China I - Shanghai, Songs of Departure for soprano, bassoon and string orchestra

Abstract

China I - Shanghai (1991) is the first work of a cycle called the China Quartet. Written for soprano, bassoon, and string orchestra, the work is a setting of four poems by the great Chinese poet Li Po. It suggests the various human emotions involved when departures take place under several different circumstances. The composer’s endeavor was to highlight these emotions by the use of leit motifs, word painting, contrasting thematic material, and sudden harmonic changes.