Collection of Works 作品选辑
The following works are selected from Hao's personal compositions since 2008
HOMELAND BALLAD 黄土谣
—— For Cello and Piano (2012)
The piece depicts a cultural scene on the land of ShaanXi. It attempts to exhibit the area’s local traditional music. The adagio borrows lyric verses from TianJingSha · Autumn, written by Chinese playwright Bai Pu during the Yuan dynasty. The piece uses cello to imitate the tune of the words in the song.
乐曲描绘了⼀幅陕北⼤地上的⼈⽂景观，通过简单的创作⼿法以试图呈现较为传统、具有浓厚地⽅⾊彩的音乐。乐曲慢板中借用了中国元代曲作家白朴所著的写景散曲《天净沙 · 秋》，并用⼤提琴模仿其中的字词韵律。
SKETCH · HUANGMEI 素描 · 黄梅
—— For Flute, Clarinet, Pipa, Violin, Cello, Piano and Percussion (2013)
Chinese traditional opera is a comprehensive style of stage art with a long history. It is a dramatic and fantastic form of art that integrates literature, music, dance, art, martial arts, acrobatics, and performing arts.
Huangmei, also known as the tea-picking opera, is one of the five Chinese operas in the traditional operatic repertoire. It is famous for its smooth and simple style of singing, unique and distinct melodies, bright tuning, and lively and lyrical rhythm.
For this work, the lyrical theme of the excerpt Pi Pa Xing was chosen as the primary music material. Through the contrast between sentences, this work presents the rises and falls of the story as well as the charm of the Huangmei opera. It also intends to present the substantial spiritual influence, rather than the mere hearing experience, that the opera had on me as a composer.
戏曲是⼀种历史悠久的舞台艺术形式，由⽂学、音乐、舞蹈、美术、武术、杂技以及表演艺术综合⽽成。黄梅戏，又称采茶戏，中国五⼤戏曲剧种之⼀。以唱腔淳朴流畅，明快抒情见长。其旋律性突出，调式⾊彩明朗。
作品选用选段《琵琶⾏》中的抒情主题作为全曲主要素材。通过段落之间的对比以体现“戏”中之所谓“戏韵”及“起落沉浮”，更是意图呈现黄梅戏所带给曲作者的⼀种强烈的精神层面的感染⼒，⽽并非仅为听觉之上的。
RONDO 回旋曲
—— For Solo Guitar (2013)
Sweet dreams......
如梦……
STRING QUARTET II 第二弦乐四重奏 (2014)
Heavenly stem and Earthly branches is an ancient systematical philosophy of China, which consists of the ancient calendar of the HAN. The Twelve Earthly Branches represent the order of year, month and hour, as well as the traditional Twelve Animals. Moreover, they convey the concept of reincarnation. The simple interpretation of the Twelve Earthly Branches is that everything develops from nothing and ends up as nothing. The piece is composed of twelve passages; each passage stands for one of the Twelve Earthly Branches, connecting with different properties, directions and Elements of each. In this piece, I attempted to express the traditional concept that everything grows and extinguishes by means of music.
中国的天干地支是一门古老的系统哲学，天干地支组成了古代汉族纪年历法。其中，十二地支即表示年、月、时的次序，并作为传统十二生肖的代表，更被译为所谓“万物之轮回” ，“从无到有再到无”。曲目由十二小段所构成，各个段落接连着不同的性质、方位与元素。作曲者试图通过音乐这一艺术形式来展现“万物生长与消亡”的概念。
GAN SHENG LING 趕牲靈
—— For Treble SuoNa and Chinese Traditional Orchestra (2013 - 2015)
民歌是人类文化的结晶与精神生活的宣泄。我欣赏民歌，不仅是因为它精致的旋律线条，其传递出的历史情怀才是真正具有冲击力的。
乐曲描绘了一幅黄土高原的人文景观，选材于陕北民歌《赶牲灵》，采用其旋律作为主要素材进行发展，并贯穿全曲。
八百里秦川之上，崇山峻岭之巅。从那弯曲陡峭的山道，抑或是一马平川的大路，传来了高亢嘹亮的歌声。沧桑的脚夫赶着他赖以为生的骡子，这牲畜喘着粗气，搭着货物，脖子上系着铃铛。铃铛声由远而近，那歌声也逐渐清晰起来，变得急促了。我听到了一缕忧虑，又是一丝无奈，倒是铃铛声不紧不慢，衬着老脚夫的调子，叮铃铃...叮铃铃... 这声音渐行渐远，他们的背影也冉冉消失在那弯曲陡峭的山道里，抑或是映照在夕阳余晖下那一马平川的大路之上。只有那脚夫的歌声，依然明亮、悠长，仅存的一丝忧虑与无奈也随风消逝，寄托在余音中的，只有希望。我似乎看到了，他们向着远方而去，一步一步...一步一步......
献给我所挚爱的那片土地。
Folk song is the catharsis of the human spirit and life. I like folk songs, not just because of the delicate melodic lines, but because of their influence on history and how they speak to the emotion of a culture.
This piece presents a picture of a Highland landscape. The piece takes the tune from the folk song Gan Sheng Ling, and develops on the original material, running through the whole song while keeping it intact.
In the highland of Qin Chuan, in the wide mountain range, on the steep, twisting paths among the sharp hills, in the deep valley on the flat stretch of land rings the simple but poignant song. The old porter rides his mule. They have seen better days. She moves weakly, weighed down by a dozen packages, fastened cleverly with old rope and protected from the earth by patterned cloth which has seen better days. The rusty bell around her neck comes nearer, gradually announcing their arrival in a barely perceptible crescendo; the old song is clearer now, bouncing off houses and hills as the porter and his companion pass. His voice is worn and his song hopeless, ringing in the chilled air, colored by the inexplicable sound of anxiety about life. The ring of the bell is leisurely and reluctant, falling in and out of time with the old folk tune; a primitive orchestration to the porter’s song. Clank...clank... their sounds fade slowly back into nothing, and their backs disappear into the fog and up the steep winding path leading into the mountains; I sit watching in the jarring valley, on the flat stretch of land at sunset. Only the song’s echo is still clear. The anxiety is gone, swept by the wind, and replaced by the specter of hope ringing in the lingering sound. It seems they went ahead, step by step... step by step......
Dedicated to my beloved land.
—Translated by Paul Celebi
Folk song is the catharsis of the human spirit and life. I like folk songs, not just because of the delicate melodic lines, but because of their influence on history and how they speak to the emotion of a culture.
This piece presents a picture of a Highland landscape. The piece takes the tune from the folk song Gan Sheng Ling, and develops on the original material, running through the whole song while keeping it intact.
In the highland of Qin Chuan, in the wide mountain range, on the steep, twisting paths among the sharp hills, in the deep valley on the flat stretch of land rings the simple but poignant song. The old porter rides his mule. They have seen better days. She moves weakly, weighed down by a dozen packages, fastened cleverly with old rope and protected from the earth by patterned cloth which has seen better days. The rusty bell around her neck comes nearer, gradually announcing their arrival in a barely perceptible crescendo; the old song is clearer now, bouncing off houses and hills as the porter and his companion pass. His voice is worn and his song hopeless, ringing in the chilled air, colored by the inexplicable sound of anxiety about life. The ring of the bell is leisurely and reluctant, falling in and out of time with the old folk tune; a primitive orchestration to the porter’s song. Clank...clank... their sounds fade slowly back into nothing, and their backs disappear into the fog and up the steep winding path leading into the mountains; I sit watching in the jarring valley, on the flat stretch of land at sunset. Only the song’s echo is still clear. The anxiety is gone, swept by the wind, and replaced by the specter of hope ringing in the lingering sound. It seems they went ahead, step by step... step by step......
Dedicated to my beloved land.
—Translated by Paul Celebi
AUTOMNE 秋
—— For Mezzo-soprano, Cello and Piano (2015)
Automne au ciel brumeux, aux horizons navrants.
Aux rapides couchants, aux aurores pâlies,
Je regarde couler, comme l'eau du torrent,
Tes jours faits de mélancolie.
Je sens, au clair soleil du souvenir vainqueur,
Refleurir en bouquet les roses deliées,
Et monter à mes yeux des larmes, qu'en mon coeur,
Mes vingt ans avaient oubliées!
Autumn, time of misty skies and heart-breaking horizons,
of rapid sunsets and pale dawns,
I watch your melancholy days
flow past like a torrent.
In the bright sunlight of triumphant memory
I feel the scattered roses reblooming in bouquets;
and tears well up in my eyes, tears which my heart
at twenty had already forgotten!
——Armand Silvestre
CHANSON D'AVRIL 四月之歌
—— For Tenor, Cello and Piano (2015)
Lève-toi! lève-toi! le printemps vient de naître!
Là-bas, sur les vallons, flotte un réseau vermeil!
Tout frissonne au jardin, tout chante et ta fenêtre,
Comme un regard joyeux, est pleine de soleil!
Viens, partons! au matin, la source est plus limpide;
Lève-toi! viens, partons! N'attendons pas du jour les brûlantes chaleurs;
Je veux mouiller mes pieds dans la rosée humide,
Et te parler d'amour sous les poiriers en fleurs.
Get up! Get up! Spring has just been born!
Over those valleys a rosy mist is floating!
Everything in the garden trembles and sings; your window
is full of sunshine, like a joyful gaze.
Let's get going! The stream is clearer in early morning.
Get up! Let's not wait for the day's burning heat.
I want to wet my feet in the moist dew
and talk to you of love under the blossoming pear-trees.
——Louis Bouilhet
UNSPEAKABLE LANDSCAPE
—— For Flute, Violin and Piano (2015)
Sight can’t be matched by words. This “unspeakable” quality can be understood as a shock to our sense or a slight blur that remains deeply in the recesses of our memory.
Usually, the “unspeakable” beauty of sight spreads deep into our heart. However profound the visual of its “unspeakable” quality might be, sight, on a spiritual level, expresses a fascinating hope or something perhaps even more exceptional.
In this piece, each instrument exhibits unique playing techniques, showing a blurry, misty “sight” without losing its unique color. Through the use of space and overtones, I construct an image from a macroscopic view. Old themes run through the piece (the melody was composed in 2009) and raise to their fullest form in the ending section, which was designed to elevate the “unspeakable” beauty of sight to a higher level.
每⼀种景⾊都有⽆法⾔喻之处。所谓⽆法⾔喻，即是⼀种感官之上的极度震撼，抑或是记忆中仅存的丝毫模糊。
往往，⽆法⾔喻的美感恰是最能蔓延⾄⼼灵深处的欲罢不能。依个⼈所见，相对于视觉层面的直接呈现，精神层面的⽆法⾔喻则是令⼈神往的期盼，甚⾄是更具思想价值的深刻。
作品中运用了⼤量的特殊演奏技法，试图展现⼀番迷离、 飘渺、 ⽽不失⾊彩的“景致”。通过较多篇幅的泛音运用构筑出相对宏观的想象空间。主旋律素材贯穿始终（作品旋律创作于2009 年），并于结束段落完整呈现，旨在以此升华所谓“⽆法⾔喻的美丽”。
SKETCH · THE DANCE IN MEMORY 素描 · 戏舞
—— For Solo Piano (2016)
For me, traditional percussion instruments are the core and soul of Chinese national music. Their indispensability in Chinese music elicits their charm and extracts profound and unconventional connotations and essence, the latter being what artists yearn the most.
In this piece, the composer utilizes the piano instrument to imitate the sound of traditional Chinese percussion through the timbre of piano, showcasing the irresistible charms of traditional Chinese percussion. The whole piece boils down to four sections; a prologue and three independent movements.
Commemorating the sound of gongs and drums etched in the deep memory of mine.
依个人之见，传统打击乐器即是中国国乐的核心与灵魂所在。它的不可或缺性恰恰成就了其独树一帜的魅力，从而得以萃炼出深刻而不俗的内涵与精髓——这往往也是最令艺术家所沉醉而向往的。
作曲家通过钢琴这一表演形式，结合极为传统的创作手法，以试图展现中国传统打击乐无可抗拒的魅力。全曲分为四段，由序章与三段独立乐章组成。
纪念在记忆深处徘徊的鸣锣之声。
REFLECTION
—— For 8-Channel Speakers (7.1 Version) (2016)
THE GIFT 禮物
—— For Tenor and piano (2016)
Poem by Li-Young Lee (李立揚)
Dedicated to my father
献给我的父亲
PEAR BLOSSOMS 梨树花开
—— For Sinfonietta (2016-2017)
每天都会打开窗户。
久别的故乡，是那小镇的⽓与息，和稀薄的浮尘。
这完完全全是童年的回忆，种种⼼绪接踵⽽来。第⼀印象便是小学时的春游，那种在盛开着的梨花树下的幼稚，与对未来的模糊感，现在都逝去了。
在任何其他地⽅开开窗也可能只是透透⽓罢了。
“I always open my window.”
An early awakening, the mindʼs recent excursion fresh in my memory… the window is already unlocked. The hometown that I have long missed. I take a breath and feel the rarefied dust treading on air.
Itʼs the same as my childhood memory, but time has added to it new feelings. The first thought: my spring trip in elementary school. However, the naiveté under the fresh white pear blossoms and the sense of an unknown future have by now left me.
Anywhere else, I open my window to ventilate.
—Translated by Paul Celebi
WOVEN IMPRINTS
—— A concerto for Luogu (锣鼓经), solo piano and large ensemble (2018)
Luogu (锣鼓经), a Chinese traditional opera percussion that very familiar to the older generations of Chinese, can be translated as “gongs and drums.” It typically comprises several types of drum, metal and wooden idiophone. An opera performance often includes four percussionists performing the opera drum, the small opera gong, the opera crash cymbals, and the large opera gong, respectively.
Luogu has a special status and role in the long history of opera art; a constituent of the opera art, percussion has a close affiliation with the format and technique of an opera. It follows that Luogu is a common accompaniment in the Kun, Beijing, and Cantonese opera.
Luogu provides the necessary rhythmic background for songs, speeches, movements, dances, and martial arts. It may also serve to theatricalize the storyline under specific circumstances. Luogu also facilitates the entrance/exit of actors and the transition between scenes, describes the environment, or depicts the characters’ comments on-action.
In this concerto, the sounding of small and large opera gongs will be mimicked and presented through the form of piano solo. The aural effect of Luogu will also be faithfully recreated in the most complete and original way, proffering a fusion between the unique timbre of classic Oriental drum vocabulary and the sophisticated tonal effect of the Western Orchestra. Such a blending of two dichotomous music traditions not only stimulates a new, intuitive audiovisual experience, but profoundly explores the spirit and connotation of the Chinese history and culture.
For the youngest generation of contemporary China, Luogu is already an unfamiliar word. It's a word full of chronology that hints at the “old society,” and that has long since faded out of the mainstream. Nevertheless, these seemingly antiquated cultural symbols of Luogu have accompanied generations of Chinese; symbols teemed with veracity and vivacity and imprinted deeply in the memories of our forerunners. As an admirer, I wholeheartedly wish that Luogu and its symbols can be preserved, understood and respected.
This concerto was written for my close friend Paul Çelebi, and dedicated to those ancient musical predecessors whose dedication and performance allowed Luogu to be passed down through history.
MENAGERIE
—— For Three Percussionists (2019)
Every percussion instrument is distinct, but the ones in miniature form especially intrigue me. They remind me of the toys that I cherish the most in my childhood, each of which makes a specific type of sound. Through a highly structured and imaginative organization, their playful and adorable sounds can be sublimated into fascinating and profound musical creation.
AETHEREA 雲間
—— Chamber Concerto For Piano (2019)
Exploring the extended techniques of the piano has always interested me.
Trained as a pianist since I was young, I was enthralled by the world behind my keyboard. I figured out that the mechanics of the piano were simple enough: if one regards the giant box as a string instrument missing a bow, one can completely replicate most of the techniques seen on the traditional string instruments. Although the non-keyboard effects of the piano have been fairly demonstrated by contemporary composers, I still wish to expand its sound palette.
This work is entirely based on the additive/subtractive synthesis theory. A series of pitches were obtained by adding or subtracting the frequencies of two notes, thereby constructing the pitch materials of the entire piece. Contrasts between pitches are pivotal to this work: for example, the pure tone of the harmonic series was played in synchronization with the pitch in equal temperament to the pure tone, leading to a sequence of drastic collisions between pitches.
In terms of timbre, the piano is rendered by the different combinations of string and percussion instruments. By utilizing the multiphonic techniques and the recurring motif of the harmonic series, the special timbre of the piano is exploited to the maximum degree.
THREE TRAVEL NOTES II 遊記三則 · 之二
—— For Flute Solo (2019)
之一：去年回乡探亲，茶余饭后，大家起了兴致，五音不全的爷爷又唱起了他所钟爱的那一段小调，似乎源自于戏曲片段或是地方民歌。在此，我将爷爷的旋律记录并保存下来。
之二：淅淅沥沥的清晨，踏着爷爷家旁的老石板路，伴随着入骨的清冷。一阵隐隐约约的口哨声从远处传来，捅破了这层恰到好处的静谧。
之三：村子的另一边则是一望无垠的山峦。沿着山野小路而下，狭长的山坳之间，清澈见底的溪流从中穿行而过。我迷恋于这般景致——沉醉于自然是人类固有的一种本能。
Last year, I went back to my hometown and visited my family. After the meal, my tone-deaf grandfather sang again his favourite ditty, a melody that seemed to originate from traditional opera or folk songs. Here, I recalled and recorded my grandpa's melody.
Rain trickled down the cloudy, early morning, as I walked through the old footpath beside my grandpa's house. I felt a bone-chilling cold cutting through my skin. Suddenly, a faint whistle rose from afar, breaking the perfect silence.
On the other side of the village were endless mountains. Rambling down a mountain road, I saw a crystal stream of water rushing through the deep, narrow channel of the canyons. I stopped walking to relish the scene ---- an almost innate reaction when we human witness the majesty of nature.