Description
Song Cycle Notes
Li Bai wandered the Yangtze Valley during the Tang Dynasty more than twelve-hundred years ago. His poetry is contemplative and philosophical, containing themes of friendship, communion with nature, loss, mortality, and the meaning of life. In the Five Songs of Li Bai, the flow of water recurs as a metaphor for the passage of time. Drinking becomes a way for the poet to combat feelings of loneliness and melancholy. The music for Five Songs of Li Bai is influenced by the extended triadic harmonies and syncopated rhythms of the bossa nova. In “On the Banks of the Jo-Yeh,” sextuplet piano flourishes capture the lovely girls playing in this bright, idyllic scene. A bossa nova groove begins with the entrance of the men on horseback. In “The Clear Cold Spring,” the dropping sun and rippling water are painted by quick descending phrases which alternate with slow, plaintive bossa nova sections. Whole tone tremolos capture the “sound of tall pines” at the conclusion of the song. The lethargic pace of the “Parting from Sung Chih-T’I” reflects the singer’s reluctance to leave his good friend. A constant, uneven rhythmic motive in the bass furthers his apprehension. Rolled and arpeggiated chords alternate with static sections of open harmonies in “Drinking Alone by Moonlight,” as the singer fluctuates between drunken hope and melancholic loneliness. The livelier “River Song” begins with piano gestures that convey both the gentle rocking of a boat on the river and the singer’s contentment. Yet, the singer also ponders the ephemeral nature of life and the insignificance of his time on earth.
