Five Songs from the East is a contemporary “re-composition” of five Chinese folk melodies, set for pipa (Chinese lute) and piano, written for pipa master Wei Deng and pianist Shan Deng.

The folk melodies were obtained by Shan Deng from the Chinese Music Research Institute in Beijing, as part of a project funded by a research grant from the University of Tasmania to explore the potential connections from synthesising Eastern folk music with new Australian composition, and pairing a traditional Chinese instrument with a Western one.

Although the combination of Chinese instrument with piano is not new, the idea of “re-composing” traditional Chinese folk tunes into new works by an Australian composer is relatively unique.

The titles of the folk melodies used were difficult to translate effectively into English, but appear roughly as movements 1, 2 and 5: “Shoo-shoo bird,” “A type of tree,” “Lao Yo West Song,” with movements 3 and 4 given their titles by the composer based on their character and relationship between pipa and piano.

The five songs aim to evoke tone colours shared by the two instruments, as well as engage the pair in a dialogue at varying times wistful, conversational, animated and colourful.

Composed for Wei Deng and Shan Deng as part of a research project funded by the University of Tasmania. Click here for further background. Available from the Australian Music Centre.

Instrumentation: pipa and piano

Duration: 22 minutes