Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Identifier

4900

Chin-Mei Li

Date

2017

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Musical Arts

Major

Music

Concentration

Performance

Committee Chair

Janet Page

Committee Member

Pu-Qi Jiang

Committee Member

Lenny Schranze

Committee Member

Timothy Shiu

Abstract

Gordon Shi-wen Chin (b. 1957) is one of the most active contemporary composers in Taiwan. He studied in Japan and the United States, and he was the first Taiwanese composer to be recorded by Naxos. The composition chosen for this project, Formosa Seasons for Violin and Strings, is based on a set of four poems, with the same title, by the composer; the music corresponds closely to the poems. Both describe the beautiful natural scenery of Taiwan, his hometown Douliu, and his family trips to the famous Yangmingshan National Park. This paper first gives a biographical sketch of the composer, followed by a brief discussion of the modern Taiwanese history. The poems and four seasons of Taiwan are in Chapter 2; the formal structure and the musical elements of all four movements are discussed in detail in Chapter 3 respectively. Chin used different textures, tone colors, and rhythmic pattern to display his feelings and the beauty of nature from his past (his childhood) and also his present (with the family). His music also reflects his religion, Christianity, and often expresses his admiration of the natural beauty created by God. One of his aims was to introduce Taiwan and its beauty to the world.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to the local University of Memphis Electronic Theses & dissertation (ETD) Repository.

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