference materials
and for her quick responses to my questions during the research and writing process.
A special thank you to Rebecca Henderson, my oboe professor during my first
two years at the University of Washington, who brought me to Seattle and looked into
financial support, which allowed me to continue my graduate study.
To the chair of my doctoral committee, Prof. Timothy Salzman for his guidance
and willingness to take the responsibility to be my doctoral supervisor throughout the
degree process. And to Prof. Steven Morrison and Prof. Donna Shin for serving on my
dissertation committee, spending time reading my dissertation, and giving me much
appreciated advice.
I am indebted to Nancy Tien, my pastor and precious friend, for her
encouragement, showing Christ's love toward me, and proofreading my dissertation in
the midst of her busy schedule.
To my parents, who did not grow up with music education, yet were willing to
make sacrifices to fill our lives with music, spending countless hours driving me and my
sister to and from lessons and rehearsals, competitions and performances, and being
cheerleaders for us - thank you, Mom and Dad.
vi
Finally, to my husband, Daqing Shi, for his unfailing support and always being
there for me - 1 am so blessed to be sharing this life with you and our son, Jonathan, who
indeed is a blessing from God!
VlI
DEDICATION
To my parents
Vili
1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
In the present world of non-Western composers, so-called "cross-cultural" music

is no longer a new practice. Using a "fusion" process which varies from composer to
composer as well as from composition to composition within a composer's works, non-
Western composers, like Chen Yi, masterfully meld two different cultures into a single
composition.
In order to examine the cross-cultural fusion process, one must first understand
the concept of "compatibility" between Western and non-Western musical systems.
When comparing the styles of Western classical and Chinese traditional music, one finds
very few unifying features and characteristics. They both have different philosophical
foundations and structural concepts in areas such as pitch construction, formal structure,
timbrai expression and instrumentation.

Bruno Netti provides three concepts to distinguish the fusion process in relating
non-Western to Western music: 1) syncretism; the development of two similar,
compatible musical systems sharing central traits; 2) Westernization; when non-Western
traditional music incorporates Western traits, such as harmony, metric rhythms, musical
forms, Western instrumentation and orchestration, regardless of the traits' compatibility

with the non-Western traditional music; 3) modernization; when non-Western music is
expressed through Western practice, resulting in a compromise of both styles. These
concepts about the classification of cross-cultural fusion often serve as a reference for
studying the music of any composer who attempts to build a cross-cultural bridge
1 Netti, "Cultural Grey-Out," The Study of Ethnomusicology - Twenty-nine Issues and

Concepts, 353-354.
2
musically. The consideration of these concepts is thus appropriate for an analysis of

Chen Yi' s woodwind quintet music.
Born in China, Chen Yi is perhaps the most internationally acclaimed female
Asian composer of contemporary music today. Her music has been acclaimed as a
vigorous voice among Chinese-born American composers. She was the first woman to
earn a master's degree in composition in China2 and was also the first woman to present a
full evening multimedia orchestral concert in the US (for orchestra, choir, Chinese
traditional instrumental soloists, dancers, and image projection - the Chinese Myths
Cantata)? Chen Yi has received numerous awards and distinguished commissions from
throughout the world. Her music is characterized as combining both Chinese and
Western cultures, and transcending cultural and musical boundaries.
"Because I believe that language can be translated into music and because I speak
out naturally in my mother tongue, there are Chinese blood, Chinese philosophy,
and Chinese customs in my music. However, because music is a universal
language, I hope to capture the essence of both Eastern and Western cultures, and
to write more compositions that embody my own temperament as well as the
spirit of this brave new epoch. I hope to improve the understanding between
people from different cultural backgrounds and to further the peace of our new
world."4
Understanding the elements of Chen Yi' s experience that have shaped and
characterized her music - the years of living in the countryside among peasants during
the Cultural Revolution, the formal conservatory education, and the exposure to
contemporary western music - is fundamental to analyzing the fusion process in her

works.
2 John de Clef Pineiro, "An Interview with Chen YI/' New Music Connoisseur, Vol. 9
No. 4, July 26, 2001,27.
3http://www.presser.com/Composers/info.cfm?Name=chenYi
4 Chen Yi, "Tradition and Creation", Current Musicology 67-68 (2002): 59.
3
Early Musical Education
Chen Yi was born in 1953 in Guangzhou, China, to a family of doctors who were
lovers of Western classical music. Her parents raised their three children to be trained as
professional musicians. They complied a large collection of classical music records
which the whole family would listen to every evening.5 Furthermore, since living in a
metropolitan city, Chen Yi's parents would often take the children to many local
performances to help them appreciate famous musicians from all over the world.
Chen Yi's older sister was a child prodigy, and Chen Yi grew up listening to her
sister practicing the piano every morning. Chen Yi started playing piano at age three and
began to study violin at age four. In time, Chen Yi played through the entire standard
violin repertoire in classical music.
The idea for Chen Yi to become a composer was a wish of her father, and the
approach - to treat composition as a carrier of Chinese culture - was suggested by Chen
Yi's first theory teacher, Zheng Zhong.6 Chen Yi writes:
One day, when I was a kid, as we listened to the recordings of Heifetz and
Kreisler who played their own compositions, my father told me that it would be
great if one day I could play my own works like them. And when I was a
teenager, my father invited my early theory teacher Mr. Zheng Zhong to teach me
music theory and Chinese folk songs. This important mentor told me that, since I
was born and growing up in China, I could understand Chinese culture better, and
should be able to carry on the culture and share it with more people. That
impressed me deeply and has influenced me my whole life. Later on, I started to
do as he had suggested, and I still continue to work on it now.
5 de Clef Pineiro .
6 Guo, Xin. "Chinese Musical Language Interpreted by Western Idioms: Fusion
Process in the Instrumental Works by Chen Yi." Ph.D. diss., The Florida State
University, 2002, 71.
7 de Clef Pineiro.
4
Experiences in the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976)

The Cultural Revolution, which began in 1966, changed Chen Yi and her family's
life. In 1968, the family was dispersed to different parts of the country. Chen Yi's
musical studies were forced to stop as she was sent to Guangdong Province to do heavy
labor. Chen Yi recalls, "I had to walk all the way up to the big mountain. I sometimes
had to get up at 4 a.m. just to avoid the heat of the sun. There were days when I also had
to carry a hundred pounds of stone and mud twenty-two times, from the foot of the
mountain to the very top."8
In spite of this negative experience, it was an important period of Chen Yi's life
that has impacted the style of her composition greatly. In her spare time, she played
revolutionary songs on violin - the only repertoire she was allowed to play - for poor
country kids and peasants. She added double stops and fast passages that she had learned
from studying Paganini. It was then that she first realized how to infuse Western
techniques into Chinese music. After that, she began to note the cultural differences
between Western and Chinese music and to think about how to create her own music.9 In
her interview with John de Clef Pineiro, Chen Yi explained:
In the countryside, I also found my own language when I realized that my mother
tongue really is the same as what the farmers speak! I also found that when I
translated it into music, it's not the same as what I was practicing everyday! For
this reason, I believe that I really need to study more deeply and extensively, and
find a way to express myself in a way of real fusion of Eastern and Western
musics in my music. The result should be a natural hybrid, and not an artificial or
superficial combination. All these have contributed to one degree or another to
nurture my later musical creation.
8 Ibid.
9 Guo, 72.
10 de Clef Pineiro.
5
At age seventeen, she returned to Guangzhou and worked as concertmaster of the

orchestra of the Beijing Opera Troupe in Guangzhou from 1970 to 1978.n During this
period, Chen Yi once again had an opportunity to synthesize Western and Chinese
cultures into music. Her practice was to orchestrate and compose music for this 40-piece
mixed Western and Chinese traditional instrumental orchestra. She had to arrange
operatic arias and create good melodies through understanding and mastering the
uniqueness of Chinese language. Moreover, she also transcribed the music for traditional
Chinese instruments into Western notation, familiarizing herself with the range,
techniques, timbres and expressive effects of those Chinese instruments. She even
applied Western structural techniques to organize musical materials. By dealing with this
non-standard, mixed orchestra, she developed a timbrai sensitivity to the instrumental
groupings from which the balance of timbrai blend and special sound effects can thus be
achieved through varied combinations of Western and Chinese instruments. All this
connection with Chinese music eventually proved a useful tool in finding her own voice
for her musical compositions.
11 Chen, Moh-Wei. "Myths from Afar: Chinese Myths Cantata by Chen Yi." D.M.A. doc.
University of Southern California, 1997.
12 Guo, 73.
6
Formal Conservatory Education
After the Cultural Revolution concluded, Beijing's Central Conservatory
reopened in 1978. The competition was great, for thousands of composition students
applied to study at China's conservatories after they had been closed for ten years. Chen
Yi was one of the exceptional one-percent of applicants who were admitted. She was
admitted in both violin and composition majors, but as she was only allowed to elect one
major, she eventually chose composition, her ultimate dream.
During her five-year undergraduate study, Chen Yi received complete systematic
training in Western tonal style, including courses in harmony, counterpoint, form and
analysis, orchestration, ear training and sight-reading. She was most fond of the Chinese
music courses, which she found quite unique. The course of study included memorizing
folk songs in local dialects; musical storytelling, in which they were asked to compose
melodies in various local styles; traditional opera; instrumental music, which included a
survey of bowing, plucking, blowing, and percussion techniques. Each year, students
also made a field trip to the countryside to collect folk songs. Chen Yi learned a great
deal at the Central Conservatory as a composition student.
Chen Yi, along with other Chinese composers of her generation including Zhou
Long, Tan Dun, Qu Xiaosong, formed group known as the New Wave. They were the
first generation of Chinese musicians to be exposed to post- 1949 developments in
Western music.15 During their studies at the Central Conservatory and China's other
13 Zhou, Jinmin. "New Wave Music in China." Ph.D. diss.. University of Maryland,
Baltimore County, 1993, 40.
14 de Clef Pineiro.
15 Zhou, 82.
prominent conservatories, they discovered this music with the help of visiting scholars
including Chou Wen-Chung and Alexander Goehr.16
Alexander Goehr was central in introducing Chen Yi to twentieth century music.
A student of Messiaen, Alexander Goehr gave lectures and courses at the Central
Conservatory to help students become familiar with the composition styles and
techniques of twentieth century Western music. She was fascinated by this subject, and
read it and listened extensively. She was not only inspired by Schönberg' s
"Sprechstimme" but also by Alban Berg's approach to serialism. The finely delicate
tonal language in her compositions - a highly expressive language, generated by complex
rhythmic structures - can also be traced back to this time.17
16 Chen, Moh-Wei, 1.
17 Heinz-Dieter Reese. "Chen Yi-A Portrait." p. 23, from a book published by Roche
on Chen Yi's SiJi (Four Seasons), a finalist for the 2006 Pulitzer Prize in Music,
product of the prestigious second Roche Commission.
8
Experiences in the United States

After attaining her master's degree at Beijing's Central Conservatory in 1986,
Chen Yi came to the United States to study the composition with Chou Wen-Chung and
Mario Davidovsky at Columbia University,18 where she was awarded a doctorate in 1993.
While studying in New York, Chen Yi went to "the music library at Lincoln Center to
study new scores (written in many different styles), and attended numerous concerts, in
small and large concert halls, clubs, churches, parks, subway stations, and on the
streets."19
With Mario Davidovsky, Chen Yi studied "extensively in the areas of musical
concepts, construction, and orchestral writing (as well as in electronic music
composition)."20 With Chou Wen-Chung, her mentor at Columbia University, Chen Yi
learned from the lectures that he gave on new music and ethnomusicology and from
analyzing many of his compositions with him in detail, both culturally and technically.
While studying at Columbia University, Chen Yi learned more sophisticated
compositional techniques for melodic writing and sonority design, mainly in regard to the
handling of dissonance. This language has enabled her to freely notate mountain
farmers' improvisational singing and people's speech and to exaggerate reciting tunes in
the Beijing opera style. Moreover, by applying twelve-tone technique, Chen Yi has been
able to make up her own melodies in her own instrumental and vocal music.
Chen Yi gradually began to view "music not as new versus historical, nor as
Eastern versus Western, but rather to consider the fact that human thought goes into all of
18 Chen Yi, "Tradition and Creation," 63.

19IWd.
20IWd.
9
these musics. [She] began to see similarities in musical styles, aesthetics, customs,
feelings, and principles. As [she] considered composing in [her] own unique language, in
[her] most natural voice and style, [she] began to be inspired by what [she] had learned
from various cultural traditions, and even from scientific principles."22 She now
considers her music as a fusion process of consonance and dissonance as well as tonality
and atonality; 'spoken' in Chinese, but written in Western music idiom.23
Chen Yi' s primary compositional goal is to comprehend "the essential character
and spirit" of traditional Chinese music and to develop musical elements and structures in
which East and West can fuse naturally without losing their own distinct identities.24
This endeavor is visible in many of her compositions.
In this study, her three woodwind quintets have been chosen to exemplify the
blending of Western and Chinese cultures with complex rhythms to create excitement and
dramatic effect; the continuously flowing melodic line, frequently combined with
fragments of Chinese folk tunes and Western post-tonal techniques; and formal structures
associated with both Western sectional principles and underlying phrasal structures of a
Chinese tune.
Chen Yi, "Tradition and Creation," 63-64.

de Clef Pineiro.
Reese, 27.
10
CHAPTER 2
Woodwind Quintet (1987)
The Woodwind Quintet is Chen Yi' s first composition for winds alone. Inspired
by the booming tide of [the ocean as it crashes into] the Chaoyin Cave in the Putuo
Mountain located in the Southeastern China, Chen Yi expresses the dull chanting from
the Buddhist nunnery (^^cßöf^PEi^) through twelve-tone techniques, and imitates the
sounds of Chinese wind instruments: the reciting tunes of the Xiao (or Hsiao) - a vertical
bamboo flute - played by the oboe, and the rude roaring of the Changjian - a Tibetan
low-ranged bronze horn - played by the French horn.25
Woodwind Quintet, a twelve-tone exercise written by Chen Yi while studying at
Columbia University, has been performed frequently as one of her representative works.
The handling of the pitch materials is essentially Western, as she has employed pitch
manipulations from the twelve-tone system and set theory to avoid sounding tonal or
modal. This analysis of the piece will focus mainly on the aspect of pitch.
25 Chen Yi, program notes of the Woodwind Quintet (Theodore Presser Company,
1988, 1994).
11
The Treatment of Pitch Materials
The principal pitch materials of Woodwind Quintet are a twelve-tone row and a
group of unordered smaller pitch-class collections that are derived from segments of the
row.
The twelve-tone row is structured by subsets ranging from interval classes (ics 1
and 6), trichord [012], tetrachord [0126], to septachord [0123456] (Example 2.1).
16 16 11
/\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\
L.(#12f-J 1 |·1 2| —I I— I il ? 2 1 —I
I 1·126| 1 I (111 26 1 1
1 I» 1234561 1
Example 2.1: Structural subsets of the twelve-tone row26
The elements of these subsets serving as important musical ideas consist of the
interval-class sets 1 and 6. For example, the trichord [012] contains two ic 1 (i.e. minor
second). The tetrachord [0126] contains both ics 1 and 6. Lastly, the septachord contains
a segment of the chromatic collection that covers the range of a tritone. As a result, all
pitch materials are bound together by the ics 1 and 6.
Moreover, Chen Yi also arranges the twelve-tone row vertically, as did
Schoenberg. In the vertical presentation, the row is divided into five segments, played by
26 This example is adopted from Xin Guo's dissertation "Chinese Musical Language
Interpreted by Western Idioms: Fusion Process in the Instrumental Works by Chen
Yi," p. 87.
12
the five instruments. These segments are presented simultaneously, but each with its own
rhythmic pattern (Example 2.2).
P.:
8
D C Eb A B Bb C P G« G E F
118
13
Fl
ff
!«galo
3 G i
Ob
ff
f r,08 9 V
5s
Ciar ¡5?
lecito
f 2
Bsss
legalo
Example 2.2: Vertical presentation of the row
In addition to the linear and vertical presentations of the row, Chen Yi adopts a
typical device for pitch manipulation from Webern. She presents the row with timbrai
shifts and modulation when one instrument starts the row and the other instrument
continues it. The row is continued by overlapping some adjacent pitch-class sets when
the other instrument picks up the row. This serves as a pivot in the timbrai modulation
(Example 2.3).
13
CIa=.
ß. in 111^
10 11 12 3 .4(5) 7
10 U-îï-î-vd
Fl.
8 9 0
3ssa.
Example 2.3: The row with timbrai modulation

14
Chen Yi also invents her own methods of manipulating the row. First, in the
beginning statement, she adds an appended row segment (the third note through the tenth
note) to the twelve-tone row. This single-line presentation occurs three times, each time
with the insertion of an eighth rest at certain notes to avoid the regular rhythmic pulse
(Example 2.4).
P0: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 3 4 (5) 6 7 8 9 10 | 1 2 3 4
¿- *'".. ""* ' "¦ '"' : ~ ~ ,? J:*! * s ! ' ¦. * * , *~=f=^
rr legato *""' "™"
d 6 .7 8 9 10 11 12 3 4 d 6 7 (8) 9 10 li 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 3 4 ;d 6 (7) 8 9 10
>+*.
?A* ili.*.
-*A
I *#
î#
?*.«·?*\9*
Example 2.4: Chen Yi's invention of the row statement
Secondly, Chen Yi gradually adds to the complexity of the row statement. She
begins with a single-line presentation, which later transposes to Pn in mm. 8-11. This is
followed by paired row presentations with different rhythmic patterns (mm. 18- 22),
eventually leading to three simultaneous parts (mm. 23-27). Finally, she pairs the
appended row segments with two simultaneous transpositions (Po and Pu) in m. 32 and
35. The complexity reaches its peak as two simultaneous transpositions alternate the pitch
classes between the flute and clarinet parts in mm. 37-38 (Example 2.5).
15
03.
Ciar.
Sssn.l
//
?. S
Jyleg»to
Ob.
Ciar.
3353,
//
Example 2.5: The complexity of the row statement
16
¿? »gaio
segment of paired presentation

[0123456] of the row in P0 and P11
¡»«a _£Uá_J22£££
Fl.
Cb.
Clar.
P.S.
Fl.
Ob.
Ciar.
F. E.
3SSS.
Example 2.5: The complexity of the row statement (continued)

17
While the style of Woodwind Quintet is essentially Western, Chen Yi also inserts
some Chinese flavors into the piece. According to her extensive research, the variation
methods used in many Chinese traditional music pieces include melodic decoration
(adding grace notes and complications to the rhythms of the main melody); note
borrowing (using some notes to replace the original, which may cause the mode to
change); structural changes (adding bridges); enlarged form (expanding the original form
without completely changing the structure of the original tune); or simple employment of
the original melody as a framework for improvisation.27 She adds, "After years of
serious study of Chinese traditional music, I have applied all of these methods, together
with my knowledge of Western classical and contemporary music, to create my own
musical works."28
In the middle section of the piece, Chen Yi applies some special effects intended
to imitate Chinese instrumental sounds and performance practices such as adding grace
notes one half step below each of the principal notes. Nevertheless, she continues to
employ dissonant sonorities to it. In mm. 104-1 16, the oboe and the clarinet play the
fragment of the melody simultaneously a half step apart; later the flute and the clarinet do
so (mm. 124-129). Finally, in m. 131, all three instruments (flute, oboe and clarinet) play
the melody concurrently a half step apart from each other (Example 2.6). Once again,
she gradually builds the complexity to set up the climactic point of this Chinese-infused
section.
The fragment of this Chinese-influenced melody is first composed of the pitch-

class set [0156]. At the second entrance of the fragment (m. 124), Chen Yi modifies the
27 Chen Yi. "Tradition and Creation." Current Musicology 67-68, 1999, pp. 59-72.
28 ibid.
18
set to [0167], which is more closely connected to the structure of the row (refer to
Example 2.6).
[0156]
Clar.
Ciar.
[0167]
Ciar.
Example 2.6: The complexity of the Chinese-influenced melodic fragments

19
The Form Structure
The form of the Woodwind Quintet consists of three sections with a coda, each
marked by a tempo change.
Section I (mm. 1-45) begins with the linear presentations of the twelve-tone row
and gradually adds intensity, accomplished through the use of the heterophonic texture, in
which different parts play the same melodic line simultaneously but with different
rhythmic patterns recurring in each individual part. It is notable that the trill pattern
played by the flute in mm. 28-3 1 is also derived from the twelve-tone row but skips every
other note, beginning after the F trill (Example 2.7).
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 O
*¦ sua
G) m E M ? C)
Fl %
? / /
ob ? f
«;,
5 sua
>itt 3
I
Clar.gSEEá!
# /
!
F.E. Œî
?
3 1
S I
>»¦ ! 1 3 I
?F-
Bsm
Example 2.7: The variation of the twelve-tone row

20
After the first subsection of Section I reaches the climax at m. 31, the fragments
of the twelve-tone row are now intertwined with pitch-class collections. The flute and
the clarinet parts alternate a fragment of Pn and a septachord [0123456] in mm. 31-32,
followed by a paired presentation of the row (P0 and Pu) in mm. 37-38 (Example 2.8).
¡P.: PF C C* K* D E A* € H G* ?
Ip- ?* ? f* c u c d* ? ß tr g e*
ts I m
ti» a I
*m
Sm
*j
¿s :.;^ágÊ%B^^tg-i:^jS& y".iy.~¡¿~3i
3 ¿il; H !3 ìli
Example 2.8: Paired presentation of the row
In Section II (mm. 46-75), the tempo is slower than in Section I. Both the
character and the treatment of pitch materials in Section II are simpler than in the first
section, although Section II retains a close connection to Section I by reiterating the
incomplete twelve-tone row in a different transposition, P2. In mm. 68-70, Webern's
technique, timbrai modulation, appears (Example 2.9).
21
Fl
Ob
1 2 3 4 5 6
3 »
ZM
Ciar. 1
«S
PP
S
s s
3s sn B
-t J
Example 2.9: The incomplete twelve-tone row in P2 with timbrai modulation
Also in this section, a fragment of the Chinese-influenced melody is first

introduced as new material. The French horn initiates the melody in pitch-class set
[0167] in m. 56 while other parts continue the segments of the row (Example 2.10).
Section II thus brings out a distinct contrast to Sections I and III.
22
?.
Ob.
Cl«r.
Ob.
Ciar.
F. H.
Fl.
Ob.
Ciar.
?.S.
3s su.
Example 2.10: The pitch-class sets in the Chinese-influenced melody

23
Section III (mm. 76-137) is like a recapitulation of Section I, except with more
rhythmic, timbrai and registrai contrasts between the various pitch materials. It is the
longest section of the piece. The beginning of the section (mm. 77-82) simply restates
the twelve-tone row from the opening of the piece, but transforms it to a "timbrai melody"
with a sixteenth-note motive (Example 2.1 1).
3 4 56 7(8)
H»Hs fjp \ 8 Qj rnjjjr—
101112 3.4(
Ciar.
10 iua-3^4
4)¿-§-7SSJ
4 5 6, 7 8 ^g
5 6(7)
1 2 3
Example 2. 1 1 : Another timbrai melody of the twelve-tone row

24
There are two materials adopted from Chinese music in this section. One section
employs a method mentioned earlier - note borrowing. In mm. 83-84, the fourth notes in
two different transpositions of the twelve-tone set (Po and Pn) are replaced by F and Bb
respectively. Before the next subsection arrives in m. 100, there is a distinctive transition
which features a glissando played by the horn.
The oboe and clarinet play passages that are symmetrical. First, the clarinet plays
the range from D-B in m. 94, followed by the oboe from B-G . The next two measures
continue with oboe first (B-G ), then clarinet (D-B ) (Example 2.12).
Ob
B-G* B-C*]
Ciar
*j TTTwrz «rr
rr
Pilch-class Range: D-B (ascending chromatics)
Example 2.12: The symmetry of two unordered pc sets
The next subsection, starting in m. 100, consists of three parts: the horn continues
the glissando; the flute and bassoon play different transpositions of the twelve-tone row
an octave apart; while the oboe and clarinet play one half step off from each other, as the
fragment of a Chinese-infused melody occurs in m. 104. This is not the first occurrence
of the technique employed by Chen Yi: the dissonance created by treating paired
melodies one half step apart. She employed this technique in Section I with other pitch
materials - fragments of the twelve-tone row and pitch-class collections (Example 2.13).
25
segment of paired presentation of

[0123456] the row (P. and P) in mm. 37-38
Ptu mosso
Fl.
Ciar.
[0123456]
Fl.
Example 2.13: The dissonance between the twelve-tone row and pc collections
Later, the vertical combinations of the twelve-tone row in five segments channel
into the second climax at m. 11 8. After the climax, the music goes back to a three-part
texture again: the flute and clarinet play the fragment of a Chinese-influenced melody
one semitone apart; the oboe and bassoon form a part; while the horn plays the twelve-
tone row in P8 transposition with each iteration becoming shorter and shorter in length.
Before the coda, starting in mm. 130, the top three voices (flute, oboe and clarinet)
combine with similar rhythmic patterns, while the horn gradually merges into the
bassoon's pattern. Thus, the texture simplifies into two parts - flute, oboe and clarinet
against bassoon and horn.
The last section of the piece, the coda (mm. 139-154), forms a summation of all
the pitch materials in the work. The beginning of the coda corresponds to the beginning
26
of the piece. The clarinet begins the single-line twelve-tone row with an incomplete
appended row segment (only through the seventh note), followed by a brief Chinese
fragment. The four voices (oboe, French horn, flute and bassoon) then use an imitative
texture to present the twelve-tone row in different transpositions (Po, Pn, Pi, and Pi0).
This twelve-tone row appears to be slightly different than the one in the beginning of the
piece. Only the third and the fourth notes of the twelve-tone row are added to the end of
the twelve-tone row instead of the third note through the tenth note. Then the row is
followed by a trill down a perfect fifth (Example 2.14).
P.: 1 3 4 5 6 8 9 10 11 12 3 4
147
P.: 1 2 3 4 5 6 I 7 8 9 10 IJ 12 3 T
V^ s: ==¿«?
? *¦
¿?* ffP
1 2 3 6 7 8 9 10! P 12 3_1 ZP
9-9
U
Í
fr 1 2 N-
3 6J IiJiJLU-, *
I
TP j — ? i'l'T
Example 2.14: Coda: the twelve-tone row in different transpositions
The free voice played by the clarinet presents the two interval classes (ics 1 and 6)
that bind the piece together. The coda starts out in the linear dimension and ends on a
vertical line - a five-note cluster, which is centered on F#. In this sense, the piece
concludes as tonal music - ending with the note with which it began (F ).
27
CHAPTER 3
FENG
Commissioned by the San Francisco Citywinds with a Chamber Music America

commissioning award and composed in 1998, Feng is Chen Yi's second work for
woodwind quintet. The world premiere was given on January 13, 1999 at St. John's
Presbyterian Church in Berkeley; the New York premiere was on January 17 at St.
Malachi's/The Actors' Chapel at the CMA Commissioning Showcase concert. The
character "feng" in Chinese means "wind" or "the winds", also "view, folk songs, style
and manner..." In her program notes, Chen Yi states: "I use five standard Western wind
instruments to sound the Eastern feeling of the winds in the quintet Feng, which consists
of two movements: Introduction and Rondo. The duration is about 12 minutes."
Feng was composed 1 1 years after Woodwind Quintet. Chen Yi creates short
melodic motives to form the basis for Feng. Like the earlier work, there is no specific
folk song source for the melodies ofFeng. However, along with her intention for "the
five standard Western wind instruments to sound the Eastern feeling of the winds," the
composer utilizes each instrument to create some of the sounds that imitate performance
practices of specific Chinese instruments such as pitch bending and flutter tonguing.
29 Chen Yi, program notes of Feng (Theodore Presser Company, 1998).

28
1. Introduction.
The pitch materials in the first movement oí Feng include several closely related
motives, certain significant intervals as well as vertical sonorities (tone clusters). The
pitch language of Feng is basically motivic atonality.
The opening solo line of the oboe (mm. 1-4) introduces the melody of Feng. This
melody reiterates throughout the movement, occasionally in its amended form (Example
3.1).
29
? >«*??....
'£«ST
>«-*'' if¦¦¦¦»-¦
II I -^ "~)HIHMÍÍT|ImTiI f "¡f ""'" *
-¦»=::::::. : S
W -S
Jr
báb—ZT _ ". -
?··f ¦
ñjr
?» «? " (Sr
;;*üas£i;
9· '
/3
fer
20. —
3§G*
^¡r ___ — -~¿~ - !^¡¡,»^r-ja» -
[4*
1^N 1±?3
|.«?»<"f3<r ,S«f 3
31
., JiP
m
JP
HS -"ss
Example 3.1 : Opening melody and its amended form in Introduction

30
The oboe melody also contains the basic motivic materials for the entire
movement. The first part of the melody (m. 1 to m. 3, count 1) illustrates one of the most
important motives of the movement, a (Example 3.2). It can also be described as a
trichord [016], which later appears as an important motive in the next movement, Rondo.
Indeed, mm. 7-9 are saturated with this sonority. In m. 7, the clarinet and bassoon restate
this motive. The flute joins them later in the following measure to present the trichord
vertically. The a motive contains two interval-classes of the movement, ics 1 and 6,
which are present throughout the movement.
a= 016
*j
m
vm m?—
m f)
Example 3.2: The motives in the opening melody
Following the a motive is the b pattern, which consists of two new interval
classes, ic 3 followed by ic 2. However, the b pattern remains closely related to the a
motive with the connection of ics 1 and 6. The b motive is not as easily recognized in the
movement as a, because the b motive is usually not presented in its original form and is
integrated into other pitch materials.
The remaining part of the melody consists of another distinguishable motive, c,
which occurs throughout the movement and often combines with other motives. It has
the repeating pattern of an ascending whole step followed by a descending half step. In
referring to this pattern, Melfi writes: "She [Chen Yi] developed this pattern as a way to
31
move pitches fast but in a small range, and has begun to incorporate it as part of her
compositional language."30 Chen Yi herself also comments on this pattern, "When I tried
to move pitches fast but in a small range I started to use this language, and it became
more popular in my writing."
All three motives are developed and varied as the movement continues. For
example, in mm. 8-9, the oboe and horn play the altered form of motive a, referred to as
a¡. The a¡ motive then starts the next section of the movement (m. 10), played by all five
instruments. Appearing either alone or with other motives, this a¡ motive is predominant
throughout the movement. It even supplants the b motive when the opening melody is
played again by the flute at the end of the movement. The most common combination
consists of the a motive, followed by a¡ and then by c, as appearing in m. 17 in the
clarinet and in mm. 22-23 in the flute, oboe and clarinet (Example 3.3).
30 Melfi, 66-67.
31 Melfi, 127.
32
mp —= ^ -~—^^y
av.
: 72
b> lips
—1^ «-'
... »¿ìfcifsd
¦ß ? ».
=µ^ ai . . . <7"
mf
6" ' ' *

mf
¿:-:!^::::".:::::::£m::::-:::~ìm:~^.
r.J=.rTrr:-~::±i,bî-£-T:
W
by Ups
Fl. É3=i=ESÏiii Ì3§

*»/ /
a+ai + c :
CIa.
CIa.
Example 3.3: ay and the combination of the motives {a + a¡ + e)

33
Another variation, a2, introduces a new interval: the tritone, followed by ic 4

(Example 3.4).
Ei m
1^:::::^=^?^^»::f:?:.?::::0::^^::::?:^ ij^^;¡rgiir=pEy^^
55#-i>»yfc|>foF^j»3!F^
\a=¿^rma*:^¿^gi S Mi>J±i.
ggSggj^^ggggÊ
CIa. ^:=^^^::b:m:^^À:!^:9»rj^-S»=^
Hor.
Bsn
at
fesîgg^^£dfe
^Jf,
Ob.
¿jS^jllp
^-l»-t!
Ilor.
lpft^^M
?ee
Example 3.4: a2 with other motives

34
All the a-related motives basically begin with the tritone. By manipulating these
motivic elements, Chen Yi is able to integrate them into one melodic line.
While altering forms of the motives, the composer also employs other techniques
to make the piece highly creative with just a few motives. For example, the rhythmic
values are altered (Example 3.5).
/ //
//
3"
Hon
¦4—j—j-
*; zi \t·
3 JP — y
Bsn
Example 3.5: Variations of the opening theme

35
Moreover, while the multiple motives are mostly overlapped with each other, she
sometimes changes their intervals while retaining the melodic contour. For example, in
the first beat of m. 25, the intervals of the c pattern are now expanded by one-half step to
become the pattern of a rising ic 3 followed by a descending whole step (Example 3.6).
!original motiveTi]
¡cs: 1 2 1 2 1 2
(JPjRF^
9J
'^:.u$0tâ*zt)z±.
f
ics: 3 ? 3 oreinal motive c
F
?\ !????
fei gp ?'?
Ob
I
Cía
Example 3.6: Interval expansion in c

36
She also frequently alters the motives by inverting the intervals, i.e. minor second
becomes major 7th (Example 3.7).
¦i» ?-
\>-£_ ,
-F- f—&- F
.^-Vx ^, 9Fm Et»-7t»
am F-
Fl.
Ob. ^:¿::::::êjgl > > > l>
• >¦ >- i >¦ ? >¦
Ck.
igE*EEE^ffi§EEiiE
3— 3-
33e:
H or.
5 -W- ïmV+%? ItM

f
Bsn
S ^TT
^ >*· st- ag^
Example 3.7: Interval inversions

37
Although there are many altered forms of the motives throughout the
Introduction, they are always recognizable as derivatives of the original motives because
the ingredients of the motives, i.e. the intervals, stay closely related (usually at least one
interval-class from the original form remains in the altered motive). In Introduction,
Chen Yi' s creativity with the pitch materials reaches its highest level. She capably
integrates related motivic elements to form a melodic line and transforms them into
various appearances.
Along with motives and intervals, vertical sonority is also a vital element in Feng.
Besides the many unison passages of the movement, there are many sonorities consisting
of tone clusters, which usually serve as the accompaniment. For example, in mm. 48, 51,
and 54, the oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon play short simultaneous figures that are
related to b as accompaniment to the flute melody. Although each accompanying part
moves differently, the tone clusters forms are identical (Example 3.8).
38
-f
,??:=t=:G+??-:::
'IS:::Si
P"—'
fea=====EH
¦::mE
r*~~'
t
I m
É
Bm. P
i,
ft· -55C -
-i
>¦*
;:2(r:::.:»"Zr'.;z.:·':::
É
Iî
Example 3.8: Accompanimental vertical sonorities

39
2. Rondo.
Many of the pitch materials in Rondo are taken from the previous movement,
Introduction; yet Rondo also employs some new pitch structures. The prominent pitch
materials carried over from the first movement, including a, b, c, [016], appear in the first
eight measures of Rondo as melody played together by flute, oboe, and clarinet. The first
to appear in mm. 3-6 is a vertical sonority, G-D-C and [016]. This dominant sound of G-
D-C is actually not new material, having previously appeared in the Introduction a few
times (Example 3.9).
40
C-D-C oi6l C-D-C
Clarinet!
Bassoon ï-ETZjpr^ __ ..— J . —¦
C-I)-C
G-D-C 'j
:::s::::=fc:
Fl. mi- í __£. -*_.
Ob. Ob. ágfe^

CIa. CIa. feÊ
Hor. Hor.
m ^ ..
Bsn Bsn
K 27 » » i "
Example 3.9: The appearances of G-D-C and [016]

41
This is followed by the motive a and a slightly altered form of motive b (altered
by one pitch) in m. 7 in the context of shorter rhythmic patterns. The melody continues
with the c motive in the next measure (Example 3.10). This original form of the melody
is later modified from the top three instruments in mm. 7-8 to the flute part alone in m.
133.
Cl.
¿J»JJJi"¦ é~J^'^&^ •m/ f
^m
Ob.
Ê m
Em
?
3äE
Bsn. S =Efe
Example 3.10: a and b in Rondo

42
There are also two other forms of this melody in the movement. The first appears
in m. 14 in the oboe, initially retaining the original a motive. When it appears again in m.
16, a tritone is attached to the end of the a motive. This form of the melody also appears
in m. 22 when the melody is repeated up an octave and in m. 90, 142, and 148 (Example
3.11).
a + tritoni1
•jf*·* íju Tj??p*q^

/ :/
ß^·.^??5??????;????^£^^
Bsn.5^=
/ * P f ' —//
::?::&*&'?::
)h.jg|É3E£ f "
Example 3.11: The motive a followed by a tritone
The other form of the melody appears in m. 36 in the flute, oboe and clarinet
parts, when motives a, b, and c all combine into a single melodic line. It also appears in
mm. 104-107 and 162-165. Every time this form of the melody occurs, the starting
pitches of the three instruments are always E-D-Bb (Example 3.12).
43
t-t'ifo
?
:"·**?3· T"ïm-\
li. ï::—r.
W.
Example 3.12: The melody made of various motives

44
The horn and the bassoon play an ostinato figure which forms a counterpart to the
melodic motives. Though the pitch materials of these two parts are mainly formed by
[016], the melodic contour differs. Thus, it should be considered new material rather
than pitch materials derived from the Introduction. The ostinato begins with the bassoon
and is continued by the horn, with the two parts overlapping twice. The first overlap
forms an octave to allow the pattern to flow smoothly. The second overlap forms a
tritone, which ends the complete figure (Example 3.13).
Horn in F hfanF
Bassoon
Example 3.13: The ostinato figure

45
The ostinato figure later becomes the principal melody of the B sections in the
movement, at different pitch levels and with varying rhythmic patterns (Example 3.14).
¦="¦ m —* L·^!
= w
""TTl
mp
UE
I
ï
e*. ||& J
PP
- i
m/
i PP
:?::=-
^~G^ ¿. * w)
' ...A..$0.....
JSL·
JL
m :m^mm
?
è
Sfc
Example 3.14: B section: ostinato transformation to melody

46
The Form Structure
!.Introduction.
Introduction is a through-composed movement, comparably freer than the second

movement, Rondo. However, it can still be divided into three main sections by
examining the relationships of the tonal materials. The first section, A, introduces the
melody and pitch materials for the work. The second section, B, develops the materials
being introduced in the A section. The third section, C, alters the materials and then
becomes an echo of the working processes of sections A and B.
The A section, the first nine measures of the movement, employs a slower tempo
than the other sections. It can be further divided into three phrases. The first phrase,
measures 1-4, introduces the melody and the motives of the movement. The second
phrase, mm. 5-6, extends the c motive. The third phrase, mm. 7-9, not only restates the
first half of the opening melody, but also introduces the a¡ motive. The A section is
separated from the B section by the tempo change in m. 10 and a period of concurrent
rest among the five instruments.
The B section, consisting of m. 10 to m. 42, count 2, starts with the aj motive,

which has been introduced at the end of the A section. All five instruments initially play
unison patterns for four measures and continue as in the beginning of the movement -
one instrument, clarinet this time, playing the solo line. The clarinet solo line differs only
by a dotted first beat when compared to the beginning oboe melody. The subsection of
m. 13 to m. 22, count 2 is texturally identical to the beginning of the movement, except
the tempo here is faster than the A section (Example 3.15).
47
Hule li
¿if.
*-
*7»».«^»* ;
?
ïj mf u..,.
Clarinet in Bb M
fe
in lips
t>\ hi»
h\ K !I
Example 3.15: Comparison between mm. 1-11 and mm. 13-22

48
hv KH
Example 3.15: Comparison between mm. 1-11 and mm. 13-22 (continued)
49
Here the music combines new and familiar materials - from a simple melodic
restatement of A to a gradual addition of new features achieved by altering the motives

and intervals while retaining some original parts with some altered pitch and rhythms.
This technique causes the music to sound like a new section, although the B section
introduces no new material and actually develops materials of the A section.
The second subsection, consisting of m. 22, count 4 to m. 42, count 2, begins with
a polyphonic texture. Flute, oboe and clarinet play unified passages against the horn and
bassoon. Within this polyphonic texture, the motives are being developed and combined
in a variety of ways. In m. 25, the new altered motive, ci2, appears with an interval
expansion as shown in Example 3.6. Then the opening motive, a, comes back in m. 3 1
with a triplet pattern emphasized by accents. In mm. 32-33, the passage continues with a
timbrai modulation, similar to the Woodwind Quintet, when all instruments, except the
flute, overlap in the passage. The flute joins in m. 34 an octave apart from the oboe. The
texture then becomes thin, although the polyphony reappears again in m. 38 (Example
3.16). This subsection forms the climax of the movement because of the musical tension
created here, and its dynamic level remains atfforf.
50
The 2nd subsection of the B section starts here:

evenh
-t? a with interval expansion
* A *>- t^?*-»^- t1^^—

mâËÊËmfcEJE ????3 ¦--¦" --¿"--G-.
*&?.??->? ^
*J
êÊL· IP 3?2?
"V S'^-+**-^**·
ML·
"*G »Tvt
Example 3.16: The second subsection of the B section

51
timbrai modulation
Example 3.16: The second subsection of the B section (continued)

52
Following the B section is a transitional phrase, m. 42, count 3 to m. 45. This

section is defined as a transition rather than the beginning of the next section, C, because
the opening melody restarts again in m. 46 and fades away from the climatic materials in
the previous section, B. Consisting of accents and wide leaps played by the horn, this
transition also includes the a¡ and c motives in the concluding bassoon and oboe parts
respectively.
In the final C section (mm. 46-60), the flute recapitulates the opening melody
with the tone cluster accompaniment and demonstrates the developmental possibilities of
c. This time the flute melody begins with a minor ninth in addition to a portion of the
beginning melody (the a motive or [016]), followed by a statement ofay. Both motives,
a and a¡, are then repeated one octave lower. The movement ends with the flute alone,
playing the exact pitches of the oboe melody at the beginning of the movement
(Example 3.17). Concluding the movement, this section summarizes the materials which
have been utilized throughout - the opening melody and the motives - played by the
accompaniment instruments.
53
v\.m
VG==z:xz:pz.
F£t:~=~=^:?: ¦:±:^?:?::4?^?:-^?
mf
"??- _=^-
f
????? IMÎ tnp
È ¦y
==EÍ
ï*
^=
1VViUc vibrai«
¡g] Free
¿.=?T] J·,· y
Example 3.17: Flute solo: opening melody from the end oíIntroduction
54
2. Rondo.
The structure of this rondo is ABABA coda. All A sections include a two-part
ostinato and a melody consisting of motives from the previous movement, Introduction.
The ostinato repeats in four cycles and appears in a complicated meter to conceal the
regular pulse of the music. The pattern continues until m. 27, where six statements of the
four-cycle ostinato figure have been completed, and thereafter the pattern changes. It
takes two statements of the cycles in order for the ostinato to again align with the meter.
In the middle of the A section, the ostinato switches to clarinet and flute (m. 14). Four
measures before the pattern ends (m. 24), the oboe joins the flute one octave lower. After
each four-cycle statement, the pitch of the pattern changes. For instance, in m. 5, the
bassoon plays one octave higher than it began, and the horn in the next measure plays a
perfect fourth higher. The horn then remains at the same pitch for the next four-cycle
statement, but the bassoon plays another perfect fourth interval higher in m. 10. This
pattern continues in the clarinet and flute parts as well. The only exception occurs during
the final statement, when the oboe joins the flute in m. 24. Both clarinet and flute parts
play a perfect fourth higher. Example 3.18 demonstrates the ostinato pattern in the first
A section.
55
'à
Horn in F ||¿fyC; ^m 3¡£3=. 3???£ ESI
mp
Bassoon '-¿¿?»—;;F=5- -t-»_

~ r£^ ' ~=rPr~£ *U_F.-**
v»?
mp N '
Hn.
f§^m ....
Bsn. ?-"5* T-5If^ "TT ????^
:=:::=N:::
??· IE _5
Sr
Iv .....
Bsn. Si j^feEEjfe
Hn.
Ei S:
...X:=v:»
SJ ^?£?=£=?3· SgS=EE
¦"?*"
Ö
S^::
i$c£
Bsn.
JE^ ~ ¿^ *_ :x::y::::;:::„~:g¿::j::::*^'::: .....^JJ¿ ??#...»--;
Example 3.18: The A section ostinato

56
¦4
rt^y u ¦íe=V$s£í5
mp
???
P /
pg§g^ glpmHp
4, 'f?<^-
* «r
fp
;:±=?.
,:-8?? -^ i -
Jp
1?? ?»?.
m= ¦::2::.::V:::
¦Ax?..— ^.?GG?G^.— -S¿_ ???::-::^=-::^:^::=::: ::::2fczr£::;:::í«c%:::

::-:::.?\:.&?:.£:::?:.::.:£::.:
m T=F «*«*ß
lil .-,fc..Mï
»/¦
.'Bá±
H SBËSS35.
Ob. 1'--?--,- ^
/
;»*,
;:î;=;=:; = ,V ; ¦ V^. :v»:S="ír:vîi-
Example 3.18: The A section ostinato (continued)

57
Appearing three times in this rondo form, the repeated A sections can actually be
correlated measure by measure. There are only small changes in instrumentation, pitch
ranges (some are in an octave relationship), and articulation among these three sections.
The music is basically identical. Table 3.1 shows the corresponding measures in the
three A sections.
32
Table 3.1: The A sections
6
3 74: 10
1 4 7 8 9
2 71:Fl+0b 73: back to the
69:Bsn- •Hn every
76 77
78.5:
70 octave lower; 72 original instr 75 Hn-Cl
Hn-* Cl
Cl — Bsn instrumentation down 133 134 135
128 130 136
127 129 131 octave
132
15 Fl -Cl
12 14 16 17 18 19 20
11 13 *83 ci — fi
80: 82: 84 85 86 87 88
79: Bsn—Hn 81 141 Hn-Ob
Ob -* Bsn Cl-Fl
137 139 Ob — Bsn 142 143 144 145 146
138 140
Bsn — Hn
28
**96 29
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 30
Ob-Fl
97:
89 90 **qi 92 93 94 95 Cl — Bsn 98
Fl-Cl
147 148 149 150 151 152 153 Hn-Hn
155 156
Bsn — 0b
154
34 37
32 33 102.5: 105.4:
31 35 36 38 39 40
100: 101:F1-F1 Ob -Ob, back to
99 Hn -»Ob Ob — Bsn 103: Hn -Cl 104 original, 106 107 108
but pitch
Bsn — Hn Cl- Cl changed; 161 162 except Hn 164 165 166
157 Cl-Bsn +Bsn
158 159
160 163
* All five instruments have arrived.

** m. 91: the pitch of Bsn -> Hn is changed to octave relationship with Ob. instead of
the original P5 relation in m. 23.
** m. 96: Cl -» Bsn is changed to octave relationship with Cl. till m. 100
32 This example is modified from Cheryl Ann Melfi's dissertation "An Investigation of
Selected Works by Chen Yi," p. 92.
58
Appearing twice, the B section is distinguished from the A section by a new

melody derived from the ostinato figure of the A section, and a melody-with-
accompaniment texture. However, unlike the A section, a measure-to-measure
correlation is impossible in both B sections, as the two B sections correspond to each
other in a more complicated way than do the three A sections. For example, in m. 41, the
horn plays the principal melody of the B section, while the accompaniment figure, played
by the flute and clarinet, enters in the following measure. In the corresponding measure
of the second B section, m. 109, the melody and the accompaniment parts begin in the
same measure rather than one measure apart (Example 3.19).
59
m ??^**.^*~:.~ ¿v«:¿i.#„jí™l~ ;*-VVWW_~¿>.«^;..*^¡.V—:—'±..f0.^0..f—

¦¦¦¦¦.?:" ?"-"
PP
*9
*¦ —
^-=3?£??== i- -'·—¿^¿¿¿¿——-ïrï* F# »¦*-*-*<,
??~
êrm=
Ii•S> v¿«c» »:»'£«;«

"' ¡í-«iv¿»í»."
'^' ?."·~|.: ?"' '.Jv'
"''3Ñ¡M' · -^»?^*;*-^!^^--¦¦¦-t"¦^^*'*~*^'~'t''''¦' ¦*¦?~??\

t. ^
p —
fe
K9v=ïi :s:v3=;vtr
m/T~
» "»"?:
G????
üä~"i'
IE
K=^
>*S# -^Zm?* ¦*-:>?·*- -* ^5*5*'**'» m-~mf

9" · i
Example 3.19: The melody and the accompaniment parts of the B sections
60
The second movement of Feng is structured entirely around mathematical
principles. Based on Melfi's calculations, this movement exhibits a loose relationship

with the Golden Section proportion, also known as the Golden Mean, Golden Ratio and
Divine Proportion, which divides a line at the ratio 0.6180339887. Continuing today in
many examples of art, architecture and design, this ratio has been used by mankind for
centuries in design, such as the pyramids in Egypt and the Notre Dame in Paris. It also
appears in the physical proportions of the human body.
In determining the Golden Section divisions of Rondo, Melfi multiplied 177 (the
total number of measures in the movement) by .618, resulting in 109.386. This number is
close to where the first symmetrical group (ABA) is divided in m. 108 and leaves the
remaining section consisting of 67.614 measures (177 - 109.386 = 67.614). If we further
divide the larger section (109.386 ? 0.618 = 67.6), it then becomes the point of division
between the first AB and the second A in m. 69. In continuation, at m. 41, it is the
number 41 .777 (67.6 ? 0.61 8 = 41 .777) that splits the first A and B sections. Table 3.2
shows the actual and theoretical dividing measures of the Golden Section in Rondo.
61
33
Table 3.2: The dividing measure numbers in each section in Rondo
Sections ABA BAcoda
Actual Number of Measures 108 69
Theoretical Number of Measures 109.386 67.614
Sections AB A
Sections A B
33 This example is modified from Cheryl Ann Melfi's dissertation "An Investigation of
Selected Works by Chen Yi," p. 99.
62
Like her earlier work, Chen Yi fuses elements of Chinese and Western music to
form a unique sound in Feng. No Chinese tune is directly quoted, although the program
notes mention folk songs as part of the definition for the character "feng." The
instruments occasionally imitate Chinese performance practices with the significant

application of the Golden Section proportion in the second movement. Both Feng and
Woodwind Quintet include the same elements - Western atonality and the use of Western
instruments to imitate Chinese sounds. Both works may thus be categorized as
employing the principles of "Westernization," according to Bruno Nettl's concepts, and
do not utilize the fusion process observed in Chen Yi's most recent Woodwind Quintet
No. 3. However, Chen Yi's own voice still comes through both works as she weaves
dispersed Chinese elements into a whole.

63
CHAPTER 4
Woodwind Quintet No. 3 (2008)
Chen Yi' s third woodwind quintet has three movements - Introduction, Zang
Songs, and Miao Dances - and features authentic folk music from Western China,
"which . . . [are] drawn from the folk songs Du Mu and Amaliehuo of the Zang people;
Ashima of the Yi people; and Dou Duo and the lusheng ensemble music of the Miao
People."34
The piece was commissioned by the Upper New York State's Humanities
Corridor through a Mellon Foundation grant and premiered by the Antara Winds on
September 20, 2008 in Kilbourn Hall as part of the "Music & Globalization" symposium
at the Eastman School of Music in NY.35
The work is adapted from Chen Yi' s China West Suite in four movements,
originally composed for two pianos and later published for marimba and piano and again
for wind ensemble. Utilizing only three movements for the woodwind quintet, she
"skipped the original second movement, titled Meng Songs (Mongolian music), because
this movement has taken two slow songs in low register. I didn't have enough low sound
[available] from a woodwind quintet, so I gave up that movement."36

In the first movement, the opening melody is inspired by Du Mu, a Zang, Tibetan
folksong praising Buddha. The fixed pattern in the background is drawn from Ashima, a
folk song of the Yi ethnic people in Southwest Yunnan province, taken from the name of
a beautiful girl. In the second movement, the fixed pattern is drawn from "Dui Xie" (folk
34 Chen Yi, program notes of the Woodwind Quintet No. 3 (Theodore Presser
Company, 2008).
35 Ibid.
36 Chen Yi, email message to author, August 14, 2009.
64
song and dance music), while the melody is taken from a Zang love song Amaleihuo:
both are Tibetan tunes. In the third movement, the melodic line is drawn from Dou Duo
(Miao folksong), while the toccata material is drawn from lusheng (mouth pipe organ)
ensemble music, which is often played to accompany song and dance.
37 Ibid.
65
1. Introduction.
Two folk music elements form the majority of pitch materials in the first
movement, Introduction. The opening melody, inspired by the Tibetan folk tune Du Mu,
originally played on xiongling,38 presents the rich gestures of Du Mu39 in a serene mood.
Functioning as a parallel melody with the Ashima fixed tune, Du Mu comes back later in
the fast section of the movement in measure 43 with its extended melody.
Starting in measure 17 of the first movement, a repeated pattern, taken from the
most famous Yi folksong titled Ashima, combines rhythm and pitch materials into an
ostinato. This ostinato is similar in many ways to the original folk tune, with
characteristics of the original folk song Ashima, including grace notes, irregular meter
2 3 4
(4 4 4), and a singular chord (F major chord). Consisting of eight phrases, the music
begins at a slower tempo in the first half and increases in tempo during the second half.
The entire folksong stays centered on the key of F and is surrounded by intervals
involved with the F major chord. There is even one augmented fourth (A-Eb), in which
the Eb functions as the minor seventh of the F major chord.
Chen Yi' s fixed pattern varies from the original folksong in its divergent
articulation, division of phrases and intervals of grace notes. The time signature of the
2
fixed pattern stays in 4 instead of switching to various meters as in the original folk tune.
While breaking the traditional boundary of the utilization of bar lines to divide phrases,
38 Xiongling is a type of Chinese recorder.

39 Du Mu is the name for a Tibetan goddess.
66
the composer still causes the rhythms to sound irregular. The intervals of the grace notes
are also closer than the ones in the original tune. The chart below summarizes the
divergent number of beats in each phrase between the original tune and Chen Yi's fixed
tune.
Table 4. 1 : Comparison of phrase length in Ashima and Chen Yi's fixed tune
Phrase no. Total
Ashima 2+3 2+3 2+3 2+3 3+2 3+2 4+2 4+2 42
Chen Yi's 3+3 3+3 3+4 3+3 3+3+2 3+3 46
Other than the folk materials, Chen Yi also inserts a motive from her second
woodwind quintet Feng in measures 3-6. The named c motive in the first movement of
Feng has a significant repeating pattern of an ascending whole step followed by a
descending half step. This pattern, the utilization of fast moving pitches in a small range,
has become an important part of Chen Yi's compositional language. Additionally,
interval classes (ics) 1 and 5, as well as the twelve-tone row (m. 15), are also
incorporated in the accompaniment parts (Example 4.1).
ics 1& 5
Hn. ??????? í=3iE

^
ï£=
Bsn. Ï=Ï=F ^ ^Ë£
Bsn
The twelve-tone row

15
<ft W'
m ^
¦"¦¿p mT" ^^¦¦-¦¦^>ir^^^'^^
Ob. <m¿ÉaL ^-^?£

7 6 4_2__8 11 n. 3 1 9
10
Bb Cl.
n*rç^
™f
Hn. ^
dim.
Bsn.
dim.
Example 4. 1 : Additional pitch materials in Introduction

68
2. Zang Songs.
The second movement is called Zang ("Tibetan") Songs and also draws its pitch
materials from two folk songs. The fixed pattern played on the flute in the beginning of
the movement is based on the folk tune material oïDuiXie, a type of Tibetan folk
ensemble music, played by the plucking instrument zhamunie, the bamboo flute and the
fiddle erhu, often performed with singing and tap dancing. Beginning in measure 12, the
horn introduces the other folk song material, the lyrical Tibetan folk song Amaliehuo,
which consists of nonsense syllables. In many ways, these two folk songs, DuiXie and
Amaliehuo resemble each other, with similar instrumentation and intervals (Refer to
Example 4.4 for the intervallic analysis between the two folk tunes).
Other than the two folk songs, there are two additional pitch materials. Beginning
in measure 6, the oboe and clarinet play an accompaniment figure, which is staccato and
filled with grace notes. In addition to their own fifth-interval relationship, they are also
bounded by the interval of a fifth. Midway through the figure, the clarinet unfolds the
interval in a linear array while the oboe adds another interval, ic 3 (Eb-Gb) (Example 4.2).
.>*-Vi-
Example 4.2: Accompaniment figure

69
The circulation of this figure follows the "Dui Xie" pattern, which reiterates every
five measures. When the ostinato ("Dui Xie" pattern) transposes to a fifth below from
the beginning pitch in measure 26, the accompaniment figure also transposes down a
fifth. Yet this time, instead of incorporating parallel voices as in the beginning, the flute
alone plays the accompaniment figure.
The other significant pitch material consists of a trichord [025], which is involved
in most of the running passages. For instance, the first appearance of the sextuplets in
measure 24 includes the [025], as does the mirrored passage with [025] in measure 28
(Example 4.3).
BbC
Mn
Bsn
[025
Example 4.3: The occurrences of [025]
Other than [025], the pitch material [027] also appears frequently in this
movement, particularly when the "Dui Xie" pattern gets interrupted in measure 42. Both
of these two pitch elements are derived from the two folk songs (Example 4.4).
70
Amaliehuo
[027] [027] [025] [025] [027] [025]
I
11
22 [025
J-/
V6
á^^-^M^ y1
5-;
P.y.i...X.ie.
tr- ie- JP-
K*
a»1 áeB
F
¿I ^fe£¿£ I l i_J rQ=H4dJ I 1
[025 [025]
Example 4.4: Intervallic analysis ofAmaliehuo and Dui Xie

71
It is notable that the significant repeating pattern of an ascending whole step

followed by a descending half step, named the "c" motive from Chen Yi' s second quintet
Feng, occurs in this movement as well (Example 4.5).
2. c motive
¿¦¿I,
mp
1. f013]+ [025]
"*C motive 3. [0251 + [025]
Siili iäS^Sl
pE=^ggg^¿p*p
m 3???
?
il—Ti-
1-
âÊdl
£tf£f =^=^;
4.[OB
Example 4.5: Combinations of pitch materials utilizing sextuplets

72
3. Miao Dances.
The third movement begins with a sound effect inspired by the Miao minority's
lusheng ensemble music. Lusheng is an instrument with variable sizes and number of
pipes popular among the Miao, the Yao, the Dong, the Yi, and the Zhang tribes of
Southwest China, with the smallest form being a dance accompaniment played by the
dancers themselves at family parties, weddings, or festivals.
Chen Yi incorporates another folk tune as melodic material, beginning in measure
9. This folk song material is drawn from Dou Duo, a type of folk song (mountain song)
of the Miao people. Mountain songs, which have certain unique characteristics, form an
essential element in the lives of peasants and herders. As described in the Garland
Encyclopedia of World Music:
Their melodies are expansive and unbridled. Their rhythms are free and nimble,
and they have a wide tonal range with large leaps, frequent embellishments, and
long-drawn-out notes. . . . They are almost all sung solo; the singer can be male or
female. Structurally, the majority are single-stanza compositions with repeated
upper and lower phrases; in some, there are slight tonal variations. Their content
includes the beauty of one's village; praise of pure, innocent love; reflections on a
life of labor; and glorifications of a monastery's living Buddha.
Chen Yi simulates the sound effect of the lusheng ensemble music to begin the
movement and perpetuates this sound effect in the horn and bassoon parts until measure
69. Invariably a fifth apart, accented in each entrance and for the most part, louder
toward the end of segments, the lusheng theme has two different concluding attachments
(Example 4.6).
40 Provine, Robert C, Yosihiko Tokumaru, and J. Lawrence Witzleben, ed. Garland

Encyclopedia ofWorld Music. Vol. 7: East Asia: China, Japan, and Korea. New York &
London: Garland Publishing INC., 2002, p. 474.
attachment 1
ZW-
?
SfcsLJ ¿^4^J^^^g
/ 77!»
Bsn
/ mp
attachment 2
13 •
BhCI
Hn
M? d. d....M....d.....d...-d d...jm ?
/
Bsn
Example 4.6: Two attachments after the lusheng theme
The theme begins with a patterned regularity of measures for each segment: two
measures with attachment 1 ; two measures with attachment 1 ; four measures with
attachment 1 ; two measures with attachment 2; three measures with attachment 2; six
measures (2 times three measures) with attachment 1; three measures with attachment 2.
By measure 30, the pattern loses its regularity. When the named "c" motive appears in
measure 58, the structure of the lusheng theme changes completely. At this point the low
fifth interval segment is aligned with the attachment 1 and followed by a different ending
(attachment 3). At last, the theme exits with another "c" motive and appears no more in
this movement. Although the forms of the three attachments with the low fifth interval
segments look quite different, they all contain the trichord [025] (Example 4.7) and
74
maintain the same pitch form until measure 46. At this point the order of the lusheng
theme becomes distorted.
1st attachment
[025]
¦>- >- >~ >- J~"T~1
«E=ä=fc
I 1
2nd attachment
i ¦W >
2??
>- -~r =>¦
GAC = [025]
3rd attachment
Bb Ab F = [025]
Example 4.7: Three attachments intertwined with [025]
The melody that Chen Yi has taken from the folk song Dou Duo is associated
with an Ab major pentatonic scale, which includes Ab, Bb, C, Eb, F. The melody, which
basically duplicates the notes of the folk song, persists through measure 47 of the
movement.
While working with the pitch materials derived from lusheng and Dou Duo in this
movement, Chen Yi employs bitonality. Whenever she inserts attachments one and two,
she uses the C pentatonic scale. Other pitch materials, such as the melody from Dou
Duo, appear in the Ab pentatonic scale. These two key centers constantly switch back
and forth. At times, they even overlap with each other, as in measures 29, 46, 61, 86-87,
and 93.
75
Other than the two folk song materials, some significant pitch materials contain
the "c" motive in sextuplet passages, the trichord [025], and ic 7 (perfect fifth: Bb-F, D-
A). The trichord [025] not only appears in the three attachments in the lusheng ensemble
music, but also in the folk song Dou Duo (Example 4.8).
c motive
p. IJfaadÖSiifeltföi^
?¿z^fr±:^*$MY*§£
ici
::jr'::* fc
Flute
Oboe /L...ii Â
f
Clarinet in Bb
^gEJ
" /
Horn in F
Jz:MCJ^MJbM
W
m » m »
Bassoon
Jp
G0251 in "??? Duo"

?~?
Example 4.8: Other miscellaneous pitch materials in Miao Dances

76
The Form Structure
1. Introduction.
There are three sections in this movement similar to ABA form. The A section
(mm. 1-16) is slower in tempo and comparatively free in style because of the nature of
the melody itself. The first A section can further be subdivided into three small sections:
mm. 1-6, 7-12 and 13-16. The second subsection literally repeats the first one. The last
subsection essentially acts as the conclusion of the first section, combining all the pitch
materials. For example, in measure 13, the sets of A-Bb and G-Ab played by the horn and
the bassoon are a mixture of pitch substances which initially appear in measure 3
(Example 4.9).
77
13
Fl.
Éü
Ob.
mf
BbCl.
«f
Hn.
>
A
Bsn.
>
Bb
Flute
W
Oboe
Él ?|?5
?f\
Clarinet in Bb
m=^-
Horn in F éi ?
Bassoon
i?Tcr
B^
Example 4.9: The last subdivision of the first A section

78
The subsequent B section (mm. 17-99) of the movement, as compared with the A
section, is faster, more rhythmic and "lively" as marked in the score. The meter changes
2 4
to 4 from 4 of the previous section. This section can also be subdivided into four
subsections by the repetition of Chen Yi' s fixed tune. The first statement of the fixed
tune (mm. 17-39) is played by the clarinet with the oboe joining for the last five
measures. The oboe then continues the second appearance of the fixed tune (mm. 40-62).
The horn and the bassoon continuously play the accompaniment figure of staccato A-B
eighth notes from the first subsection. About three-and-half measures later, the flute and
the clarinet play the folk tune Du Mu in parallel against the fixed tune played by the oboe.
The Du Mu melody then extends and starts on B rather than Bb as in the first A section.
It later merges into the fixed tune in measure 58.
The last complete statement of the fixed tune (m. 63 to m. 84, count 1) is played
by the bassoon. The oboe and the horn play the accompaniment figure, while the flute
and the clarinet continuously play the Du Mu tune almost in semblance to the previous
entrance. The last subsection of the B section (m. 84, count 2 to m. 99) is a canon - the
lower-voiced instruments (bassoon and clarinet) start on Chen Yi' s fixed tune; one beat
later, the upper-voiced instruments (flute and oboe) imitate the fixed tune. The horn
basically remains as an accompanying instrument throughout the entire movement.
Finally, the A section returns in abbreviated form at the conclusion and returns to
a slower tempo as in the beginning. This time, the Du Mu melody is played by the flute
and oboe together. The pitch materials appear in a different order - with the c motive
occurring before the Du Mu melody. The chart below summarizes the form of the first
movement.
79
Table 4.2: The forni ?? Introduction
Subsections
Sections Notes
(measure nos.)
1-6
Fl. plays the Du Mu melody
Two sections resemble
7-12
13-16
17-39 Cl. plays Chen Yi' s tune

Hn. + Bsn. play the accompaniment
Ob. plays Chen Yi' s tune
40-62
Fl. + Cl. play Du Mu melody
B Hn. + Bsn. play the accompaniment
Bsn. plays Chen Yi's tune
63-84, count 1 Fl. + Cl. play Du Mu melody
Qb. + Hn. play the accompaniment
84, count 2-101 Canon (Cl.+Bsn. vs. Fl.+Ob.)
102-111 Motive c appears first, then Du Mu

melody
80
2. Zang Songs.
There are basically five sections in this movement. The first section, A (mm. 1-
25), is similar to the B section in the previous movement, Introduction. Each part
gradually enters in as layers. Beginning with five measures of the fixed pattern, drawn
from "Dui Xie," the accompaniment figure joins the second cycle of the fixed pattern. In
the third cycle, the Amaliehuo melody enters with a patterned accompaniment figure.
The figure begins with a harmonic (vertical) presentation three times, followed by a
melodic (horizontal) disposition repeated twice (Example 4.10). The pattern is
interrupted in measure 25, when the Amaliehuo melody finishes the first time.
&± ÍU Ik
ï«
Ob
í
c
% m *
Um
m ä? &TIM
m
')* »
BbCl i ??3 Í t»
Example 4.10: The pattern of the accompaniment figure
In the next section with the "Dui Xie" fixed pattern played by the oboe, and the
Amaliehuo melody, the same pitch materials are transposed down a fifth. This time, the
horn and the bassoon play the Amaliehuo melody; later the clarinet joins the group as
well. Furthermore, the named "c" motive, included in the sextuplet passages, makes its
first appearance. The sextuplet passages serve as a transition to and from the A' section
(mm. 26-41).
When the fixed pattern finishes its eighth cycle, the B section begins in measure
42 and continues to measure 59, with new patterns which employ the previous pitch
materials in the A section. Nothing is complete in this section. Chen Yi takes a bit of
81
everything to establish a section 'collage', including shortened motives from the "Dui
Xie" fixed pattern on the flute, an incomplete variation of the Amaliehuo melody in an
oboe and bassoon conversation, the fast sextuplet passages in the clarinet, and [027] in
the horn part.
The next section is labeled A again (mm. 60-74), when all three main pitch
materials - "Dui Xie", Amaliehuo, and the accompaniment figure - reappear, as the fixed
pattern resumes in measure 60. Still played by flute, the fixed pattern appears one octave
higher than at the beginning of the movement. Though not in unison, the oboe, clarinet
and horn all resound with the Amaliehuo melody in a fashion which makes it more
overwhelming here than at the beginning. It is notable that the pitch material, interval
[027], of the Amaliehuo melody, found in the three instruments, plays a significant role in
the fast passages. Finally, the bassoon plays the melodic accompaniment figure.
In the following section, A' (mm. 75-89), the bassoon plays the fixed pattern
transposed down a fifth from the original pitch, as in the previous A' section, while the
other four instruments play the Amaliehuo melody. Dynamically, this section forms the
climax of the movement, when the most number of instruments play the Amaliehuo
melody together at the same time. In the middle of the section, the texture thins, as two
diversions occur among the "Amaliehuo" group - flute with oboe and clarinet with horn.
In the last section, the sextuplet passages, which intertwine with each other
through important trichords, reappear. A prolonged rest divides the fixed pattern to
signal the forthcoming close of the movement. The Amaliehuo melody appears in
abbreviated form, with only the beginning motive D-E-A (Example 4. 1 1). This final
82
coda section concludes the AA'BAA' coda or ABA coda form oïZang Songs (Table
4.3).
BbCl.
Un.
Bsn.
[025]
Example 4.11: The abbreviated Amaliehuo melody in the coda

83
S rn
• » bo
oo I ¡5 c
.ÏÏ 'S
D, C
+ 2 'Sb
X ? rv
a» >_l •T—t
> U IO .~ ~
-4—» .. CO -C
O ? > ¦'-' ^
e vo Jf? ·£:
JS CN
O o t %
¿S ^
* > o
tí
g ? ?
§*^ tí O
•tí fe
? 8 § ?3
« Q e
SO <5Û
3
•s 11 g ?«
d |^ + U
O
VO w ^1 3 ¡u
I
tí co
CU
? ?
Dû
S e cö OO
? co
? co
CCj
eu
bo
e e w I
UO
I
tí
o
O
j: O O CQ
Vj < O
oo
vo tí
s e
O ^ I
S
a ? 'S a
eu Ö
<u
J=! e O
H o +
m
O
O T1 J=!? mtí S
-C
Cu U
-*" » *-· O +
JO
-Q
·£ > <u O
as <u tí +
E-
e
'S s o
s Oh
CU
e « 1W I
e O (U
O
O
w <
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G e
VO ti
(S
P-,
?
cu
I
Cd
Oh Q SS e10
e e <u Q
??
O s-,
O =S
«s
O Où O^ œ
< tí u-1
?
I
o
CN vO
o . ·>
(U ? O
O
e e,Ufi
ß? e co
.tí
« S
JC +
S PQ
S3 X,
'S g o
S ? S C I o o
? ?
¦Sí
_o "£3 +
XS
? ^ ~ ^ u
.e o CCS
d J3
?
C/5 £ =G O '+? O
C/5
84
3. Miao Dances.
Based on the pitch materials of the movement, Miao Dances can be divided into
H=A- Transition I - B - Transition II -Il B' Coda. The A section (mm. 1- 46) basically
presents the two folk song materials, with the Dou Duo melody concluding the A section.
The sextuplets with the "c" motive herald the B section (mm. 61- 70). In between the A
and B sections, the sound effect from the lusheng ensemble music and the trills with
stacked perfect fourth intervals form the first transition. It is noticeable that the pattern in
measure 52 foreshadows the upcoming new third attachment to the lusheng theme
(Example 4.12).
52
Fl.
* >- >-
Ob.
£^r3==g
W
62.
¿Ü-
BbCl.
3l Î
W =PJ
>?i>
Hn.
^rt
IS
Bsn.
JikAJAJê, ^
\ /
Example 4.12: The third attachment with the lusheng theme

85
In the B section, the lusheng theme has been lowered by one octave and is played
coincidently with its first attachment. This is the first time in the movement that these
two elements concur; the third attachment appears after the lusheng theme. The "c"
motive transitions into and out of the B section. Whereas the first occurrence of the "c"
motive (m. 58) is a perfect fourth apart, which corresponds to the trills in measures 49
and 53, the second occurrence (m. 70) is a perfect fifth apart (Example 4.13).
t
F ?-,? ! ? , JZ! fe * 2 U
?4 ¦* ?
Li
Ob 1 S
Jp /
ß
3*
R
ajggjacggggz'Í: jpg
wf 6
?4
?
ß
m SItMf-
3*3
Ob I ^¿^¦??f??»
«;
W
70
ß ß
?
S
S= t> E*
^r
?5
Bsn
Example 4. 13. Comparison between two sextuplet passages

86
The next section, Transition II (mm. 71-81) includes the first two attachments and
the "c" motive, and is followed by the B' section after the repeat sign at the end of
Transition II. This section is labeled as B' rather than C, because it shares the same pitch
materials with the B section, although in a different arrangement. Also, attachment three
disguises itself as the articulation of the second attachment (Example 4.14).
3rd attachment
BbCl.
Hn.
Bsn. ¦? J JJj
Hn.
ifPP
'f-JsÇfL ^km^-sCî *¿*£ *¿*£
f
Bsn.
m
^TK TZ
Example 4.14: The third attachment in m. 84
Before the coda arrives in measure 94, there is a quick meter change in measure
93 to signal the upcoming single tonality passage employing only the C pentatonic scale
- the only occurrence in all five instruments in the entire movement. The chart below
summarizes the form in this movement.
87
Table 4.4: The form of Miao Dances
Sections Pitch Materials
A (mm. 1-46) Lusheng theme with attachment 1 & 2

Dou Duo
Lusheng theme
Transition I
Trills with P4 apart from each other
Preview of attachment 3
(mm. 47-60)
"c" motive in sextuplets
B (mm. 61-70) Lusheng theme with attachment 1, 2 & 3
"c" motive in sextuplets
Transition II · Attachment 1 , 2 & 3
(mm. 71-81) . "c" motive in sextuplets
Attachment 1 , 2 & 3
B' (mm. 83-93) "c" motive in sextuplets
Coda [025]
(mm. 94-end) ics 2 & 7
88
CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION
There is no doubt that Chen Yi melds elements of Chinese traditional music with
those of Western post-tonal music in her works, and her practice of fusing these two
worlds of music in her three woodwind quintets has resulted in a highly personal style.
When analyzing the melding of cultural nuances within music from separate cultures, one
can closely relate elements of this melding to NettPs three concepts of the cross-cultural
fusion process - "Westernization," "modernization," and "syncretism." This chapter will
summarize how Chen Yi utilizes Western instruments to play unique idioms and Chinese
compositional techniques and examine how Chen Yi's three woodwind quintet pieces
would conceptually fit within any of the three concepts as outlines by Netti.
Chen Yi received strict training in both Western and Chinese music and began to
integrate elements of both musical cultures into her work before coming to the United
States. Among accomplished non-Western composers, Chen Yi enjoys great appeal to
both Western and non-Western audiences by achieving her goal of creating a unique
musical language which "expresses human emotions by the idioms of Chinese musical
language."41
Chen Yi composed her first woodwind quintet while she was learning twelve-tone
and free atonal techniques at Columbia University. Along with her other composition
around the same time, Near Distance (1988), this piece concentrates on her exploration
of post-tonal approaches to pitch structure. She invents her own way of manipulating the
pitch materials - using smaller sets to build the row, adding an appended segment to the
41 Guo, 78.
89
row, and using paired row presentations. She also adopts some compositional techniques
for pitch manipulation from other Western contemporary composers. For instance, she
uses Webern's typical device to shift and modulate the timbre in the twelve-tone row, and
as Schoenberg did, she arranges twelve-tone row segments vertically. Moreover, the
form of the Woodwind Quintet resembles forms used in many Western compositions.
Thus, one can say that the style of the Woodwind Quintet belongs to Netti' s concept of
"Westernization" - when non-Western composers incorporate Western music traits
completely.
Chen Yi, however, incorporates some compositional principles of Chinese

traditional music into this piece. She utilizes the Chinese techniques of "borrowing
notes" into the twelve-tone row and adding grace notes to a fragment of a melody to
make the section become Chinese-influenced. She also adopts the Chinese music
glissando technique in the horn part. On the one hand, even though some Chinese
elements exist in the piece, they are only used to form dissonant sonorities and to
differentiate the sectional organization of the form. On the other hand, although the piece
is played by Western instruments in the Western idiom, Chen Yi clearly intends to
translate the sounds of Chinese wind instruments to Western instruments as mentioned in
her program notes for the Woodwind Quintet. From that perspective, Chen Yi's first
woodwind quintet can be treated as "modernization," when the composer attempts to
express non-Western music through Western practice.
Chen Yi wrote her second woodwind quintet, Feng, in 1998, eleven years after
Woodwind Quintet. This work reveals some stylistic changes from Woodwind Quintet,
the most significant of which is the derivation of the pitch materials. Rather than using
90
the twelve-tone row as in Woodwind Quintet, Chen Yi explores pitch structure by

employing Western free-atonal techniques in Feng - creating original motives and
Chinese sonorities, yet sounding dissonant. Both movements ofFeng share the basic
pitch materials, but Rondo, the second movement of Feng, also introduces new materials,
including an ostinato pattern.
The ostinato figure in Rondo involves numerical constructions and constantly

shifting rhythm by use of the rest. This technique resembles Chen Yi' s insertion of
eighth notes to her invented row statement in Woodwind Quintet to avoid the regular
rhythmic pulse (Refer to Example 2.4). She also employs the Golden Section structure,
which forms the structural basis for Rondo. Although she treats the Golden Section itself
somewhat loosely, the general structure limits the motivic development in Rondo - when
compared to the first movement, Introduction - due to the need for exact repetition in
corresponding sections.
Her other works which exhibit the Golden Section include Piano Concerto
(1992), Sparkle (1992), and Qi (1996-97). Among these three works, Piano Concerto
and Sparkle are drawn from a Chinese folk tune, Baban (Eight Beats), in which rules of
the grouping of notes resemble the golden section proportions. Although Qi as well as
Rondo in Feng do not directly quote Bonbon, Chen Yi still utilizes the Golden Section
theory to govern the structure, tempo, form, and even melody.
Despite the stylistic changes in Feng, the work still bears some similarities to
Woodwind Quintet. Even though both works employ different pitch materials, Chen Yi's
treatment of the pitch materials is quite similar. The compositional techniques she adopts
from Schoenberg (vertical sonorities) and Webern (timbrai modulation) occur in both
91
Feng and Woodwind Quintet. Both works exhibit a characteristic use of silence. In both
Introduction and Woodwind Quintet, the sections are separated by silence, and each work
concludes with extended silence. The first movement of Feng, Introduction and the
single-movement Woodwind Quintet also resemble each other in formal construction.

Although both works can be divided into sections by the relationships of the tonal
materials, both works employ a through-composed form.
Although never quoting a Chinese tune directly, Chen Yi fuses two elements of
Chinese music into Feng. In Feng as well as in Woodwind Quintet, she uses Western
woodwind instruments to imitate Chinese instruments and performance practices. For
example, the flutter tonguing passages in Woodwind Quintet and the pitch sliding effects
in Introduction emulate Chinese performance practices. Again, Chen Yi's second
woodwind quintet work, Feng, can be viewed as both "Westernization" and
"modernization."
Chen Yi's most recent woodwind quintet, Woodwind Quintet No. 3, was written
in 2008, ten years after Feng. At first glance, the application of numerous folk materials
in Woodwind Quintet No. 3 seems to place it in the realm of folk music. The work is,
however, the product of a smoother and more advanced integration of elements from both
Chinese and Western cultures. In addition to the compositional techniques that she has
already employed in the previous two pieces, Chen Yi also uses other contemporary
rhythmic techniques (e.g. meter changes and rest insertion in between phrases) to enrich
and diversify the rhythmic content of the piece. Significantly, she also applies bitonality
92
in the last movement, Miao Dances, to create sound effects similar to Bartók's music42 by
implementing two different tonal modalities simultaneously in the form of pentatonic
scales.
In its overall structure, Woodwind Quintet No. 3 conforms to Western formal

structural principles in which the form is normally organized by melodic statements and
rhythmic patterns. Chen Yi even restates the opening pitch material at the conclusion of
the piece in order to achieve a rounded form. Such examples of processing Chinese folk
melodies with underlying Western structural devices pervade Woodwind Quintet No. 3.
Chen Yi has become increasingly committed to the use of music to express
human emotions and experiences by intermingling Chinese-based musical languages with
Western idioms. The cross-cultural fusion of Chinese and Western elements in Chen
Yi' s Woodwind Quintet No. 3 reaches a high level of "syncretism" by developing two
originally non-compatible musical cultures to become compatible and even share central
traits.
Through this analysis of her three woodwind quintets, one can clearly observe
that Chen Yi has achieved her primary compositional goal of comprehending "the
essential character and spirit" of traditional Chinese music and developing musical
elements and structures in which East and West can fuse naturally without losing then-
own distinct identities.43 Thus her music can be understood and accepted by audiences of
any cultural background.
42 For example, Mikrokosmos for Piano Vol.4, No.110, "The Sounds Clash and Clang,"
mm. 1-6.
43 Reese, 27.
93
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Chang, Peter M. "Western Influence on Contemporary Chinese Music." M.A. thesis,

California State University at Fresno, 1988.
Chen, Moh-Wei. "Myths from Afar: Chinese Myths Cantata by Chen Yi." D.M.A. doc,
University of Southern California, 1997.
Chen, Yi. Woodwind Quintet. Bryn Mawr, PA: Theodore Presser Company, 1987.
________. Piano Concerto. D.M.A. diss., Columbia University, 1993.
________. Feng. Bryn Mawr, PA: Theodore Presser Company, 1998.
________. "Tradition and Creation." Current Musicology 67-68 (2002): 59-72.
________. Woodwind Quintet No. 3. Bryn Mawr, PA: Theodore Presser Company, 2008.
Chou, Wen-chung. "Music by Asian Composers." Journal ofMusic In China, Vol. 1
(Oct. 1999): 111-115.
"Composer Chen Yi." Journal ofMusic in China 1 (1999): 1 16-120.

de Clef Pineiro, John, "An Interview with Chen Yi." New Music Connoisseur, Vol. 9 No.
4 (July 26, 2001): 27-31.
Guo, Xin. "Chinese Musical Language Interpreted by Western Idioms: Fusion Process in
the Instrumental Works by Chen Yi." Ph.D. diss., The Florida State University,
2002.
Howat, Roy. Debussy in Proportion: A Musical Analysis. Cambridge; New York:

Cambridge University Press, 1983.
Li, Xiaole. "Chen Yi's Piano Music: Chinese Aesthetics and Western Models." Ph.D.
thesis, University of Hawaii, 2003.
________. "Chen Yi's Multicultural Approach in Ba Ban for Piano Solo."

http://www.usc.edu/libraries/partners/resonance/2005/Spring/Xiaole/index.html
(accessed March 12, 2010).
Melfi, Cheryl Ann. "An Investigation of Selected Works by Chen Yi." D.M.A. diss., The
University of Arizona, 2005.
94
Netti, Bruno. The Study ofEthnomusicology—Twenty-nine Issues and Concepts. Urbana

and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1983.
Pegg, Carole, et al. "Tibetan music." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online,
http://www.oxforotousiconline.com.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/subscriber/arti
cle/grove/music/52037 (accessed Nov. 12, 2009).
Provine, Robert C, Yosihiko Tokumaru, and J. Lawrence Witzleben, ed. Garland
Encyclopedia of World Music. Vol. 7: East Asia: China, Japan, and Korea. New
York & London: Garland Publishing INC., 2002.
Reese, Heinz-Dieter. "Chen Yi-A Portrait." In Roche Commissions: Chen Yi, 13-31.
Sparrer, Walter-Wolfgang. "Chinese Concert Music - Chen Yi and the Music of China."
In Roche Commissions: Chen Yi, 55-87.
Tang, Jianping. "Tradition is Alive." Journal ofMusic in China, Vol. 1 (Oct. 1999): 133-
145.
Teng, Chi-Chuan. "Xianshi, the Viola Concerto by Yi Chen: General Analysis and Issues
of Performance Interpretation." D.M.A. doc, The Ohio State University, 2001.
Wu, Ben. "Music Scholarship, West and East: Tibetan Music as a Case Study." Asian
Music, Vol. 29, No. 2 (Spring-Summer, 1998): 31-56.
Yoo, Youngdae. "Isang Yun: His Compositional Technique as Manifested in the Two
Clarinet Quintets." D.M.A. diss., The Louisiana State University, 2000.
Zhou, Jinmin. "New Wave Music in China." Ph.D. dissertation, University of Maryland,
Baltimore County, 1993.
95
VITA
Yuh-Pey Lin was bora and grew up in Taiwan. She earned her Bachelor of Music in
oboe performance with distinction from Eastman School of Music and a Masters degree
from Rice University. She has received full-tuition scholarships for going to these
schools. She has studied with Richard Killmer, Robert Atherholt, Rebecca Henderson
and John DeJarnatt. In 2010, she earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in oboe performance at
the University of Washington in Seattle.
Yuh-Pey won the Ladies Musical Club solo competition in 2003 and toured through
Eastern Washington. She had an interview with George Shangrow and played live in
"Live! By George" at classic KING-FM 98.1. She was also the first-prize winner in the
Capital Area Youth Symphony Association's Concerto competition in Olympia,
Washington. Her summer festival experiences have included Norfolk Chamber Music
Festival, Banff, American Institution of Musical Studies, Round Top, and Sarasota. Yuh-
Pey currently freelances around the Seattle area and has performed with Northwest
Chamber Orchestra, Tacoma Symphony, Bellevue Philharmonic, and Chamber Music
San Juans. She also teaches music and accompanies the 5th/6th chorus at Canyon Creek
Elementary in Bothell, Washington.

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An Analysis and Comparison of the Three Woodwind Quintets by Chen Yi

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the

Doctor of Musical Arts

Program Authorized to Offer Degree:

All rights reserved

This is to certify that I have examined this copy of a doctoral dissertation by

and have found that it is complete and satisfactory in all respects,

Chair of the Supervisory Committee:

Date: ^ju^JL· (O , 2J®tC>

An Analysis and Comparison of the Three Woodwind Quintets by Chen Yi

Chair of the Supervisory Committee:

List of Musical Examples ii

Chapter 4: Woodwind Quintet No. 3 (2008) 63

Example 2.1: Structural subsets of the twelve-tone row 11

Example 4.5: Combinations of pitch materials utilizing sextuplets 71

Example 4.13: Comparison between two sextuplets passages 85

Table 3.1: The A sections 57

Table 3.2: The dividing measure numbers in each section in Rondo 61

Table 4.3 : The form of Zang Songs 83

In the present world of non-Western composers, so-called "cross-cultural" music

timbrai expression and instrumentation.

forms, Western instrumentation and orchestration, regardless of the traits' compatibility

1 Netti, "Cultural Grey-Out," The Study of Ethnomusicology - Twenty-nine Issues and

musically. The consideration of these concepts is thus appropriate for an analysis of

contemporary western music - is fundamental to analyzing the fusion process in her

Early Musical Education

Experiences in the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976)

At age seventeen, she returned to Guangzhou and worked as concertmaster of the

Formal Conservatory Education

After the Cultural Revolution concluded, Beijing's Central Conservatory

Experiences in the United States

18 Chen Yi, "Tradition and Creation," 63.

Chen Yi, "Tradition and Creation," 63-64.

Woodwind Quintet (1987)

The Treatment of Pitch Materials

Example 2.1: Structural subsets of the twelve-tone row26

Example 2.2: Vertical presentation of the row

Example 2.3: The row with timbrai modulation

Example 2.4: Chen Yi's invention of the row statement

segment of paired presentation

Example 2.5: The complexity of the row statement (continued)

The fragment of this Chinese-influenced melody is first composed of the pitch-

Example 2.6: The complexity of the Chinese-influenced melodic fragments

The Form Structure

Example 2.7: The variation of the twelve-tone row

Example 2.8: Paired presentation of the row

Example 2.9: The incomplete twelve-tone row in P2 with timbrai modulation

Also in this section, a fragment of the Chinese-influenced melody is first

Example 2.10: The pitch-class sets in the Chinese-influenced melody

H»Hs fjp \ 8 Qj rnjjjr—

Example 2. 1 1 : Another timbrai melody of the twelve-tone row

Pilch-class Range: D-B (ascending chromatics)

Example 2.12: The symmetry of two unordered pc sets

segment of paired presentation of

Example 2.14: Coda: the twelve-tone row in different transpositions

Commissioned by the San Francisco Citywinds with a Chamber Music America

29 Chen Yi, program notes of Feng (Theodore Presser Company, 1998).

The Treatment of Pitch Materials

Example 3.1 : Opening melody and its amended form in Introduction

•jf· íju Tj??p*q^

* A >- t^?-»^- t1^^—

m ??^**.^~:.~ ¿v«:¿i.#„jí™l~ ;-VVWW_~¿>.«^;..*^¡.V—:—'±..f0.^0..f—

"''3Ñ¡M' · -^»?^;-^!^^--¦¦¦-t"¦^^'~^'~'t''''¦' ¦¦?~??\

>S# -^Zm? ¦-:>?·- -* ^55'**'» m-~mf