Memories of Taiwan Chamber Music - Digital Sheet Music

SKU: A0.1676364

This enjoyable piece incorporates Taiwanese songs in various ways, sometimes combining them with American influences. Each of the four movements is based on a different Taiwanese melody, but also incorporates elements that aren’t part of Taiwanese folk music. The four movements are as follows:

Thinking (思念)
This movements is based on the melody of Si Xiang Qi (思想起), which describe a person’s memories of where they grew up and the people there. It creates a quiet atmosphere of “thinking”, or reminiscing on the piano with the cello playing phrases that borrow freely borrow from the song’s melody.

Pig’s Foot (豬腳)
The playful song Dianzi Jiao (點仔膠) is about eating Taiwanese-style pork knuckles to drive away bad luck. The potential bad luck was caused by kids getting tar stuck on their feet. The song’s short melody is played several times in this movement while adding meter, rhythm and texture changes. At times, American blues (or even rhythm and blues) influence the music so that it becomes something quite different from the original song.

Memory in the Breeze (微風裡的回憶)
The lyrics of Wang Chun Feng (望春風) are about a young maiden dreaming of love, but too shy to express it. An important image is a springtime breeze. In this movement, that image is combined with the idea of a lone elderly person looking back on the innocent days of youth. Though the song’s melody isn’t heard in its entirety, phrases of the song drift through the piece, carried by the spring breeze that inspired the wistful reminiscing.

Dark Blue Clouds (深藍的雲)
Ti Oh-Oh (天黑黑) is a well-known song in Taiwan whose title literally means “Black Sky” or “Dark Clouds”. It is an upbeat song that is as much about relations between a husband and wife as it is about the weather. This movement has a syncopated accompaniment with some chords and musical gestures inspired by American blues.