Chinese composer Xiaogang Ye is one of China's leading composers. Yet he remains moderately known outside his country's borders. That seems to be changing. In the past two years, no fewer than seven CDs featuring his music have been released under four different labels. It's high time to get to know this composer better.
Xiaogang Ye (°1955, Shanghai) has developed over the past two decades into one of China's most important contemporary composers. His musical story began at a young age. As the son of composer Chunzhi Ye, Xiaogang grew up surrounded by music. Little to nothing is known about his early musical training. The earliest indication of musical training dates from 1978 when Ye enrolled at the Central Conservatory of Music in Peking. There he composed, among other works, chamber music such as Poem of China for cello and piano, op. 15 (1981) as well as a first violin concerto The brilliance of Western Liang, op. 16 (1983).
After his graduation in 1983, Ye already experienced his first success when he was appointed resident composer and professor at the conservatory. As resident composer, he wrote, among other works, his second symphony: Symphony No. 2 "Horizon" for soprano, baritone and orchestra, op. 20 (1984/85). In 1987, Ye resumed his studies and pursued training at the Eastmen School of Music, a conservatory in Rochester, New York. Ye took lessons from, among others, Mingxin Du, Samuel Adler, Louis Andriessen and Alexander Goehr.
After his stay in the United States, Ye returned to China in 1994. He was immediately appointed composition professor at the Conservatory of Music. As an advocate for the development of China's modern music and the exchange between Chinese and foreign musical cultures, Ye gained increasing interest in his home country. His own mature musical style consisted of Western genres enriched with Chinese sounds, instruments and melodies.
In Macau Bride (Ballet-Suite) op. 34 (2001, track 1-10 on The Macau Bride NAXOS 8.573131), Ye presents a suite based on his previously composed drama-dance. In the story, a sailor Chon Kou and the Portuguese Maria do Mar fall in love with each other. The two characters are translated musically through two different sound worlds. "Gentle Moments" (track 6) perhaps conveys this most subtly. This movement is a reflection of the love between the two protagonists. It takes place in Portugal, so the basis of the movement is permeated with Western romanticism. On top of this sounds a Chinese melody played by the flute, a musical expression of Chon Kou. A slightly less subtle but clear example is "Blessings and Devotion" (track 2). This movement takes place in Macau and therefore has a Chinese basis (though in tonal setting) mixed with Western influences. In this suite, Ye shows that he can perfectly control the colors of the symphonic orchestra.
Also in Twilight in Tibet for tenor, horn and orchestra, op. 41 (2002, track 1 on 7 Episodes for Lin'an Naxos 8.579088), Ye knows how to use the orchestra colorfully. But his musical style is completely different. In this orchestral work, however, the tone is less romantic and more modernistic. Using polytonal and dissonant passages, Ye continuously builds tension. This does not resolve but is broken off by a new tonally peaceful passage that gradually begins to build tension again. This 19-minute work is somewhat reminiscent of a symphonic poem. The programmatic theme is nature. Ye paints the Himalayan mountains with notes. Birds and horses can also be heard throughout the work.
Ye also employs this modernistic style in The Song Of The Earth for soprano, baritone and orchestra, op. 47 (track 9-14 on Mahler & Ye: The Song Of The Earth Deutsche Grammophon 00028948374526). Again, Ye demonstrates an impressive display of orchestration here. Six Chinese poems from the Tang dynasty are sung by soprano and baritone. Ye's approach to the vocal lines is expressive, extroverted and contains many dramatic glissandi. Andrew Clements describes this stylistic choice as exaggerated; I describe it as a fusion of the Western vocal style with Jing opera (also known as Peking opera). On the DG CD, Ye's The Song Of The Earth is brought together with Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde which set these six songs to music in a German translation. The confrontation of these two different musical styles with the same poems as a basis is certainly an interesting idea, but the Mahler performance lacked conviction.
In his own country, Xiaogang Ye developed into one of the leading composers. However, his international breakthrough only came in 2008. Ye was chosen during the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing as the official representative of Chinese music. For this occasion, he composed a piano concerto. Lang Lang, accompanied by the Chinese Philharmonic Orchestra, performed the premiere of Starry sky, op. 56, during the opening ceremony of the Games. Since 2021, this work for piano, choir and orchestra (without the dance and light show) has been available in recording for the first time. The honor for the world premiere recordings belonged to Noriko Ogawa (track 8 on Winter BIS records BIS-2113). This pianist is familiar with the composer's oeuvre and has already been heard in recordings of Ye's piano works. The piano concerto is short (7'30) and consists of only one movement. Yet his familiar east-meets-west style is brilliantly present. A romantic and Chinese sound world merge into a triumphant whole.
Ye is a man of many genres. Concertos, ballets, film music, symphonies,… and despite the contemporary moderate popularity of the genre, also cantatas. The Road to the Republic (2011, track 1-8 on The Road to the Republic Naxos 8.579089) is an example here. In this work in particular, his patriotic side as a composer of the people comes to the fore. Dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the 1911 revolution, this cantata tells the story of the republic. Through poems and narratives, the history unfolds from beginning to present day. True to his style, Ye blends Chinese musical language with 19th-century Western Romanticism. Because of the textual content, the whole is cheerful and triumphant.
In 2013, Ye launched the concert series China Story. He traveled to various cities on the European and American continents. Thus he strengthened his international position. An ever-growing audience became familiar with Ye's style and learned his works. Record labels also showed increasing interest.
Sichuan Image (BIS records BIS-2303) is the most recent CD with music by Xiaogang Ye. This CD focuses on Ye's film music. Sichuan Image op. 70 was composed for a travelogue of a province in West China. Of Ye's works, I find this by far the most subtle. The work consists of 29 small fragments, all equally impressive. In Sichuan Image, he supplements the symphony orchestra with traditional Chinese instruments such as the erhu and the pipa. His orchestration is sublime. The timbres are colorful, charming and warm. From the first notes, you are drawn into the story and you can visualize the picturesque landscape. Floating between the sounds, you drift away in dreams.
Xiaogang Ye displays great musical flexibility. He explores various genres and different styles. Yet the essence of his musical language remains clearly present. His music is unmistakably Ye. Unpredictable about what his next project will be, I am happy to be surprised by it.
The Macau Bride
WHO: Yijie Shi [tenor], Mingyan Liu [mezzo], Macau Youth Choir & Macau Orchestra cond. Jia Lu
WHAT: The Macau Bride (Ballet Suite) op.34 (2001)
RELEASES: NAXOS 8.573131
ORDER: JPC
Winter
WHO: Noriko Ogawa [piano], Royal Scottish National Chorus & Royal Scottish National Orchestra cond. Jose Serebrier
WHAT: Starry sky for piano and orchestra, op. 56 (2008)
RELEASES: BIS records BIS-2113
ORDER: JPC
Mahler & Ye: The Song Of The Earth
WHO: Zhang Liping [soprano], Michelle DeYoung [mezzo], Brian Jagde [tenor], Shenyang [baritone], Shanghai Symphony Orchestra cond. Long Yu
WHAT: The Song of the Earth for soprano, baritone and orchestra, op. 47
RELEASES: Deutsche Grammophon 00028948374526
The Road to the Republic
WHO: Liping Zhang [soprano], Guang Yang [mezzo], Yijie Shi [tenor], Chemie Yuan [baritone], China National Symphony Orchestra Chorus & China National Symphony Orchestra cond. Jia Lu, Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz cond. Franck Ollu
WHAT: The Road to the Republic (2011)
RELEASES: Naxos 8.579089
ORDER: JPC
7 Episodes for Lin'an
WHO: Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz cond. Stefan Malzew
WHAT: Twilight in Tibet for tenor, horn and orchestra, op. 41 (2002)
RELEASES: Naxos 8.579088
ORDER: JPC
Sichuan Image
WHO: Noriko Ogawa [piano], Xue Yang [erhu & zhonghu], Yue Li [di & xiao], Yang Jiang [pipa], Royal Scottish National Orchestra cond. Jose Serebrier
WHAT: Sichuan Image op. 70
RELEASES: BIS records BIS-2303
ORDER: JPC