Breath/Balance (2020)
For solo guzheng
Breath/Balance was composed in 2020 as a part of a larger collaboration with composer Owen Underhill, Wen Wei Dance, the Turning Point Ensemble, and the Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra from Taiwan. The production was entitled Flying White (“Fei Bai”) after a Chinese calligraphy technique, and this piece was written to be an intimate and understated introduction to the larger evening-length work.
Knowing that the music would be accompanying short solos by each of the dancers, I chose to isolate and use the core elements of Chinese calligraphy - the eight basic strokes - as inspiration. The first of the three movements was inspired by the stroke dian or “dot”, and reflects on the idea of motion within a small and confined space; the musical material is primarily limited to the upper register, with repeating three-note cells that expand briefly to larger cascading gestures before gently fading away. The second movement is based on the calligraphy stroke gou or “hook”, and features angular, rhythmic motion and sharp articulation. The final movement references several of the other strokes more generally; its sweeping, swirling and bending gestures are meant to capture the energy and movement of the brush on paper.
