AS IN A DREAM: TWO SONGS
Chen Yi
About this work:
As in a Dream (1988/1994/2010),
Chen Yi,
Two songs for soprano, pipa and zheng, sung in Chinese, the words of the songs come from two poems by a famous poetess Li Qing-zhao of the Song Dynasty (960-1279). The reciting speech and lingering charm of the Chinese traditional opera are absorbed as nourishment so as to transmit the sentimental feelings of remembering the happy past times and treasuring flowers and spring scenery, leaving a lasting impression after the ending of the pieces. The piece was originally written for soprano, violin and cello, and premiered by Inoue Chamber Ensemble at Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall in New York in 1988, and dedicated to soprano Ms. Rao Lan, who invited and inspired the composer to write the piece. The trio has been adapted again for soprano and zheng, and premiered by Feinan Wang (voice) and Yu-chen Wang (zheng) at the UMKC Conservatory Musica Nova concert on 11/29/2010.
"AS IN A DREAM",
(I)
I remember many times
We were in the sunset
At the pavilion by the rivulet,
Got drunk and lost our way back.
Returned by boat after thoroughly enjoying ourselves,
By mistake we went into the recesses of the clusters of lotus.
Paddled by bending to the oars,
Roused the gulls and egrets to flight
From the sand bars.
(II)
Last night fine rain, gusts of wind,
Deep sleep could not dissolve the leftover wine.
I asked the person who was rolling up my curtains,
The answer was: "The begonias are still the same."
"Don't you know? Don't you know it is time
For the green to flourish and the red to wither?"
Version: Soprano, violin and cello, or, Soprano, pipa and zheng, or, Soprano and zheng, sung in Chinese
Year composed: 1988
Duration: 00:07:00
Ensemble type: Voice, Solo or With Chamber or Jazz Ensemble:Voice with Chamber/Jazz Ensemble, 2-5 Players
Instrumentation: 1 Violin, 1 Cello, 1 Soprano
Instrumentation notes: S, vln, vc