Programme Note

Commissioned by the Curtis Institute of Music, Three Chinese Songs touch on the ephemeral – of wind, wisp of cloud and the color of a bird. Sung in Chinese, Wind is a wordless vocalise rising and falling, accompanied relentlessly by “bell-like” piano chords. Yellow Bird is a lively and raucous flash of color, while Transience is sung a cappella in the first part of sorrow, with lightly flowing runs for the second part of recollection of past happiness.
©Zhou Tian

Text

I. Wind
《風》
(vocalise)

II. Yellow Bird
Text by Zhimo Xu (selection)
《黃鸝》 (節選）【徐志摩】

一掠顏色飛上了樹。
「看，一只黃鸝！」有人說。
翹著尾尖，它不作聲，
艷異照亮了濃密──
像是春光，火焰，像是熱情。

A spectrum of color springs into a tree,
“Look, a yellow bird!” someone exclaims.
Proudly raising its tail, silent,
Its foreign beauty illuminates the foliage—
As a ray of spring, a blaze, as passion.

III. Transience
Text by Zhimo Xu
《偶然》【徐志摩】

我是天空裡的一片雲,
偶爾投影在你的波心──
你不必訝異,
更無須歡喜──
在轉瞬間消滅了蹤影.
你我相逢在黑夜的海上,
你有你的,我有我的,方向;
你記得也好,
最好你忘掉,
在這交會時互放的光亮!

I am a wisp of cloud in the sky,
By chance, casting a shadow upon your heart—
Don’t be startled,
Even less so, hopeful—
For it will move on in an instant.
On this dark night, you and I met on the sea,
You with your, I with my own, direction;
While you may remember,
It’s better to forget,
The luminous moment we shared！

Translated by Meng-Chieh Liu and Zhou Tian