Psychological typologies and musical semantics in the Iris devoilée [Iris Unveiled] concerted suite by Qigang Chen

Abstract

The Concerted Suite Iris devoilée, for grand orchestra, three female voices and three traditional instruments, is one of the reference musical creations of the Chinese composer Qigang Chen, an illustrious student of Olivier Messiaen in Paris and one of the most important exponents of the extra-contemporary european. “Iris’ scarf” – an allegorical nickname for the rainbow - slips little by little from the mysterious face of one and the same woman (imaginary character or poetic pseudonym circulated in the 17th-18th centuries), revealing the fullness of the psychological diversity induced of the nine moods, nine facets of femininity (1. Ingenious, 2. Chaste, 3. Libertine, 4. Sensitive, 5. Tender, 6. Jealous, 7. Melancholic, 8.Hysterical and 9. Voluptuous) captured in an exceptional range of expressions andsound nuances. From this perspective, the present study proposes, on the one hand, theidentification of the compositional means (of writing styles) through which QigangChen manages to achieve the ideal synthesis between the musical tradition of WesternEurope and the multi-millenary oriental musical tradition of his country of origin(China), and, on the other hand, the exploration of musical semantics (of thispolychromatic mosaic of impressions, temperaments, attitudes, etc.) within thestructurality and timbrality of sound discourse.