Back to results

University of Missouri--Kansas City

Qiuci fantasy for full orchestra

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

Qiuci Fantasy is a two-movement work for full orchestra. Its inspiration comes from the Quici people, who lived about 1,400 years ago in the Kuche region of northwest China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region. The Quici people maintained their own particular instrumental ensemble that featured the konghuo (a type of harp), the pipa (a plucked instrument), and several kinds of drums, including jie drum, qi drum, and jilou drum. The Quici people danced accompanied by this instrumental ensemble. The ancient Qiuci music and dance are inherited by today's Uyghur people in Xinjiang, in such art forms as Muqam music. Inspired by Quici music and dance, I composed Qiuci Fantasy to express my feelings and emotions for this ancient Chinese culture. The mode I used in Qiuci Fantasy is one of the six most-frequently used modes in Xinjiang's Muqam music, which includes a characteristic augmented second. The first theme in the second movement includes a quotation from Xinjiang's Uyghur folk song Gulanmuhan. I utilize the unique timbres of various instruments by showing them in expressive, virtuosic and highly ornamented passages in both movements, in such instruments as harp, vibraphone, alto flute, and bassoon. Lots of pizzicatos in strings were used to imitate the pipa performance in Qiuci music.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
D.M.A.
Level thesis:degree_level
Doctoral
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Music (UMKC)
Grantor dc:publisher
University of Missouri--Kansas City
Year dc:date.issued
2012

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Li, Xinyan
Advisor dc:contributor.advisor
  • Chen, Yi, 1953-

Rights

Language dc:language.iso
en_US

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Handle dc:identifier.uri
http://hdl.handle.net/10355/33193
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:mospace.umsystem.edu:10355/33193

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of Missouri - Kansas City
Base URL
mospace.umsystem.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
related terms
citation

Li, Xinyan. Qiuci fantasy for full orchestra. Doctoral thesis, University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10355/33193