Composer: Xiaogang Ye
Performer: Xue Yang, Yue Li, Lei Wang, Yang Jiang, Noriko Ogawa
Orchestra: Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Conductor: José Serebrier
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: BIS
Catalogue: BIS2303
Release: 2022
Size: 2.2 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Sichuan Image, Op. 70
01. No. 1, Prelude. Memory of Sichuan
02. No. 2, Mt. Bashan
03. No. 3, Shadow of Bamboo
04. No. 4, The Torrent in Yankou
05. No. 5, The Distant Water in Hechuan
06. No. 6, A Night in Bazhong
07. No. 7, Riverside of Jialing River
08. No. 8, Torrential Chuan River
09. No. 9, Mt. Meishan
10. No. 10, Beichuan Region
11. No. 11, It Rains When Heaven Deems Fit
12. No. 12, The Boundless Mt. Minshan
13. No. 13, Fog in Nanchong
14. No. 14, Salt Well
15. No. 15, Gloomy Rain in Wenchuan
16. No. 16, Great Mountains in Sichuan
17. No. 17, Mother Re-Marries
18. No. 18, Qingcheng in the Rain
19. No. 19, Ambition of Sichuan
20. No. 20, A Sunny Day in Guangyuan
21. No. 21, The South of Mian River
22. No. 22, A Morning Sun Over Qiang Village
23. No. 23, Looking Up Into Leshan
24. No. 24, Night Rain in Wenchuan
25. No. 25, The Love of Chuandong
26. No. 26, The Love of Tianfu
27. No. 27, Fogs of Suining
28. No. 28, Dreaming back to South Sichuan
29. No. 29, Epilogue. My Sichuan
Concerto of Life, Op. 23c
30. I. Life Song
31. II. Roses in the Shades of Evening
32. III. Cruel Truth
33. IV. Never Regret
34. V. A Dream
35. VI. Hospital
36. VII. Live On in Spirit
Born in Shanghai in 1955, Xiaogang Ye is regarded as one of China’s leading contemporary composers. He has written music in a variety of genres, including symphonic and chamber works as well as scores for the stage. Ye has also composed music for films and the two works recorded here are both examples of this. Sichuan Image consists of 29 brief and atmospheric pieces composed to accompany a filmed travelogue of the scenic province in Western China. In preparation for the work, the composer visited mountains, river, villages and ancient historical sites in Sichuan. Lending further colour to the large symphony orchestra, four Chinese musicians perform on traditional instruments.
The present programme closes with Concerto of Life, a suite in five movements for piano and orchestra with Noriko Ogawa taking on the solo part. The work is based on the score for a feature film of the same name telling the story of a piano teacher and his students. Ogawa has also appeared on a previous recordinbg of Ye’s music alongside the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and conductor José Serebrier – a recording named “Editor’s Choice” in “Gramophone”, whose reviewer described the performances as “superb” and Ye’s scores as possessing “lyrical elegance, searching drama and depth of colour”.