Longing (1999)

想念

for Alto and Chamber Orchestra

Text by Esther Fan

Duration 10 minutes

Performance

November 15th, 1999  Juilliard Composers’ Concert, Paul Recital Hall.

1. Guang Yang, alto soloist; Sarah Ioannides, conductor
   

Program Notes

This piece was written for Ms. Esther Fan, a wonderful alto and the lyricist of this song.

While writing the piece, I tried to involve myself in the state of the text, instead of paying too much attention to the compositional technique. I created the “longing” atmosphere in the very beginning by combining the sounds of bass clarinet and tang drum (a traditional Chinese instrument producing mysterious sounds of ancient China.) There is a big change in the end of the piece, which brings in color and hope of life.

Text (in Chinese)

想念

我將想念所在深沈的夜裡

每晚入睡前

悄悄開鎖

讓想念陪我入睡

我將想念存在夢裡

一點一滴都存進去

於是每一個睡夢中我可以盡情的想念

想念即使在無眠的夜裡

也有事可做   有天空可以翱翔

想念雖使生命淒美卻塗上色彩

不再單調  灰暗  了無希望

Text Translation in English by Sarana Chou

Longing

I seal longing in dark nights

Each twilight, secretly unseal it

Let longing be a companion to my sleep

I store longing in dreams

Every bit of it

So I could long endlessly in each dream

Even in my sleepless nights

Longing has the sky as the playground

Though longing is lamentable but brings color to life

It dispels loneliness, darkness, and hopelessness

Audio