Dorothy Chang：《小巧新奇的空間 Small and Curious Places》（臺灣首演） / Small and Curious Places (Taiwan Premiere)

樂團/小巨人絲竹樂團、轉捩點樂團 指揮/Owen Underhill 作曲/Dorothy Chang
2018.06.07 巨人的轉捩點 地點/臺灣.臺北市.國家兩廳院演奏廳
錄影/亞格影音 張興漢 錄音/王昭惠
小巨人絲竹樂團：http://littlegcco.com/

本曲分成五個樂章：〈anticipation〉、〈where lost memories gather〉、〈garden of soft shadows〉、〈love thyself〉、〈of ever lingering light〉
作為第二代華裔美國人（現在也是加拿大人），文化認同的問題總是令人困惑，過去我的中西混編作品都是用來處理這個議題。不過這次的作品《Small and Curious Places》不再是東方與西方的對比，而是將各個樂器們平等視作一個整體的室內樂團組成。本次作品中沒有宏觀的論述，樂章之間各自獨立，而且大多是相當內省、內觀的。每一個樂章分別探索某種特定的聲音空間。
這個虛構而奇特的地方，是捕捉內心某種時刻或心境的各種意象集合而成。第一樂章〈anticipation〉不斷湧動的趨勢形成一個框架，使單一線條擴張為越來越豐富、厚重而又意想不到的和諧音響。第二樂章〈where lost memories gather〉引入了一個明淨的、靜態的弦樂群織體，中間加入了不同樂音逐漸浮現又隱去。第三樂章〈Garden of soft shadows〉是音色的組合，藉由輕柔的耳語和急切的聲響，營造出一種寧靜的不安感。第四樂章〈love thyself〉是由非常短的音樂片段，逐漸堆疊，直到最後被壓抑的能量一口氣爆發出來。最後一個樂章〈of ever lingering light〉彷彿在一種半夢半醒的脆弱時刻中冥想，在一個虛構的幻境之中，我們捕捉住這轉瞬即逝的一刻並延長，無限地徘徊在這個難以捉摸的空間裡。本曲是受 Soundstreams 委約而創作。

Dorothy Chang: Small and Curious Places
Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra, Turning Point Ensemble /Owen Underhill / National Recital Hall, Taipei, Taiwan. 2018.6.7.

1. anticipation, 2. where lost memories gather, 3. garden of soft shadows, 4. love thyself, 5. of ever lingering light
“As a second-generation Chinese American (now also Canadian), the issue of cultural self-identity has always been somewhat perplexing. In previous works for mixed Chinese and Western chamber ensemble I used my music as a medium to address this issue head on. In contrast, my most recent work, entitled Small and Curious Places, puts aside the question of East vs. West and instead approaches the ensemble as a group of individual instruments and their unique characteristics, with none more distinct or exotic than the others. There is no grand, overarching statement in this work; contrarily, the movements are independent of one another, and mostly quite introspective. Each movement is a self-contained miniature, an exploration of a particular sound space.
The imaginary and peculiar places of this collection are inspired by various imagery, captured moments or states of mind. In the first movement, “anticipation,” continuously surging momentum provides a framework for the expansion of a single line into increasingly rich, dense and unexpected harmonic sonorities. The second movement, “where lost memories gather” introduces a texture of glassy, static string clusters from which isolated musical gestures emerge and submerge again. “Garden of soft shadows” has a limited timbral palette and is characterized by soft whispering and scuttling sounds that evoke a sense of quiet unease. The following movement, “love thyself,” is built up of very short musical bits and fragments that pile up until pent-up energy at last erupts. The last movement is a meditation on the tenuous moment just as waking becomes slumber. “Of ever lingering light” is the imaginary place where one might capture this fleeting moment and prolong it, hovering indefinitely within this elusive space. Small and Curious Places was commissioned by Soundstreams.”
~ Dorothy Chang