Work
Interior
for chamber septet and tape
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About
In 1987 the composer visited China and searched out the music of some of China's so-called minority peoples. Field recordings made on this visit form the core of the work: the instrumental writing is meant as an enchancing backdrop to direct our listening to the 'interior' of the music.
First is heard the long-ge, a three-bladed Jews harp of the Yi nationality (Sichuan province). Next three women of the Miao nationality (Guizhou province) sing a melody of strong character with long notes and leaping intervals further enhanced by the gradual melting into a unison. The words mean "though we die, our songs like mountains, go on forever". Finally we hear an ensemble of lusheng played by youths of the Ge nationality (Guizhou province) accompanying a dance. This six-piped bamboo mouth organ is common in the south of China and is found in various forms throughout Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and parts of Indonesia.
Notes taken from Ritual Auras, Atoll CD (ACD 842)
Commissioned note
Commissioned by the Karlheinz Ensemble with the assistance of the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council and the NZ Composers Foundation.
Performance history
03 Aug 1988: Performed by the Karlheinz Company
30 Aug 2015: Stroma | Interiors
Performed by ARC Ensemble, Tokyo
The source material for Interior is revealed, along with Wellington musicians rehearsing the work in this excerpt from the film 'Big Nose' and Body Music
Performed by the Karlheinz Company in July 2011 at the Kenneth Myers Centre, at the University of Auckland.