The Natural Sights and Sounds Flowing in Sound of Wind
Abstract
Wind: Here a light and refreshing wind creates the feeling of purity. A delicate morning fragrance emerges from the leaves and petals. A strain of loneliness is set in motion. Stream: The wind passes over a stream and gives rise to an easy smile. The spring water dances, refracting green light. Raven: A dark wind ruffles the black feathers of a sitting raven. Several more circle until a flock of raven is formed. The flapping of their wings aggravates the turbid wind. A desperate struggle triggers a plaintive wail. Our raven lies bleeding. Voile: Late evening wind kisses the glass causing the gossamer curtains to ripple. Naked lovers cuddle in bed, intermingling with the moonlight. Silence reveals deep love. Swing: A toddler sits on a wood swing and plays. His parents take turns pushing their joy, each thrust a bit higher. They stand back while he undulates to keep the height. His lack of experience causes him to fall. He looks at his boo-boo and says, “Uh oh!” Flame: The enveloping of wind and passion ignites a flame of hope. The heat, our energy, emboldens us to greater heights. The sound of wind yells: life immortal. Breeze: My steps progress along the city streets; a breeze washes over my face. I walk confident, joyous at what I have and what lies ahead.
Biographical Summary
Tan Hainu is an accomplished and innovative composer, performer, trainer, and cultural emissary whose works and charm have drawn respect and attention across continents: her master compositions have already been performed in China, Europe and throughout the United States. Tan Hainu is affiliated with the American Composers Forum, American Music Center, and the Society of Composers.
The Natural Sights and Sounds Flowing in Sound of Wind
The quintet Sound of Wind for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano is in seven movements: Wind, Stream, Raven, Voile, Swing, Flame, and Breeze. The piece won the inaugural ICA/SF Symposium on Music in the 21st Century 2009 International Composition Competition and was performed by the Adorno Ensemble at the Illuminations and Reflections concert at Knuth Hall in San Francisco on February 7, 2009. The composition’s genesis was in Berlin in July 2008, and was completed late January 2009, in Los Angeles.
I began this piece right after finishing a string trio, which emptied my mind but left me anxious to start anew. One sunrise, perhaps five in the morning, I lay on my bed, looked out my opened second floor window, and thought of how I might sketch my next chamber piece. I looked at a linden tree just outside until my eyes grew tired and I shut them. Suddenly I heard the shivering of the leaves and felt a cold wind softly caress my face. My eyes opened and all of the leaves crescendoed. I arose and exclaimed, “That is the opening of my piece!” Instantly I heard the strings – violin and cello – create shivering leaves through tremolo, or a wavering of notes. As a counterpoint, the woodwinds – flute and clarinet – create the flowing melody of the wind. My vision had them sharing a private conversation. Even though all the leaves were green, in my mind’s eye I turned them into picturesque colors. Different combinations of instruments through timbre would create the varied tinges, which is why the melody of the wind transmutes across the distinct orchestration.
This is the whole texture of the first movement, “Wind.” Sometimes the texture is thick when many instruments play, sometimes thin when there is a solo, but the whole movement progresses swiftly, as if looking through a kaleidoscope: color and shape cascade endlessly. In the end, the wind departs, demonstrated by a fleeting tremolo in the piano.
Thereafter, that initial wind freed my imagination for the entire piece. I saw the wind crossing mountains and arriving at a spring. The rolling stream and wind dance a waltz, which gives rise to an easy smile. The dancing melody comes from the violin, and later translates to the alto flute. To imitate water dripping, the cello plays pizzicato, accompanied by a staccato piano. The cello’s pizzicato dissolves into broken chords on the piano and finally into its higher registers; the wind flies away.
A raven glides in on a low G on the violin, casting its ominous shadow over the universe. A dark wind ruffles the feathers of our sitting raven. One by one instruments create several intervals and makes the texture thicker. The rhythm becomes tighter as countless ravens circle until a flock of raven is formed. Musically, a weak dynamic becomes emboldened. The flapping of millions of wings aggravates the turbid gale. After the quintet stays on one chord, the cello shows the approach of a hunter. He raises his rifle and peers through the scope. Strings play in a high register above the piano’s oppressive chords. The contrasting registers mimic the hopeless raven in his meteoric fall. Our raven lies bleeding.
In the moon’s twilight, the strings whisper harmonics to evoke a sensitive and melancholic love. A yearning sigh kisses the window- pane in successive arpeggios up the piano ivory. The woodwinds weave the piano and strings into a gossamer curtain enveloping naked, cuddling lovers. Longer arpeggios lead to short asphyxiated ones: the sorrowful breath flickering. The quintet laments as one. Chords falter and a weeping staccato elicits a single teardrop. The silence of midnight wind unveils timeless love.
Spring awakes; sunshine and summer wind pushes a tree swing in a jazz rhythm. A toddler is helped up and he feels the exhilarating wind whip his face as mom and dad help him reach new heights. Compound rhythms demonstrate the swing’s movement against the wind. The meter is 4/4, but I counter that with a series of triplets and quintuplets as the boy undulates by himself. His lack of experience causes him to fall. The child looks at his boo-boo and, with two forceful notes from the clarinet, utters, “Uh oh!”
The enveloping wind and passion ignites a flame of hope. Mixing themes from previous movements elevates the climax of the entire piece, such as the harmonies and pizzicatos of the strings, the staccato and arpeggio fragments from the piano, and the triplets and quintuplets of the rhythm. The heat, our energy, emboldens us to greater heights. At this point the strings and wind play a cacophony of quick notes while the piano strikes massive chords in a contrasting rhythm to emulate percussion. The sound of wind yells: life immortal. In its echo, we hear the opening wind whisper again.
“Breeze” marks a return to the first movement in structure. The same wind returns, crossing the linden outside my window, but this time with more confidence. My steps progress along the city streets; a breeze washes over my face. I walk confidently, joyous at what I have and what lies ahead. The quintet exclaims in unison, “Persistence is success!”
Although I use the Expressionist and twelve-tone technique in my composition, I bring the aesthetic feelings of purity in it as well. On the surface each small movement is about the natural scenery of flowing wind. However, philosophically I create music as a metaphor to depict human life consisting of emotions such as happiness, sadness, love, cruelty, passion, and loneliness. The first movement, “Wind” describes the loneliness we have. The second, “Stream” shows relaxation. “Raven” demonstrates our cruelty. “Voile” reflects romantic love while “Swing” relates parental love. “Flame” portrays the passion of creativity, and “Breeze” pronounces confidence. Through the creating of Sound of Wind, I was able to weather down to my true self. By using my own language of music, I endeavor to hold the mirror up to nature and inspire audiences around the world.