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Composer: Sheng, Bright

The Song and Dance of Tears

Conductor: Sheng, Bright

Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

Chen, Sa

Lee, Trey Chui-yee

Tong, Wu

Hui, Li

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Cello: Lee, Trey Chui-yee

Piano: Chen, Sa

Pipa: Hui, Li

Sheng: Tong, Wu

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Year of Production: May 2013

Playing Time: 00:01:00

Catalogue Number: NVF0101

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In The Song and Dance of Tears, the composer did not attempt to
recreate the scenes and music he heard during a two month trip in the ancient Silk Road within the contemporary Chinese border. Rather, the work serves as an evocation of the impressions and emotions that stayed with him deeply.

The result was both fascinating and eye-opening. Not only was he profoundly touched by the beautiful music from the region, he also realized how significantly the musics of different ethnic groups have been inspiring and infiltrating each other for thousands of years. And just as there is no pure blood in any race, there is no true nationalistic music either. Bartok, speaking of Slavic folk music, believed that the most interesting music was the music from the regions bordering more than one ethnicity. And that can certainly be said of all the musical styles he encountered during the trip. However, a border line has never truly existed on the Silk Road. This is true fusion in its finest sense.

The tune he constructed for the last section of the work, Tears, was based on materials of several folk songs he heard during the trip. One of them was titled Tears, in which an old man laments his lost youth.