Fallen Petals
落花
for soprano and orchestra
2018
I. Spring Dawn - by Meng Haoran (689-740)
In spring one sleeps, unaware of dawn, Everywhere one hears tweeting birds;
In the night came the sound of wind and rain, Who knows how many flowers fell?
II. Listening to Guqin - by Liu Changqing (714-790)
Clear are the sounds of the guqin,
Silently I hear the bleak notes of Windswept Pines; Even though I adore the tunes of antiquity,
Today they are not often played.
III. Mounting the Youzhou Terrace - by Chen Zi’ang (661-702)
I see no one before me,
I see no one after me;
Thinking of the eternity of heaven and earth, Alone and overwhelmed, my tears fall.
IV. Snow on River - by Liu Zongyuan (773-819)
A thousand peaks: birds have vanquished,
Ten thousand paths: footprints have vanished;
On a solitary boat, in straw cloak and bamboo hat is an old man,
Alone, fishing the cold river snow.