My several trips to China and the Far East throughout the years have inspired quite a few of my works and this piece is no exception. It takes as its starting point a series of short imaginary conversations between the five players, each one representing a different mood of some abstract story passed on by word of mouth - only here it is the music that tells the tale. However, the players, as well as playing some very virtuosic music, are also asked to whisper and sometimes shout in Cantonese: ‘Deem ah’? (What’s happening?), ‘Joy geen! (See you again!) and Ting-yat geen! (See you tomorrow!). One player is also asked to play a tiny temple bell.
Hopefully these extra-musical effects will not distract from a tightly knit series of miniatures which are not to be taken too seriously!
Chinese Whispers was commissioned by Fine Arts Brass for their UK Tour in 2005.
The seven sections are:
Hello!
Whisper 1: Frivolous and far-fetched gossip
Whisper 2: Some sombre news
Whisper 3: A lot of hot air
Whisper 4: Sweet Nothings
Whisper 5: Have you heard the latest?
Bye Bye!
John McLeod