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Into the Vast World
Innova Recordings

Into the Vast World

$16.99 Only 3 left

Details

Composer
RUO, HUANG
Artist
Ruo, Zhang, Yang
Format
CD
Discs
1
Label
Innova Recordings
Released
Jun 26, 2020
Catalog #
INN054
UPC
726708605421

About

Given the high energy and dazzling colors of Huang Ruo's musical interests, it is no surprise that his music traverses typical confines and explores new territories. Into the Vast World - the first collection of his symphonic works - does just that. Both fragmented and tuneful, wacky and solemn, Huang Ruo's vision brings a broad perspective to what an orchestra might do. The album bursts to life with an improvised vocal solo in a made-up language performed by Huang Ruo in the Chinese folk-rock style. This opens Shattered Steps, an energetic tour-de-force of frozen moments and ongoing motion. Like a puzzle with no beginning nor end, it carries the listener along helter skelter, one step at a time in the exhilarating rush of the now. Becoming Another likewise focuses on evolution and transformation, stillness and motion, yin and yang. Still / Motion takes these ideas even farther. Written in response to the 50-year-old Chinese classic "Butterfly Lover" Violin Concerto, Huang Ruo's work is a dialog with Chinese traditional musical forms, specifically Chinese Opera and Chinese Court Music. Folks Songs for Orchestra engage with his native country in yet a different way; not as arrangements of actual melodies but new compositions inspired by a variety of songs and dances familiar from his travels. Huang Ruo's music is inherently dramatic and the album features two excerpts from his opera, An American Soldier, with libretto by David Henry Hwang. It tells the story of Private Danny Chen, an American U.S. Army soldier who served in Afghanistan in 2011, whose death resulted in a military investigation and charges against eight US soldiers, ultimately with four being court martialed. The investigation found that Chen had been racially harassed and beaten by his fellow soldiers before his death on October 3, 2011.

Tracklist 11 tracks

  1. 1 Shattered Steps 11:36
    Track
    1
    Title
    Shattered Steps
    Duration
    11:36
    Composer
    Huang Ruo
    Performer
    Huang Ruo
    Ensemble
    Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Liang Zhang
  2. 2 Becoming Another 12:10
    Track
    2
    Title
    Becoming Another
    Duration
    12:10
    Composer
    Huang Ruo
    Ensemble
    Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Liang Zhang
  3. 3 Act I: So that's the Man 04:30
    Track
    3
    Title
    Act I: So that's the Man
    Duration
    04:30
    Composer
    Huang Ruo
    Performer
    Guang Yang
    Ensemble
    Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Liang Zhang
  4. 4 Act II: Lullaby: Sleep now, Little One 03:47
    Track
    4
    Title
    Act II: Lullaby: Sleep now, Little One
    Duration
    03:47
    Composer
    Huang Ruo
    Performer
    Guang Yang
    Ensemble
    Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Liang Zhang
  5. 5 Still / Motion 13:36
    Track
    5
    Title
    Still / Motion
    Duration
    13:36
    Composer
    Huang Ruo
    Ensemble
    Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Liang Zhang
  6. 6 No. 1. Fanfare 04:22
    Track
    6
    Title
    No. 1. Fanfare
    Duration
    04:22
    Composer
    Huang Ruo
    Ensemble
    Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Liang Zhang
  7. 7 No. 2. Announcement 10:41
    Track
    7
    Title
    No. 2. Announcement
    Duration
    10:41
    Composer
    Huang Ruo
    Ensemble
    Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Liang Zhang
  8. 8 I. Flower Drum Song from Feng Yang 02:15
    Track
    8
    Title
    I. Flower Drum Song from Feng Yang
    Duration
    02:15
    Composer
    Huang Ruo
    Ensemble
    Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Liang Zhang
  9. 9 II. Love Song from Kang Ding 03:53
    Track
    9
    Title
    II. Love Song from Kang Ding
    Duration
    03:53
    Composer
    Huang Ruo
    Ensemble
    Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Liang Zhang
  10. 10 III. Little Blue Flower 05:54
    Track
    10
    Title
    III. Little Blue Flower
    Duration
    05:54
    Composer
    Huang Ruo
    Ensemble
    Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Liang Zhang
  11. 11 IV. The Girl from Da Ban City 03:55
    Track
    11
    Title
    IV. The Girl from Da Ban City
    Duration
    03:55
    Composer
    Huang Ruo
    Ensemble
    Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Liang Zhang