The West Lake

Description

Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass, Piano — My choral work The West Lake is commissioned by and dedicated to Chicago a cappella (Artistic Director Jonathan Miller, Executive Director Matthew Greenberg) in celebration of the ensemble’s tenth anniversary, premiered on Sept. 9, 2003 in Chicago.xa0 The text of The West Lake is an ancient Chinesexa0 poem written by Su Dong-po (1036-1101) in 1073 (Song Dynasty), sung in Chinese.—Chen YiThe brimming waves delight the eye on sunny days;The dimming hills give a rare view in rainy haze.The West Lake looks like the fair lady at her bestWhether she is richly adorned or plainly dressed.xa0“Chen is deft at molding Chinese and European elements into a vivid, compelling soundscape…the overall feel was awe at nature’s beauty: it’s a wondrous miniature…” —Ted Shen, Chicago Tribune, September 11, 2003“She treats voices like orchestral instruments and this yields wonderful results. At times the voices sound like strings, later like brass, and most strikingly, something like bells, putting you in mind of ripples created by small stones dropped in clear water.”xa0 —M.L. Rantala, Hyde Park Herald, September 17, 2003