Fallen Petals

落花 

for soprano and orchestra

2018

I. Spring Dawn - by Meng Haoran (689-740)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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.