Song of the Land: Listening to the Voice of the City

“Song of the Land: Listening to the Voice of the City” (大地之歌－傾聽城市的聲音): Wei Bin Chen writes songs for the city in Taiwanese

“Home is a distant longing, a memory like drifting clouds, a thread of love that can never be cut.

And homesickness—homesickness is a rhythm within silence, a meditation amid the clamor, the love deep in my heart.” — Wei Bin Chen

Nostalgia is the driving force behind Wei Bin Chen’s work. In the composer’s own words, it means “writing music for nostalgia and lyrics for the mother tongue,” and the “Song of the Land” series carries on this spirit. Every song conveys memories of the land, and every lyric is written in Taiwanese. The series sets out to read the nostalgia of every Taiwanese person: in its songs one can see day give way to night and season follow season, hear flowers bloom and fall, winds rise and clouds scatter, and reflect on glorious chapters of Taiwan’s history, its majestic natural landscapes, its lively festivals, and the simple, sincere feelings of the Taiwanese people.

At this 2018 concert, Taipei Chamber Singers will perform many of the classic works Wei Bin Chen has written over the years, using the most sincere and pure voices to present in full the love and longing for the homeland of a composer living far from home. We also hope to take this opportunity to pass on original contemporary Taiwanese-language choral music and to lay deeper roots for the development of local choral music in Taiwan.

Performance Information

Mon 10 September 2018, National Recital Hall

Tue 11 September 2018, National Recital Hall

Program

“Warm Lullaby” (暖暖的搖嬰仔歌), “Tung Blossom Waltz” (桐花圓舞曲), “Moonflower” (月光花), “Half Moon Sinking into the River” (半月沉江), “Labyrinth of Starlight” (星光的迷宮), “Love Song of the Island” (海島戀歌)… (the program differs slightly between the two evenings)…

Performers

Conductor / Yun-Hung Chen

Piano / Nai-Chia Wang

Words and Music / Wei Bin Chen

Performed by / Taipei Chamber Singers