Siren Song
for large ensemble
(2008)
- Duration 7'
- Instrumentation flute, clarinet, horn, trumpet, percussion, harp, piano, violin, viola, cello
- Premiere Premiered by the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), April 5, 2008, Merkin Hall, New York.
Excerpt from a performance by the Ensemble Intercontemporain
Program Notes
This piece can be thought of as a short dramatic opera. It takes its influence from the transliteration of an ancient dialect of Xi’an, my hometown, which is incredibly powerful and naturally musical with huge leaps and glissando-like tones when spoken/sung. I was particularly fond of a dry, panicking, yet seductive old male voice I heard from one story-teller sung in this ancient dialect. It was in the back of my head when I was composing this piece. In the story, an old eunuch buys a young wife because he is drawn to the beauty of her face and wants to eventually have her buried with him when he dies. The moment he first sees her, we hear his monologue, sung while imitating the eunuch’s high, shrill voice: “What an exquisite beauty standing in front of me. With her oval peach flower-colored face, I have to tell myself, this could only be heaven or hell.”
– Wang Lu
