Trade Winds
(2019) | 10 minutes
Commissioned by Chanticleer
SCORING SATB chorus a cappella
PREMIERE 19 August 2019, at Stiftskirche Oberkaufungen, Kaufungen, Germany, by Chanticleer
Listen
I. Trade Winds
II. Fortuitousness
III. Strange how we can walk (in L.A.)
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About
Trade Winds is a song cycle about traveling, set to three poems by poets from three different continents: “Trade Winds” by John Masefield (English, 1878–1967), “Fortuitousness” by Xu Zhimo (Chinese, 1897–1931), and “Strange how we can walk” by Seth Michelson (American, born 1978). The piece finds common ground in these poems, forming an overarching theme of travel and discovering new love. I see it as a cycle of warmth and elegance—a musical reflection for the frequent traveler. ©Zhou Tian
Trade Winds was commissioned by Chanticleer, funded in honor of William Fred Scott by Scott Beth and Keith Jantzen. Chanticleer premiered this 10-minute work during their European tour in the summer of 2019.
Text
Trade Winds
John Masefield (1878-1967)
IN the harbor, in the island, in the Spanish Seas,
Are the tiny white houses and the orange trees,
And day-long, night-long, the cool and pleasant breeze
Of the steady Trade Winds blowing.
There is the red wine, the nutty Spanish ale,
The shuffle of the dancers, the old salt’s tale,
The squeaking fiddle, and the soughing in the sail
Of the steady Trade Winds blowing.
And o’ nights there’s fire-flies and the yellow moon,
And in the ghostly palm-trees the sleepy tune
Of the quiet voice calling me, the long low croon
Of the steady Trade Winds blowing.
Fortuitousness
Zhimo Xu (1897-1931)
Being a cloud in the sky
On your heart lake I cast my figure.
You don’t have to wonder.
Nor should you cheer—
In an instant I will disappear.
On the dark sea we encounter
In different directions of our own we steer.
It’s nice for you to remember.
But you’d better forget the luster
That we’ve been devoted to each other.
Strange how we can walk (in L.A.)
Seth Michelson (1978-)
into new light each morning, same
city, same sidewalk, but somehow
this daybreak: downtown L.A., late May,
and you’re walking alone,
a white flame, the birds singing
as they mull yesterday’s news:
aortic stenosis; Your heart, Sir, it’s
leaking.
———————————
Isolated syllables (no specific meanings) in the score: Lo, Sai, Woo, Ya, etc., and Solfège names
Reviews
“Chanticleer continues to inspire the creation of new music. Zhou Tian’s ‘Trade Winds,’ premiered by Chanticleer in Germany in August 2019, exemplifies this. One of the serendipities of having to revise the program was the addition of this cycle, about which Zhou has written: ‘Trade Winds is a song cycle about traveling. It was set to three poems from three poets of three different continents: ‘Trade Winds’ by John Masefield (English, 1878-1967), ‘Fortuitousness’ by Zhimo Xu (Chinese, 1897-1931), and ‘Strange how we can walk’ by Seth Michelson (American, born 1978). The piece finds common ground in the poems, and forms an overarching concept of travel and finding new love. I see it as a cycle of warmth and chicness – a little frequent traveler’s musical reflection.’
This is superb choral writing for any chorus good enough to learn it; it was, of course, sung flawlessly by the ‘eight who persevered.’ Its constantly-shifting tonal center, augmented by a bit of acting, reveals a harmonic palette not unlike a 21st-century Neo-Impressionist painting’s colors. This is a composition that makes me want to hear more from Zhou.”
—Cultural Voice of North Carolina