Old and Yu: The clarinet music of Julian Yu, Volume 2

Old and Yu presents the lighter side of Julian Yu. It is a series of catchy short pieces composed for clarinet and string quartet. We have the opportunity to witness a master at play, blissfully exploring and experimenting, weaving an amazing array of musical threads and demonstrating an incredible depth of scholarship and research, all in the name of beauty, fun and love of life.

The album begins with a suite of six Chinese folksongs arranged for clarinet and string quartet. The rich tradition of Chinese folksong represents the “Old” in the album’s title, and this melodic material is woven into the texture of many of the works on the CD. In the folksong suite Julian has given the Chinese melodies a new set of clothes in the form of a quintet of modern, Western instruments. The original melodies are presented with no modifications, variations, developments or modulations whatsoever so the listener can experience the sheer beauty of the melodies.

As we progress though the works on the album this melodic material is treated with astonishing imagination and creativity. In Yu’s hands the boundaries between East and West really can dissolve resulting in a whole brimming with a mischievous humour and at the same time a profound understanding of the range and depth of human emotional expression.

Clarinettist Robert Schubert is joined by a string quartet in most of the pieces. The final four-movement work, Mozartiana, features Trio Varie (clarinet, cello and piano).

(The first volume in this series of the clarinet music of Julian Yu, "China Wind", demonstrated the composer’s mastery of the language of 20th century Western art music and hinted at the path of East-West hybridisation that he was beginning to develop. The music was profound and mostly serious.)

A video of Trio Varie performing excerpts from "Mozartiana" can be seen here:

https://youtu.be/FoNsi1cLz5E