"Disobedience" For Erhu and Chamber Ensemble
I. The Tyrant
II. The Farmer and the Silkworm Breeder
III. Pick up Thy Brush!
Brett Abigaña, conductor
Sarah Tao He, erhu
Lily Josefsberg, flute, Nick Brown, clarinet
Nicolas Tariello, Carley Yanuck, Matthew Mitchner, percussion
Monica Luat, Lisa Yasui, cello
Andrew Coccoli, double bass
Mo Zhao, composer
"Disobedience" is a three-movement piece inspired by Chinese social realism poetry dating back to the 900-1000 A.D. During that time, there was a short-lived literary movement called “The New Court Music” (新乐府运动). It was led by Bai Juyi 白居易, calling his contemporaries to create art that depicted the social injustice and inequality. To this day, these poems on the program are still deeply relevant.
诗词
李白 《古风》第三首
秦王扫六合，虎视何雄哉。飞剑决浮云，诸侯尽西来。
明断自天启，大略驾群才。收兵铸金人，函谷正东开。
铭功会稽岭，骋望琅琊台。刑徒七十万，起土骊山隈。
尚采不死药，茫然使心哀。连弩射海鱼，长鲸正崔嵬。
额鼻象五岳，扬波喷云雷。鬐鬣蔽青天，何由睹蓬莱。
徐巿载秦女，楼船几时回。但见三泉下，金棺葬寒灰。
李绅 《悯农》
春种一粒粟，秋收万颗子。
四海无闲田，农夫犹饿死。
张愈 《蚕妇》
昨日入城市，
归来泪满巾。
遍身罗绮者
不是养蚕人。
白居易 《新乐府》序
文章合為時而着，歌詩合為事而作
Poems in English Translation
I.The Tyrant
Poem III from The Ancient Tales Li Bai (701-762)
Six mighty titans fell to their knees; who dares to challenge the powers of the Qin Emperor!
With his sabre, he has united the wandering armies of this chaotic epoch.
As if blessed by the heavens, he and his brilliant commanders swept through the battlefields.
Before opening China’s doors, he crushed any resistance from his own lands.
He carved his glory to every corner of the country, and his mausoleum was built by seventy-thousand slaves.
Appetite unquenched, he vowed to find the potion of immortality. For this search, his Shamen took thousands of youths with him into the stormy sea.
They shot arrows at the long whale, whose nose towers like mountains, who spurts fountains like thunders, and whose mouth can swallow the sky.
With this beast on the sea, how could they ever find their destination?
People waited on the lands, but the ship of a thousand lives never returned.
Meanwhile in the world of hades, his cold ashes lie silently in the gilded coffin.
II. The Farmer and the Silkworm Breeder
Poem I from Sympathizing the Farmers - Li Shen (772-846)
One who plants a seed in the spring will receive ten thousand harvests in the fall.
There are no idle farms on this land, yet our farmers are starving to death.
The Silk Woman - Zhang Yu (circa 1000)
After I entered the city yesterday,
I left with tears that drenched my handkerchief.
Those who wear silk all around,
Are not those who bred the silkworms.
III. Pick Up Thy Brush!
Introduction to The New Court Music - Bai Juyi (772-846)
Pick up thy brush for words and songs, write and sing for this epoch!