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

“Home is a distant longing, a memory like drifting clouds, a thread of affection that cannot be cut. And homesickness — homesickness is a rhythm in silence, a meditation amid the clamor, the love deep within my heart.” — Wei Bin Chen

Nostalgia is the driving force behind Wei Bin Chen’s work. As the composer himself puts it, he “writes 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 attempts to read the nostalgia of every Taiwanese person: in these songs one can see the passing of sun and moon and the turning of the seasons, hear flowers bloom and fall and winds rise and clouds scatter, and reflect on glorious chapters of Taiwan’s history, its majestic natural scenery, its lively festivals, and the simple, sincere feelings of its people.

In this 2018 concert, the Taipei Chamber Singers will perform many of the classic works Wei Bin Chen has written over the years. With the most sincere and pure of voices, TCS will fully convey the love and devotion that a composer living far from home holds for his native land, and through this occasion hopes to pass on contemporary original Taiwanese-language choral music and lay deeper roots for the development of Taiwan’s own choral tradition.