Huang Ruo

Chamber Concerto No. 3: Divergence for 5 musicians is the third piece for my first concerto cycle, which I have been working on since 1999. The other three works are: Chamber Concerto No. 1: Yueh Fei for 8 Musicians (ca. 19 minutes), Chamber Concerto No. 2: The Lost Garden for 8 Musicians (ca. 18 minutes), and Chamber Concerto No. 4: Confluence for 15 Musicians (ca. 15 minutes). ‘Concerto’, in old Italian, means “to bring together," and was used to describe works in which individual lines, either instrumental or vocal, were assembled into a harmonious whole. The whole concerto cycle not only focuses on different individual instrument, but also the ensemble as a dramatic whole and various combinations among them. In other words, it is about dialogues of musical instruments. The whole concerto cycle is linked together both musically and theatrically. Musicians and conductor are asked not only to act with body motions and movements, but also to sing, chant, and speak with their pure human voices. Therefore, these concertos are not just for instruments, but for performers. Thematically, the four concertos can be divided into two circles. The first two are both written for eight players with the same instrumentation; the last two complete the circle of process from divergence to confluence, which also converges the whole cycle. All four concertos can be performed individually as four independent pieces, or in any combination, or together as a full cycle. They represent the different stages and styles of my writing in the past few years. It is a journal of my traveling in both the Western and Eastern world from the past through today, and to the future.

In English, ‘divergence’ means departing away into many directions. Its equivalent in Chinese is ‘Fen liu’. However, the more important thought is where the streams are going after they have diverged. Therefore, music doesn’t just simply ends on the last note, but travels in a journey which I will spend my whole life to compose.

Divergence has two main sections, but is played without pause. The whole piece runs about 11 minutes, and is scored for flute, clarinet, piano, violin, and cello.

At the end of the piece, an ancient Chinese poem lyric is read by the musicians. The title of the poem is “Sheng Sheng Man” (Sounds Ever Slow), written by Li Qing-Zhao, a female poet lived in Song Dynasty (ca. 1081-1141). I always attempt to merge the past and the present, the East and the West into my music.

Sounds Ever Slow
Searching … and searching …
Seeking … and seeking…
So Chill and so clear,
Dreary, and dismal,
And forlorn.
That time of year,
A Warm spell – then it’s back to cold,
Hard to find rest.
Two or three cups of weak wine ---
How can they resist the biting wind
That comes with evening?
The wild geese pass ---
That’s what hurts most ---
And yet,
they’re old acquaintances.
Chrysanthemum petals fill the ground in piles,
Haggard and damaged ---
As they are now, who could bring herself to pick them?
At the window,
Alone ---
how can I brace myself against the encroaching dark?
The plane tree, and on top of that
The drizzling rain,
On until dusk,
The dripping drop after drop.
These things, this moment,
How can one word --- “sorrow” --- say it all?