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Abstract
Drawing on the composer's insights that link Chinese calligraphy to compositional aesthetics, this article explores the correlation between calligraphic principles and the shaping of musical gestures in Chou Wen-chung's late works. As a calligrapher, Chou transforms the combinatorial sequence of calligraphic strokes to evoke a ‘living’ image. Likewise, his music is generated from his unique system of variable modes, and the individual notes serve as agents that shape the build-up and dissipation of energy, among other forms of polarities that govern the structural processes according to the duality of yin and yang.
Notes
[1] Stuckenschmidt's review appeared in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on 28 June 1960. And Fallen Petals is one of Chou's frequently performed orchestral works in the United States, Europe and Asia.
[2] My own interest in this analytical angle first emerged from listening to Chou's lecture given at the University of California at San Diego on 20 April 2001. Shyhiji Pan-Chew is currently undertaking a comprehensive study of Chou's string quartets from the perspective of Chou as a ‘musical calligrapher’.
[3] Following Robert Hatten, human or bodily gesture may be defined as ‘any energetic shaping through time that may be interpreted as significant’ and musical gesture refers to the listener's perception of musical contours and shapes produced in performance (through bodily gesture, but distinguishable from it) (see Hatten, Citation2006, p. 1).
[4] According to Yee, the original invention of written characters is attributed to Cang Jie (25th century B.C.) and variations were doubtless devised since then, but there exists no record of them untill the Chou dynasty (12th century B.C.): ‘The evolution of Chinese calligraphy in its written form can be traced back to the twenty-fifth century B.C.; as the character formations underwent unification and systematization many times before the official style (Lishu [
]) was developed during the Han dynasty (206 B.C. to 219 A.D.)' (Yee, 1973, pp. 41 – 42).
[5] Based on an interview with Chou Wen-chung, 13 January 2006.
[6] Chou comments that the technique of daibi—favored by Huai Su and Wang Du—makes it possible for a calligrapher to link two or more strokes at will, with the brush moving at a fast pace, sometimes leaving the paper and at other times touching it (correspondence with the composer, 18 November 2006).
[7] While Chou's calligraphy for the ‘wind’ character does not correspond to the title of any of his pieces, it is included here in order to demonstrate its correlation with a musical gesture found in String Quartet No. 1 (see ).
[8] Chou also attributes the yin-yang duality to the stability of the mountain and instability of the peak.
[9] Based on an interview with Chou Wen-chung, 13 January 2006.
[10] Distinction between the ascending and descending forms of the mode was influenced by Chou's studies of the Indian raga (Kwan, Citation1996, p. 12).
[11] Kwan (Citation1996, p. 16) identifies the major third unit as the frame and intervals that divide this unit as the hinge. Following this system, two symmetrical modes are produced: the earth mode (e), with directed intervals 2 2 2 2 2 2, is equivalent to a whole-tone scale, while the heaven mode (h) is defined by the directed intervals 3 1 3 1 3 1.
[12]See Rao (Citation2004) for the influence of Chinese opera on Cowell's development of the sliding tone.
[13] Interview with Chou Wen-chung, 21 November 2005.
[14] In the Chinese calligraphic concept called liubai
, space is intentionally left open without ink as part of the overall visual design. Chou invented the term ‘tianbai’ to reverse this process by ‘filling in the space that's left open’ in his calligraphy and music. The auxiliary notes are determined according to context of yin and yang (correspondence with the composer, 28 October 2006).
[15] E.g., the 18-note fugal subject in the first movement (vla: C Ab B Bb E D C# F# G C# F Eb D A Bb B G F#) is based on a set of chromatic dyads derived from tm'/C and tm'/G# according to Chou's sketches.
[16] Chou comments on the striking sonic effects of Li's poetry and the influence it exerted upon Chinese artists.
[17] Chou comments further that contrary to daibi, lianbi presents a standard technique in which two or more strokes are connected while keeping the brush completely in contact with the paper (correspondence with the composer, 18 November 2006). In my opinion, Chou's technique of keeping the gestural connection between instruments is analogous to the more dynamic brushstrokes involved in daibi, which allows for a greater change in density and speed of the brushstrokes.
[18] Although the pause is indicated by the breath mark, the physical enactment of this gesture posed a great challenge to the Brentano string quartet in rehearsing this piece.
[19] For a more comprehensive analysis of Windswept Peaks, see Kwan (Citation1996, pp. 275 – 369); Chang (Citation2006, pp. 128 – 141); Arlin (forthcoming).