Uttering Her Own Voices： The Marked Individuality of Chen Yi in Her Music Compositions
　　
　　For recent years， Chen Yi has been one of the most dynamic overseas Chinese composers. Many of her works are frequently performed on music stages around the world， and are widely acclaimed by music critics， musicians， scholars and concert audience. In other words， Chen Yi has attained remarkable achievements and international reputations.
　　What exactly is so special that has brought her such tremendous success and the favour of so many spectators？ In 2001， Chen Yi was granted the Ives Living Award by the American Academy of Arts and Letters， the world＇s highest prize for composers. The Academy decided to present her this award not just because of her wide range of music compositions including operas， but for the most important reason that ″the Jury agrees that in her music， the influences and instrumentation of both Chinese and Western music have been integrated with each other so spontaneously and colourfully.″
　　Chen Yi seems to be more open and flexible in absorbing and employing Eastern and Western musical elements and theories of composition techniques， which reflects in a way the influence of the all-inclusive multicultural America on the composer， and likewise， her mastery of traditional Chinese music and folk music as well as that of the theory and techniques of Western tonal and atonal music. Her music， regardless of how complicated a theory is or how simple a technique is， produces acoustic effects so rich in colours， full of vitality and dynamism. The principle that she adopts is that of the most smooth and natural expressions of her own voices， unlimited by any established theoretical frameworks.
　　Chen Yi＇s presentation of traditions is based on her in-depth studies of musical culture backgrounds. She displays in her compositions her admiration for traditions， but on the other hand， she emphasizes the necessity of breaking through traditions. This is best shown in her works that represent her native language culture - the Chinese culture.
　　Undoubtedly， music， as an abstract art form， is a medium of major cultural information. But for a composer， who is creator of such most abstract art form， it is unavoidable that the issues of modernity， nationality， tradition and individuality frequently intertwine with each other in his compositions in deeply sophisticated ways. As Chen Yi turns to be more mature in composition， she employs the individualized musical language that clearly reflects her musical roots in the Chinese culture and her profound understanding of the contemporary music characterized by fusion of multiculturalism. Perhaps Yo Yo Ma＇s remarks on Chen Yi＇s works could be regarded as an overview of her musical creations： ″Chen Yi＇s music sounds both modern and ancient. She knows the folk music from all over China， and is adept at all the modern techniques. ... The sound that her music makes is both profound and surprising. This is actually the kind of art that everyone expects."
　　
　　
　　The Present Significance of Primitive-Style Music：A Lecture at the Modern Music Festival of the Central Conservatory of Music
　　
　　The primitive-style singing， in the eyes of musicologists， is playing at least three roles： first， carrying on the history so that we rediscover the cultural roots of our nation；second， reiterating the true nature of art， which requires us to seek truth and individuality and reject any technomania or scientism in the fields of arts；and third， favouring the cultural diversity rather than merely one singular voice in the field of each art form.
　　As for ″carrying on the history，″ it also contains our understanding of contemporary cultural status. I personally believe that in the history of our several-thousand-year-old Chinese civilization there existed a break， which some of us recognizes while others don＇t， or some of us think well of while others think little of. To some people， this cultural break is necessary while others take this as a great problem. I personally have strong feeling of its grave consequences.
　　Then I shall speak about the nature of art. When teaching or learning music， many of us take it only as a skill. A singer on stage thinks only about position or breath. This is everything that the teacher has taught， but once you are on stage， he or she would ask you to sing in good voice and with strong emotions， which you have seldom learned in class. We are all dealing with technical issues only. ″Your position is too much in the front. You should put it a bit backward.″ How further backward？ Whether it is 1.5 cm or 1.3 cm？ We even tell them that this is science. Karl Marx said once that true science should always be expressed in mathematics. Singing is supposed to be perceptual but we lose our perception as a result of science. Why？ Because the entire society has helped form the aesthetic value we share， that science is more important and nobler than feeling. But the fact is that in the field of arts， feeling is much nobler than science.
　　The final role is the cultural diversity. There is not much to say about cultural diversity， for if there is only one culture， that is desert. We often talk about the fact of the only ten ″model Beijing operas″ during the so-called ″Cultural Revolution″. But we are now in a totally different age. The Cultural Revolution was an age of restraints while now it is an age of opening up. It would be more horrible if there were only singular culture in an era of opening up.
　　Only by sticking to cultural diversity will we be able to sustain our own national culture and keep it from being drown in the ocean of economic globalization， and will maintain the self-
　　identity and self-labeling of our nation， which provides the very basis for our survival. In this sense， therefore， the so-called primitive-style singing is one of the genes of our national culture， its DNA， or its seed.
　　
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