Little Feng Huang

Year Composed:	2020
Instrumentation:	fl, hp
Duration	11 minutes

I	Nyx
II	Winter is a World of White
III	Elegy
IV	Phoenix Rising

Sheet Music

Score & parts available for rental here.

Program Notes

In 2020, I fulfilled a long-standing resolution: to revisit my literary roots and indulge in a bit of therapeutic creative writing. To that end, wrote a set of short stories on the subject of pets (both real and imaginary), the unsung members of our families who made 2020 a more bearable year than it otherwise would have been.

Little Feng Huang is the first musical work of mine to be fully inspired by my own fiction. I felt that the combination of flute and harp -- delicate and wondrous -- was an ideal vehicle for this particular story, which follows a parrot (Nyx) who is adopted by a Chinese-Greek couple named Arthur and Maria. Facing difficulties in conceiving, the couple raises Nyx lovingly, training her to fetch food from the nearby Chinese restaurant Little Feng Huang (which means Little Phoenix.) At the story's conclusion, as Arthur and Maria receive the unexpected news of Maria's pregnancy with elation, Nyx -- who has been ill -- flies out the window and is consumed by flames, transforming into the phoenix of both Chinese and Greek myth, and bringing with it the promise of new life.

The work is cast in four movements. The first movement, "Nyx," opens with an impressionistic flourish like the slow unfurling of wings; its sense of nocturnal mystery is inspired by the Greek goddess of the night, whom Nyx is named after because of the dark hue of her feathers. Whimsical, folk-like melodies populate the second movement, "Winter is a World of White," a spirited scherzo in (mostly) 5/8 that reflects Nyx's wide-eyed innocence -- as well as her longing to venture beyond the confines of her home and explore the world 'Outside.' The movement also contains a playful reference to Vivaldi's Four Seasons -- though it is Fall, rather than Winter, that is quoted. The third movement, "Elegy," portrays Nyx's illness in tones of quiet melancholy. In the work's finale ("Phoenix Rising"), the harp provides a shimmering halo of sound -- like the rustling of wind -- above which a long-limbed melody for flute soars. Following a rapturous climax, the movement closes with a denouement in which the work's central theme is heard once more, gentle and hopeful.

Commissions and Awards

Commissioned by the Topaz Duo (Angela Schwarzkopf, harp; Kaili Maimets, flute.

Performances

March 5, 2022 - Topaz Duo. Heliconian Hall, Toronto
July 28, 2022 - Topaz Duo. The Music Garden, Toronto

CD Release