Chen Yi is a charismatic Chinese-American composer of classical music, who is known for bridging the gaps between music styles of two vastly differing cultures, Eastern and Western. She has written an impressive number of pieces that have been performed internationally, consisting of an array of orchestral, mixed ensemble, winds, flute pieces, concerti, piano, violin, and vocal. Much of her time is spent absorbing information about humanities from a high vantage point at the library. As the first Chinese woman to receive a Master of Arts in music composition from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, she is known for dramatic stylistic and structural changes in art music.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Born in 1953 in Guangzhou, China, Chen is the daughter of two medical doctors. Her home was always filled with classical music, as mother played the piano and her father played the violin. They encouraged her, as well as her siblings, to begin studying music and playing instruments beginning at 3 years old. She was influenced by the music of Western composers, such as Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven. Her family visited the orchestra every week to hear foreign classical visiting ensembles.
When Chen was 12 years old, there was a political upheaval from Mao Zhedong’s Cultural Revolution. The turbulent times that followed forced her to leave her musical studies for a period of time, since classical music was prohibited. In a later interview, she explained that educated people, particularly those exposed to Western culture, were targeted. She tried to practice in secret, using a heavy metal mute on her violin and a blanket between the hammers and the steel frame in the piano. If she were to have been caught, she would have been taken to prison and severely punished.
Her family home was seized by the government in 1968, and then she was separated from her five family members and forced to do field labor. She planted rice and carried up to 80 pounds of rocks 20 times a day to build military fortifications. Luckily, she had been able to smuggle her violin with her. Rather than succumbing to the situation, she kept her mind and spirit healthy by gaining a deeper understanding of traditional Chinese folk music by other laborers and farmers, and playing revolutionary songs for them. She also listened to Mozart’s music to help overcome the hardship and difficulties she was enduring.
At 17 years old, Chen returned to her home city and had the opportunity to serve as a concertmaster and composer with a traditional Beijing Opera Troupe. This is where she first witnessed the fusion of Eastern and Western music, which later became the cornerstone of her compositional style. She was promoted to the concertmaster, and for the following eight years, she wrote music and learned the fingerings of every traditional Chinese instrument.
In 1977, when Chen was 24 years old, the school system was restored. She applied to study composition at the Beijing Central Conservatory, which is a national company specializing in the Westernized Socialist Realist style. Out of 20,000 applicants, she was one of 32 chosen. At 33 years old, she was the first Chinese woman to earn a Master of Arts in Composition in 1986. She then relocated to the United States and received a Doctorate of Musical Arts with distinction from Columbia University School of the Arts in New York City in 1993. Her time in New York exposed her to a vast melting pot of musical styles in the streets, bars, clubs, jazz, and classical concerts.
Chen launched her career as a composer in residence with the Women’s Philharmonic, Chanticleer, and Aptos Creative Arts Program. She wrote the work included in the Chinese Myths Cantata text, which will be described in the review later in this essay. Most recently, she has held collegiate teaching positions, at the Peabody Conservatory and the conservatory of the University of Missouri at Kansas City. In an interview, she explained that the active culture in Kansas City nurtures both her creativity and career.
Chen received several accolades and fellowships during the course of her career, including the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, first prize in the Chinese National Composition Competition, the Koussevitzky Music Foundation, and the Lili Boulanger Award. She was the finalist for the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her composition Si Ji (Four Seasons). In 2012, she received an Honorary Doctorate from the New School. In 2012, she was awarded the Brock Commission from the American Choral Directors Association. Last year, in 2019, she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
REVIEW
An excellent example of Chen’s ability to blend Eastern and Western styles is her work Chinese Myths Cantata, Movement II “Nü Wa Creates Humans,” which was released in 1996. This was one of three Chinese creation myths. Chanticleer and the Women’s Philharmonic represented the Western element of this piece, and the Lily Cai Chinese Dance company represented the Eastern element. This piece was recorded under the direction of JoAnn Falletta, the first American conductor to program Chen’s work. It blended a chorus and both Chinese and Western instruments to tell the story of Nü Wa, the mother goddess of Chinese mythology who created humanity.
Nü Wa has a complex nature, and the musical piece was structured to reflect that with interrelated notions of seconds and sevenths with traditional Chinese instruments. The Western instruments signify Nü Wa’s ability to transform, such as the swaying of her snake-like body with orchestral winds. The music connects with the audience by allowing them to envision Nü Wa’s movements through sound, such as sitting next to a pond, studying her reflection and contemplating her next action. Her creation of human beings progressively increases in intensity by adding vocals and instruments, including percussion, brass, and string glissandi. The Western orchestral instruments were paired with traditional Chinese instruments, such as the erhu (fiddle), yangqin (dulcimer), pipa (lute), and zheng (zither). Instrumental sounds were fused with dance, chorus, and screened projections. This blend represented the interchange of creation and human response, gradually increasing in intensity to signify massive creation, bridging the past to the present through a highly effective combination. The ambiance was a vibrant assertion of the human spirit.
Chen’s mission for the piece was two-part, she strives to maintain Chinese authenticity rather than simply recreating the music for the Western orchestra. In addition, she writes her work to present a challenge to regular classical music ears. In Nü Wa Creates Humans, Chen positioned Western instruments to maintain melodic elements or provide dissonant or percussive backdrops. She also used the Chinese instruments to use tonal elements to present themes, which is authentic to Chinese stylistic musical elements. When asked about her process, Chen advised that she composes music by absorbing useful elements to ignite her imagination. She then combines rhythmic structures with her own pitch material, which is based on traditional Chinese mountain songs and atonal composition techniques.
IMPACT STATEMENT
Chen Yi is a living composer whose accomplishments are a manifestation of her arduous life experiences. Her work has influenced many musicians, and she is an advocate for the power music holds to connect audiences from different cultural backgrounds. As a first-generation Chinese American, I feel inspired by Chen to not only evolve outside the boundaries in my career, but to also bridge the gap between my heritage and American culture, just as she is able to achieve through sound.
Written by Kimberly O’Hanlon
Essay for MUS 309: Women in Western Music
Instructor: Dr. Allison Johnson
September 6th, 2020
BIBLIOGRAPHY
“Chen Yi (Composer). Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chen_Yi_(composer). Accessed 5 Sept. 2020.
Daines, Matthew. “CLASSICAL MUSIC; Finding Her Way to the Top of Two Worlds.” NY Times. 9 Jun. 1996. https://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/09/arts/classical-musicfinding-her-way-to-the-top-of-two-worlds.html. Accessed 5 Sept. 2020.
Duffie, Bruce. “Composer Chen Yi.” Bruce Duffie. 14 De. 2005. http://www.bruceduffie.com/chenyi.html. Accessed 5 Sept. 2020.
Dunbar, Julie C. “Women, Music, Culture: An Introduction.” Routledge. Second Edition. 2016.
Horvath, Janet. “Charismatic Composer Chen Yi.” Interlude. 4 Jan. 2020. https://interlude.hk/charismatic-composer-chen-yi/. Accessed 5 Sept. 2020.
Leong, Lampo. “Chinese Myth II – Nuwa Creates Human Beings.” YouTube. 8 July 2012. 11:34. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tY-sX7MpBVk. Accessed 5 Sept. 2020.
