Yang Shen

altchinesische Texte aus dem'Buch der Lieder'

„‘Yang Shen’ consists of five parts linked to each other, and is scored for soprano, three Chinese instruments (two players: zheng, sheng and xun), flute, clarinet, viola, violoncello and percussion. When required, all the musicians also produce noises on various large bottles, taking on vocal parts as well.
As a basis for the composition, I took a Chinese poem entitled ‘Bo-zhou’ from the book ‘Shijing’ (Book of Songs), written between the 11th and 3rd centuries B.C. Although the authors are unknown, it has been frequently commented upon during the past two millennia by many important literary people and politicians because of its ambiguity. The central subject of the text is concerned with the disappointment of one person whose high ideals are not accepted by those governing. This text goes through the whole piece like a red thread, and is spoken and sung in Chinese, the original language. Several short texts translated into German by the philosophers Lieh-tzu, Laotze and Konfutse, who lived around and shortly after this time, have been integrated into the main text.
The Chinese text and its interpretation functions primarily as a purely musical form of expression, going far beyond its literal meaning. It is articulated and alienated in various ways, and the musical language of the composition constantly alternates between sounds, noises, silence and various languages. This musical variety reproduces the meaning of the poem, leaving a strong impression of it.” (Xiaoyong Chen)