YIN—An Unlimited Passage

Taipei Chamber Singers: A 2020 Journey Through Poetry

“YIN”: Singing the Human Voice

A Vision Without Limits

Civilization is recorded and preserved through poetry and song, giving later generations the means to understand themselves, shape their identity, and carry the past into the future. In the “Airs of the States” (十五國風) of the Classic of Poetry, we glimpse folk songs gathered across the land three thousand years ago: people sang as the spirit moved them, expressing profound moments of daily life in verse and longing for something beautiful. In the same era, the Song of Songs and the Book of Job in the Bible reveal similar emotions. The Song of Songs draws on everyday surroundings, showing artistic vitality in scenes of herding cattle and sheep, gathering, fishing, and hunting, while the great wisdom recorded in poetic language by Moses in the Book of Job is equally captivating; both look toward a broader joy. To this day, poetry remains an essential way of recording civilization: through folk songs we can journey in spirit to the grasslands of Mongolia, and our human emotions and the life around us can be translated into the poems “The Sleepwalker” (夢遊女) by 陳黎 and “Tongue-Twisting Poem” (咬舌詩) by 向陽, by turns pure or romantic, playful or satirical, thought-provoking and captivating.

Poetry is inseparable from music. Under the leadership of Artistic Director and Conductor Yun-Hung Chen, Taipei Chamber Singers launched the Music Unlimited project in 2006, collaborating with Chinese-speaking composers around the world. It has premiered nearly fifty new commissioned works and three theatrical productions, exploring the limitless possibilities of the human voice: chanting, recitation, onomatopoeia, and even partnership with electronic music, revealing an astonishing diversity in choral music.

It is a joy to see Taipei Chamber Singers, soon to celebrate its thirtieth anniversary, commission five outstanding composers from Hong Kong, Taipei, Shanghai, and Beijing (Tsang Yip Fat Richard, Hwang Long Pan, 賴德和, Shen Ye, and Wenchen Qin) to write works tailored to the choir, gathered in this album, “YIN.” It showcases the rich harvest of the choir’s many years of cultivating contemporary choral music, as well as the abundant soft power of Taiwan’s performing arts groups. May we together discover more beauty through poetry and song.

— 朱宗慶, Chair, National Performing Arts Center

Collaborators

Conductor / Yun-Hung Chen

Performers / Taipei Chamber Singers

Piano / Nai-Chia Wang

Double Bass / Mei-Chun Chen

Percussion / 余沁芸, 段宇謙, Shiou-Wen Huang, Ching-Yuan Huang

Sponsors / National Culture and Arts Foundation, Department of Cultural Affairs, Taipei City Government