Ode to Confucius is a long-duration work for organ inspired by 雅乐 (yayue), the tradition of ritual court music whose origins reach back to the time of Confucius. It draws on “Nanshan Youtai” (南山有台), a poem from the Shijing (Book of Odes) that invokes blessing, constancy, and enduring virtue. Through slowly unfolding sonorities and extended cycles of repetition, the work creates a space for resonance, sustained attention, and ritual time.

First performance

8 August 2026
Mainly Slow Organ Music: Music of Bin David Li
Huw Morgan
St John on the Wall, Bristol, UK

Ode to Confucius

南山有台

score excerpt:

for organ

(2021, 2026)