related works

Swing Low : for soprano saxophone and piano / Donald Yu

Genre: Chamber music
Subgenre: Saxophone and keyboard instrument
Scoring: s-sax pf

Fix-us : for ensemble, 1997 / Martijn Padding

Genre: Chamber music
Subgenre: Mixed ensemble (2-12 players)
Scoring: sax-s perc el.g synth vc cb

Tandem : for basset-horn (clarinet/bass clarinet), marimba and percussion, 2002 / Roderik de Man

Genre: Chamber music
Subgenre: Mixed ensemble (2-12 players)
Scoring: bh(cl/cl-b) perc mar

Concertino : opus 50, dwarsfluit, accordeon-ensemble / Jan Masséus

Genre: Chamber music
Subgenre: Mixed ensemble (2-12 players)
Scoring: 5acc-group fl-solo

composition

The Great Wall 長城 : for clarinet, bassoon and piano / Man-Ching Yu Donald

Author(s):
Yu, Donald (Composer)
Description:
The music is inspired by the modern Chinese painting The Great Wall by Zhang Guanghai. It opens with broad, low-register, impressionistic gestures that embody the spirit of the Great Wall - profound in history and vast in its physical presence. Soon, the instrumental layers juxtapose contrapuntally, emphasizing the lower register and generating a deep yet colorful tonal palette that reflects the dark, strong lines of the painting. As the piece progresses, all instruments gradually build toward a climax in the central section, where the two woodwind instruments and the piano ascend to their higher registral areas, symbolizing the bright lines depicted in the artwork. Towards the end, the music fades away in a quiet and mysterious manner, echoing the gestures introduced at the beginning. Overall, the composition characteristically fuses Chinese colors with post-tonal modern languages, directly representing the vibrant lines and dynamic gestures found in the painting.