Hope Lee was born in Taiwan in 1953 and immigrated to Canada in 1967. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Toronto before going on to McGill University to study piano and composition. Further studies in composition took her to the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg, in Breisgau, Germany, the Darmstadt Ferienkurse für Neue Musik (Germany) and the Durham Oriental Music Festival in England. Among her composition teachers were Bengt Hambraeus, Brian Cherney, and Klaus Huber. Between 1987 and 1990 Lee studied Chinese traditional music and poetry, as well as computer music, in Berkeley, California. Lee has composed music for various combinations of instruments, almost exclusively for chamber ensembles. Many have been performed at international music festivals and have won major awards. She has also been engaged as a visiting or guest composer at festivals and universities in Switzerland, Germany, China and Canada.

Programme Note, Voices in Time Cycle

Since 1979, I have been studying Chinese music, medieval and classical poetry, in particular the ideology, philosophy and notation of qin (Chinese 7-string zither) music. The knowledge absorbed and material collected have integrated and become an important part of my creative voice and to date, seven pieces have been completed, each representing a particular time in Chinese history which in turn, reflects our own existence. Here is a summary of the complete cycle:

In the Beginning was the End (1989)
accordion, harpsichord
300 -2255 B.C.

Hsieh Lu Hsing (1991)
guzheng, di/shao, er hu
2205 -770 B.C.

entends, entends le passé qui marche... (1992)
piano, soundfiles
221 B.C. - 220 A.D.

Tangram (1992)
bass clarinet, harpsichord, soundfiles
221 - 265 A.D.

Voices in Time (1992-94)
large ensemble, soundfiles, electronics
618 - 907 A.D.

Fei Yang (2001)
string quartet, accordion
960 - 1279 A.D.

arrow of being, arrow of becoming (1997)
string quartet
1271 - 1368 A.D.

Parting at Yang Kuan (2004)
er hu, guzheng, marimba
1368 - 1644 A.D.

Four Winds from Heaven (2005)
women's choir
1644 - 1911A.D.

Secret of the Seven Stars (2006-)
soprano, sound files and 8-channel speakers
Present

and the end is the beginning (2007- )
choirs, guqin, orchestra
Future

All the compositions in the cycle seek for a balance between elements of continuity and elements of changes. Musical material, form, and compositional technique are the result of this concern. Many works have incorporated Chinese poetry or qin music written at the time; in some, the intonation of a classical poem is transcribed as melodic line or qin music as melodic motives and in others, the rhythmic material is based on the rhythm of selected poems or qin music of the period.

Credits: Hope Lee
Creator: Hope Lee
Subject: Voice in Time Cycle
Date Created: 2006

Interview, Hope Lee’s Cultural Influences: Taiwan to Canada

“There are four main elements of influence in my music: language (literature, poetry, ideogram), philosophy, history, and guqin music (its notation, practice, ideology, tuning, and melody). What I try to capture is the essence of the spirit of Chinese culture, which is different from applying an existing musical language, whether it is Chinese traditional music, tonal or 12-tone music.” – H.L.

Hope Lee describes herself as a Canadian composer of Chinese origin. Her compositional training took place mainly in Canada and the performers for whom she writes are predominantly Canadian. However, since 1979 she has studied Chinese music, medieval and classical poetry, in particular the ideology, philosophy and notation of qin (Chinese 7-string zither) music. This dedicated study of her cultural tradition inspired Lee to compose a large-scale cycle of works, Voices in Time, representing the history of China from 3000 BC to the present, with a final movement entitled and the end is the beginning – a movement representing the possibilities of the future.

Although her training in composition took place in the West, Lee’s inspiration for composition often comes from some aspect of her Chinese cultural heritage. While she generally maintains the structural outline of western styles, melodies and harmonic language frequently are derived from Chinese sources. “It’s crucial for me to keep a composer’s integrity to truly ‘create’,” Lee writes, “to express my own ideas, from a personal musical language, explore new territory. I compose to stay in touch with my inner being and I love the freedom of letting imagination soar.”

Credits: Dr. Mary Ingraham
Creator: Dr. Mary Ingraham
Subject: Hope Lee | Voices in Time
Date Created: 2007

Photograph, 1000 Curves Performance

A photograph from a performance of Hope Lee's 1000 Curves.

Credits: Wang Liang-yin
Creator: Wang Liang-yin
Subject: 1000 Curves | Dancers
Date Created: 2001-08-26

Calligraphy, Fei Yang

This calligraphy is from the score to Fei Yang, a work in Hope Lee's Voices in Time Cycle.

The large, central ideogram means "wind," and the smaller, surrounding ideograms are poetry excerpts from various times in Chinese history. Each excerpt contains the central "wind" ideogram.

Credits: Rosalind Lee
Creator: Rosalind Lee
Subject: Chinese Characters | Ideogram | Chinese History

• Magazine Article, Hope Lee (PDF 1690 KB)
  

  In this bilingual article by Michael Schulman for Canadian Composer from March 1988, the author presents composer Hope Lee as a pioneer forging new paths in the presentation of musical works. Schulman describes the composer’s creative process as collaborative and communicative, involving many cultures and multi-media. Extensive quotations from Lee describe three distinct aspects of her compositional style: one involving her personal desires to express herself; second, her musical approach to sound that has organic roots; and thirdly, a social awareness that allows her to reflect her environment and awaken others to the circumstances of their lives. Schulman incorporates biographical details of Lee’s career that lead up to an explanation for her interest in Chinese culture, particularly traditional instruments and poetry. Compositions discussed in the article include: In a Mirror of Light (from Lumina), Jia Yuan, Nabripamo, Melboac, Konductus, and Voices in Time. Two recent photographs of the composer are included.

  
  Credits: Schulman, Michael. Hope Lee; Canadian Composer, March 1988.
  Creator: Michael Schulman
  Subject: Hope Lee | Michael Schulman
  Date Created: 1988-03
• Review, Multimedia Masterpiece (PDF 1272 KB)
  

  Composer Allan Gordon Bell wrote this performance review for the Winter 2002 issue of musicworks following the premiere of the multi-media piece 1000 Curves in Taipei, Taiwan in 2001. Bell refers to 1000 Curves as a ‘masterpiece’ that “only artists with full command of their technique…could create.” A work that explores the themes of transformation, reality and dreaming in a Chinese legend “How Wang-fu was Saved,” Bell comments on the contributions to 1000 Curves of composers Hope Lee and David Eagle, choreographer Luo Man-fei, painter by Paresh Athparia, and lighting designer Cao An-hui. Performed in this premiere by members of Toronto’s Ensemble Resonance, Bell concludes that this is a work of the ‘highest artistic achievement.’

  
  Credits: Bell, Allan. Multimedia Masterpiece; musicworks #82, 2002.
  Creator: Allan Bell
  Subject: 1000 Curves | Hope Lee | David Eagle | Luo Man-fei
  Date Created: 2002