Thinking And Organization Of Sounds In Xiaoyong Chen’s Composition

Chen Xiaoyong(1955-)is a German-Chinese composer who has written a large number of musical works since the 1980 s,and after the mid-1990 s has come to realize that the unity and connect of superficial forms do not fully satisfy the aural need for sound.The sound itself needs to resonate subjectively with the composer.Since then he has been trying to break through Eurocentrism,exploring his own musical language and constructing sound.Between 1992 and 2019 he composed a number of works of different compilations,demonstrating the transformed sound thinking and compositional characteristics,and this thesis takes these works as the object of study.One of Chen Xiaoyong’s sound thinking is reflected in his focus on process change.In his works,he emphasizes "gradual" changes rather than just changes.In his exploration process,he deconstructs the details of the process,utilizing his sensitivity to sound and his perception of the infectiousness of sound to deal with the details of the music in terms of pitch gradation,speed gradation,and the gradation of information transmission;the second part of sound thinking is reflected in the way he looks at the Instrumentation as a whole,i.e.,the "soundmaker",and explores the more organic combination with the characteristics of each instrument,using a collection of fragments.In terms of sound organization,Chen Xiaoyong constructs more from the instruments themselves or from a physical perspective,using the instrument’s performance to reveal the unique character of each instrument.The sound is composed through the character fragments,not just because of the compilation as a whole.The exploration of process changes affects his structural arrangement of horizontal aspects such as time and color changes;the exploration of instrumental character affects his selection and matching of timbre vertically.The construction of Chen Xiaoyong’s creations is not resultant thinking;some conscious abandonment of control adds to the uncertainty,such as blank-leaving.This allows for certain possibilities of different approach or freshness in the performance of his works.The thesis is divided into an introduction,three chapters and a conclusion.The introduction is followed by the main part of the thesis: the first chapter is a brief introduction about the relevant social backgrounds,and the information in these fields has an indirect but non-negligible influence on Chen’s creations;the second chapter is about the characteristics of Chen’s sound thinking,such as the soundmaker,the auditory morphology,and the auditory structure;the third chapter is a detailed analysis through the use and layout of each parameter of the work: pitch,dynamism,timbre,and duration in multiple dimensions detailed analysis.In the composer’s opinion,the most characteristic way he uses is the use of "uncertain" and "gradual" materials,i.e.emphasizing the process.His search for sound thinking lies in the deconstruction of process:i.e.,the process of 1)pitch change,2)time change,and 3)the process of information transmission.Chen Xiaoyong’s creations have the following two characteristics in the construction of sound thinking and sound organization: first,sound thinking is characterized by the use of natural materials,i.e.,from the characteristics of the instrument itself,and less by the use of pressure and other means to change the sound;second,the process of sound formation is not black and white,but rather there are graduation of "gray".