Matthew Lam．Composer
幻蜃 (Mirage) for Chinese Ensemble (2020)
Duration: 5’30”
Written for Music in the Heart Concert
World Premiere:
3 JUL 2020. Music from the Heart Concert 2020, Hong Kong City Hall, Hong Kong.
Performed by Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra.
Program notes:
As the title suggests, this piece is inspired by mirage. On the other hand, in this piece, the composer also tries to explore different timbral effects with a Chinese instrument ensemble.
This piece has a straightforward form of ABABA. The A sections not only feature harmonics in both plucked strings and bowed strings instruments, but also employ the technique of aleatoric music in plucked string instruments, increasing the uncertainty of the music. The B sections are centred by the chords, with sheng being the foreground. Only 6 chords are employed in the B sections, with most of them being unconventional chords, such as chord constructed by quartal harmony. It should also be mentioned that the composer avoids using lower register pitches in the first half of the piece to create a floating feeling, whilst lower register pitches would only appear in the latter half of the piece.