Text from THE BOOK OF SONGS (China, 200 B.C.)
For Soprano and String Quartet
Wang Jie Music, ASCAP
209 West 109th St. #5E
New York, NY 10025
Date of printing: Nov. 6th, 2007
Contact Wang Jie: 917-536-7217 www.wangjiemusic.com
WANG JIE THE ANIMAL CAR NIVAL
About the Tex t
∗ TH E B O OK O F S ONG S (Chi na, 200 B. C. )
I, Ai rs o f Wei, Big Ra t
Big r at , bi g ra t,
Do no t go bble o ur millet !
Th ree yea rs we h ave slave d fo r yo u,
Yet yo u take no no ti ce o f us .
At la st we a re go i ng to l eave yo u
An d go to tha t ha p py l an d;
Ha p py l an d , h a p py l an d,
Whe re we sh all h ave o u r pl ace
Big r at , bi g ra t,
Do no t go bble o ur co rn !
Th ree yea rs we h ave slave d fo r yo u,
Yet yo u give u s no cre d it.
At la st we a re go i ng to l eave yo u
An d go to tha t ha p py k in g do m ;
Ha p py K in gdo m , h a p py k ing do m,
Whe re we sh all get o u r d ue
Big r at , bi g ra t,
Do no t e at o u r r ice -sho o ts!
Th ree yea rs we h ave slave d fo r yo u.
Yet yo u di d no t hi ng to re w ar d u s.
At la st we a re go i ng to l eave yo u
An d go to tho se h ap py bo r de rs ;
Ha p py bo r de rs, h a ppy bo r de rs
Whe re no s ad so n gs a re su ng
Unwin,
II, Airs o f Ca o, Ma yfly
Win gs o f the m ayfly –
D ress so b ri gh t a n d n e w
My he a rt is g riev in g;
Co me ba ck to me an d st ay.
Win g-s hea ths o f the m ayfly –
Clo t hes so b rig ht an d g ay
My he a rt is g riev in g;
Co me ba ck to me an d bi de
A m ayfly th at b re aks o u t f ro m its ho le –
He mp clo thes , spo tless a s s no w.
My he a rt is g riev in g;
Co me ba ck to me an d re st .
III, I nterl ude Lulla by
T ext b y Wan g Jie
Oh win d , s pe ak to me!
Ha s h is r iver flo we d beyo n d the sea?
Oh win d , s pe ak to me!
Is he no w whe re o nly yo u ca n go ?
IV, Min or O des, Wild-Ge es e
The wil d- geese a re flyi ng ;
Su k, s u k go t hei r w in gs.
The so l die rs a re o n the m ar ch ;
Pa inf ully th ey s tr u ggle th ro ug h t he w il ds.
In di re ex t rem ity a re the st ro n g men ;
Sa d a re the ir wive s, le ft all alo ne
The wil d- geese a re flyi ng ;
They a re lig hte d in th e mi d dle o f the m ar sh.
The so l die rs a re walli ng a fo rt ;
The h un d re d c u bi ts have all r isen
Tho u gh they st r ug gle so pa in fully ,
At la st they a re saf ely ho use d
The wil d- geese a re flyi ng ;
Do lef ully they c ry the ir dis co n tent .
But t hese we re wis e men
Who u rge d u s in o u r to il ,
An d tho se we re fo o lis h men
Who u rge d u s to make m is ch ief an d re bel .
T HE ANIMAL CA RNIVA L
Progra m Note s by the C omp oser:
These songs are not here to convey my political opinion of my adopted country. They are here to make you angry. They scream from the struggle which echoes from over two thousand years ago. The ancient voice of a grieving spirit in the second poem carves a hole on my heart.
I carefully chose these three poems from THE BOOK OF SONGS, which is a collection of Chinese folk songs dating back to 200 B.C. Big Rat accuses high taxes; Mayfly grieves the loss of a loved one; while Wild-Geese confronts the suffering caused by war. They ring as true today as they did two thousand years ago.
I call this song cycle THE ANIMAL CARNIVA L, to “make mischief and rebel.”
Total Durat io n: c a. 15 m inu tes
THE ANIMAL CARNIVAL
text from THE BOOK OF SONGS (200 B.C. China)
I.
Big Rat
The Book of Songs (China, 200 B.C.)
Lively q = 132 - 138
Dedicated to my dear husband Wang Jie
Soprano
Violin I
Violin II
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Grave q = ca. 54
II. Mayfly
flauntando.
Vln. I Vln. II
III. Wild-Geese
Soprano
Violin I
Violin II
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Wang Jie Music
209 West 109th St #5E New York, NY 10025
www wangjiemusic com
212.380.1483