MIXTURES，pour quintette à vent（2014）

I composed Mixtures between autumn 2013 and January 2014 on the basis of a commission from Ensemble Mixt. The work consists of two movements，the first entitled Mixtures and the second Passacaille. Having accepted this commission I took a close look at the personality of each member of the ensemble and set about composing a work that would bring forth the individuality of each player and of the ensemble as a whole. The first movement features various fragmentary gestures. Each part demands considerable virtuosity within the context of the high level of cohesion required of the ensemble itself. The movement incorporates complex combinations of numerous motifs，all of which are，however，generated from a single central note or pivot. I composed the music with clockwork precision but with the aim of creating something that would emerge as an interlinked object when seen from a slight distance.
The second movement differs from the first as regards the mode of ensemble performance. It consists of a chorale theme followed by ten variations and a coda，and requires the performers to add colouring to the different harmonies. Five of the variations feature solos for each of the five instruments backed by the other members of the ensemble，conveying the impression of mini-concertos in their own right. The chorale is quoted from the start of the second movement of my piano piece Blue in Green / Green in Blue and was inspired by the chorale theme that appears in the last movement of Nielsen’s Wind Quintet，which I happened to hear in a performance by the Ensemble Wien-Berlin while I was working on the piece. This gave me the idea of composing a passacaglia based on a chorale.
Although the two movements present a stark contrast，I strove to imbue the work as a whole with an overriding sense of consistency.