for Soprano, Violin, Clarinet and Piano
Text by Tu Fu (712-770)
English Translation by Wang Jie Edited by Alen Pol Kobryn
2 0 1 1
First Publication: Feb. 2011
Wang Jie Music, ASCAP PO Box 299
New York, NY 10025
Date of printing: Feb 25th 2011
Contact Wang Jie: 212 380 1483 www.wangjiemusic.com
Chinese Original
国破山河在，
城春草木深。
感时花溅泪，
恨别鸟惊心。
烽火连三月，
家书抵万金。
白头搔更短，
浑欲不胜簪。
SPRING ANTICIPATION
Empire Broken Mountains Rivers Remian, City Spring Grass Trees Deep Lament Times Flowers Splash Tears, Distress Separation Birds Startle Heart
Beacon Fires Sustain Three Month, Home Letter Equals Thousands Gold. White Hair Touch Even Short, Chaos Desire Unable Hold A Pin
III, Poetic Translation
A LONGING FOR SPRING
In ruins the empire, mountains and rivers remain
The city in Spring, grass and trees blossom
In silent lament, flowers shed tears
In aching separation, a fluttering bird startles my heart
The beacon fires burn, month after month
A letter from home, worth thousands in gold
White hair, parted, thinner and thinner. So thin it can hardly hold a pin.
Following a hard Winter in NY, I couldn't have found a better time to premiere "A Longing for Spring". The poem is set in Spring time but, just as in the poem, Spring hasn't arrived in my heart
A well-remembered Tang Dynasty poems on the personal impact of war, "A Longing for Spring" (Tu Fu 712-770 A D ) ironically depicts a Spring time setting in which a once-powerful empire is broken and tormented by warfare
The long tradition of Chinese scholarship demands mastery of music, painting and calligraphy So it is no surprise that a Tang poem "sounds" as good as it looks and looks as good as it reads Aware of that tradition, I've taken on the challenge to present the poem in three forms: first, the phonetic sounds of the original poem in Mandarin Chinese highlights the music aspect. Then, the literal translation of each word into English presents how the meaning of the poem is "painted" together Lastly, the English poetic translation delivers a contemporary interpretation What you see on the screen is the supertitle displaying the beautiful calligraphy of each word*
-Wang Jie
May 1st 2011 | Merkin Concert Hall | Continuum
Mary MacKenzie, soprano Moran Katz, clarinet Renée Jolles, violin Cheryl Seltzer, piano
*The Composer has created a slide show which was projected during the premiere It behaves like a supertitle with eye-engaging graphic display
To order this edition & rent parts :
Please email your order to: wangjie@wangjiemusic.com or Call in your order to: 212 380 1483
Commissioned for Continuum with
Tu Fu (712-770 A.D.)
Adagio, q = ca. 52
Adagio, q = ca. 52
• Songs for Mahler in the Absence of Words 17’ Soprano, Cl, Vln & Pno
• Serenade in Isolation 12’ Violin Solo
• Dance for Two 15’ Percussion Solo
• Game for Two 13’ Two Pianos
• Faded Colors 10’ Piano Trio
• Waiting for the Beginning 15’ Fl, Cl, Vln, Vc, Pno&Toy Pno
• The Animal Carnival 15’ Soprano and String Quartet
• In Wind They Cleave 15’ Soprano, Baritone, Piano, Percussion, Violin, Cello
• Music for the Joy of Sextet 5’ Fl, Cl, Vln, Vla, Vc, Perc.
• Concerto for Harpsichord and String Instruments 12’ Harpsichord, 2 Vla, Vc
• The Stranger 2 12’ Fl, Cl, Vln, Vc, Pno
• Five Phases of Spring 15' Fl, Cl, Tpt, Perc, & String Quartet
• I Died for Beauty 11’ Baritone, Vibraphone and Piano
• Three Miniature Etudes for the Joy of Organ Playing 5’ Organ Solo
• Symphony No.1 15’ 3333, 4331, timp, 3perc, pno&cel, hp, str
• From the Other Sky 17’ 2 singers, 1 actor, keyboard soloist and Chamber Orchestra
• Swamp’s Shore 7’ Sopr, 2222,4231, timp, 3perc, pno, hp, sopr, str
• Five Faces of Joy 7’ String Orchestra & Celesta
• Death of Socrates 8’ 3333, 4331, timp, 3perc, pno&cel, hp, str
To Order Music for Purchase & Rent Orchestral Music:
• Email your order to: wangjie@wangjiemusic com or
• Call in your order to: 212-380-1483
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Wang Jie Music PO Box 299 New York, NY 10025 www wangjiemusic com 212.380.1483