Meng Hao-jan and Li Po
Meng Hao-jan (689-760)
This series of works for bass clarinet and drum set, were written in response to poems by the Chinese poet Meng Hao-jan as they are translated by David Hinton in ‘The Mountatin Poems of Meng Hao-jan’.
The challenge was to create, using relatively minimal means, atmospheres evocative of the moods and colours expressed in the verse.
(recorded Oct. 2007, Los Angeles. E. Ware drums/comp., A. Paske bass clarinet, W. Peet engineer)
Adrift on a Summer’s Day, I Visit the Hermitage of Recluse T’eng
Ch’i chill-thickened at the water pavilion,
oars all idleness, I stop by to visit. It’s late,
pine and bamboo alight in stream shadow,
lotus and chestnut scenting fragrant pools.
Country kids freshen our wine-loose dance,
mountain birds laugh with our tipsy song,
until delight in quiet mystery deepens into
adoration: dusk-lit mist, the inevitable dark.
Traveling to Yueh, I Linger Out Farewell with Chang and Shen
This morning I set off down Rule-Water Canal
and tonight stop over on the border of Ch’iao,
full of joy because this west wind has blown
us together here, old friends meeting again.
You’ll stay, perfecting Mei Fu’s recluse way,
and I’ll set out following the hermit Po Luan.
after this farewell, we’ll think of each other
anytime: clouds floating above Wu and Kuei.
Overnight on Abiding-Integrity River
I guide the boat in, anchor off island mist.
It’s dusk, time a traveler’s loneliness returns.
Heaven settles far and wide into the trees,
and on this clear river, a moon drifts near.
Listening to Cheng Yin Play His Ch’in
Another Juan Chi ripening wine’s renown
in bamboo forests full of crystalline wind,
you sit half drunk, let down flowing sleeves
and sweep your dragon-rimmed ch’in clean.
Then it’s a fresh tune for each cup of wine,
dusk’s blaze sinking away unnoticed. Soon,
thoughts deep among rivers and mountains
I hear this mind my former lives all share.
Li Po (701-762)
‘Calligraphy for Solo Cello’
This work was inspired by my love of calligraphy, the Taoist understanding of nature and the towering achievements of J.S.Bach.
The notion of a single instrument sounding in space seemed to fit well with a single line of ink on the open page. In this particular case I took as my starting point an excerpt from a poem by T’ang Dynasty poet Li Po.
The Arduous Road to Shu
Peak upon peak less than a foot from the sky,
Where withered pines hang inverted from sheer cliffs,
Where cataracts and roaring currents make noisy clamour,
Dashing upon rocks, a thunderclap from ten thousand glens.
An impregnable place like this -
I sigh and ask why should anyone come here from
far away?
Zhu Yunming - late 15th - early 16th century (Ming dynasty)