LINEAR MOVEMENT

"Motives in linear movement are built in either pentatonic or heptatonic modes, often freely embroidered with upper or lower embellishing tones-generally a minor second if a flowing melodic line is intended (e.g., Soliloquy of a Bhiksuni), or a perfect fourth if a richer sonority is desired (e.g., And the Fallen Petals); sometimes a preceding embellishing tone is repeated, resulting in such intervals as a diminished fifth (e.g., The Willows Are New).

TONALITY

"In spite of the consistent use of and the prominence given to the non-scale tones in linear movement and vertical amplification, a feeling of tonal center practically always exists. A change in tonal plane is generally effected by: (1) using common tones as links between the tonal planes, (2) emphasizing or sustaining a neighbor tone or a chordal tone (unrelated to the scale tones) at the end of a running passage or after a fermata to usher in a new tonal plane. The application of Chinese scalar-modal concepts in my music is principally a means for ordered construction of the basic tonal material. An exceptional example is the Seven Poems of Ta'ng Dynasty, in which the tonal center oscillates rapidly so as to appear ambiguous. This is because the linear motives constantly ascend or descend on a ladder of minor seconds, i.e., the scale tones are displaced by their upper or lower neighbor tones.

VERTICAL AMPLIFICATION

"Chordal combinations are generally the result of vertical amplification of the linear movement. They are of two basic types: (1) the vertical formation is made up of the same tones as the linear motive it supports, with or without their minor ninths or seconds. This type of chord is used almost exclusively in Soliloquy of a Bhiksuni and The Willows Are New. Such chords are like magnified reflections of the linear movement. (2) The vertical formation is made up of perfect fourths or fifths, with or without their minor ninths or seconds. Such chords are like shifting cloud-formations and, when combined with orchestral texture-interweaving, can be easily molded by the composer according to his fancy-as if he were the wind that writes with endless eloquence in drifts of clouds.

RHYTHM

"Rhythm is conceived according to its value to expressiveness and textural interweaving. The general rhythmic idea is additive rather than metric. In other words, the desired duration of tones in the linear movement conditions the rhythmic design, although divisive rhythmic patterns emerge as a result of textural interweaving. In extensive solo passages the rhythmic meter often changes with every bar, as in the middle movement of Landscapes, and also The Willows Are New. The bar-lines and rhythmic groupings are used to facilitate performance. For example, in the 2/8 sections towards the end of All in the Spring Wind the groupings are actually 7-2-2-3-2-3-9 and 5-2-2-2-3-4-2-11.

TEMPO

"The problem of tempo is integrated into my rhythmic concept. The forward motion ebbs and flows-like the stream in a winding course-according to the intensity of expression and the complexity of texture. In All in the Spring Wind, the tempo slackens and tightens according to the formal scheme of the music.