It’s been another fun year! As the last few hours of 2010 slip by, I can’t help but look back and enjoy all that’s happened.
I haven’t written too many pieces this year, but for what I’ve done I really liked. HK Young People’s Chorus’ commission of “Salmo 150” was a really fun project in which I could exercise those Renaissance counterpoint muscles, while I get to go wild on “Song for Nobody” for Ambrosia Ensemble. (more…)
If you are in Hong Kong this weekend and if you are in the mood for choral music, please go to the concert of Hong Kong Young People’s Chorus! I’m honored that among many master pieces such as Duruflé’s Requiem, my setting of Salmo 150 (Psalm 150 in Spanish) will be premiered. While the text is taken from the “Reina-Valera Antigua” translation from the 16th century, I draw much influence from the Spanish Renaissance masters as well. The result is a piece that’s highly contrapuntal, imitative, and full of text painting.
HKYPC presents Duruflé’s Requiem
8/14 (Saturday) 6pm
Li Hall, St. John Cathedral, Central, HK
If you do make it to the concert, please let me know what you think!
Do you have a favorite language to sing in, or compose for?
I recently received a commission from a good friend to write a short sacred piece. Now that we have finally settled on Psalm 150–who doesn’t love the exciting praises with every instrument?–I set off right away to study the text in ye olde trusty King James Version. The more I read it though, the less I feel connected with it artistically.
Here it is in KJV:
1Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.
2Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.
3Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.
4Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
5Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.
6Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
Not bad, right? (more…)
It’s been a wild month since I came back to the US!
I really should have studied some jazz harmonization and voice leading. Oh well, there’s always time for experimentation, right?
A slightly different topic–but bearing just as much to this title–Hong Kong lately has been lacking on “harmony”, mainly by the issue on building the China Railway High-spped (CRH). As part of China’s new policy to step up to the rest of the developed world, there’s a fierce plan to build a high-speed rail system all over the country. While much of the construction has already started, HK’s plan has stalled at this point in the Legislative Council on whether to approve the astronomic HK$6,630,000,000 (approx. US$8,500,000,000) budget.
The HK High-speed rail is utterly ridiculous. Despite the huge budget, the construction proposal has not been complete, transparent to the public, nor is it honest. There are still many important questions left unanswered. AND, according to the proposal, a wide area of HK along the rail will be disturbed and damaged, only to benefit one area that isn’t even easily accessible.
I can go on and on and on about this… But given it’s late now, and I’d rather get some composing done tomorrow before going to the protest, below you’ll find some articles (mostly in Chinese, sorry) about this whole deal. The protest will be in Central, outside the Legislative Council, starting around 2pm and will run till whenever the council meeting ends. Third of a series of “protest carnivals”, you will find this to be one of the most creative–and dare I say fun?–protest you’ll ever go to. There are educational presentations about local culture, free/cheap home-made food, games, storytelling, etc.
“Harmony” has become the shield behind which the HK or Chinese government ducks and toss out one sneaky grenade after another. People who’d like to protest are immediately tagged as victims of media, or people who have no jobs and are angry at everything. Protesters, even the peaceful ones, are accused of not wanting the society to move on. Citizens, I implore you, think for yourselves! In a city where the poor becomes poorer, where every piece of land is practically given out to big companies only to turn into “deluxe condos” that most citizens cannot afford, where freedom is slipping away, how can anyone stay silent, and take in that LSD called “Harmony”? Society needs to move on, but not in a way where everything old/semi-old/traditional is blundered and bulldozed, to make way for new but sterilized shopping malls where we can mindlessly spend more money. Harmony is when we can all be treated equally, when every citizen enjoy at least adequate amount and quality of dwelling space, when no one needs to live hand-to-mouth, day-to-day.
My HK friends, if you are joining tomorrow, please give me a call (you can get my phone # on my Facebook Profile page)!
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