The Immortal

The Immortal was commissioned by the BBC World Service, and was premiered at the BBC Proms in 2004. This work pays tribute to the influence of Chinese artists and intellectuals in the twentieth century. With an undercurrent of tranquillity and meditation, the work features a powerful and rhythmic introduction, from which emerges a section of sustained high-pitched glissandos, as well as lyrical melodies and expressive glissandos that characterise many of the solo motifs.

The Immortal opens powerfully and rhythmically. The music then changes abruptly into sustained high pitched glissandi that represent the desire for hope. Other musical elements used in this work include lyrical melodies, expressive glissandi in various solo motifs that represent the recitative-like idiom of Beijing Opera, the rhythmic gestures of Chinese percussion ensembles, and the solo music of the ancient Ch'in Dynasty. As the work progresses, the repetition of the glissando motif becomes more powerful and builds to a climactic moment. The music then returns to a quiet section that once again increases in intensity, culmintating in a final climax. In the coda, a strong seven-note motif alternates with lyrical glissando passages, becoming more forceful with each repetition, symbolising the heavy impact of destiny.

Orchestration: picc, 2 fl, 2 ob, ca, 2 cl, bcl, 2 bn, cbn, 4 hn, 3 tpt, 2 tbn, btbn, tba, pn (+cel), hp, timp, 3 perc (BD (or Tanggu, or Chu), 2 bongos/conga (or 3 Paigu), claves, bowl chime, 4 gongs, BD (large, or Dagu, or Odaiko), 5 tem blks, bells (2'), tam), str