Opera of String Quartet Sanskrit for Soprano and String Quartet

Program Notes

I mixed three of my inspirations in this piece. First is my feeling about the fog here in Pebble Beach, our California Summer Music campus. In every morning, no, actually every night when I didn’t go to bed until I touched the first stream of light from the sky through my imaginary window, I could see the fog like a net of my dream, and the world was enveloped in morning mist. At that moment, I hoped my music could be my hand to go to catch the shadow of the fog and turn the dewdrops of the moon into each of my notes. Then, they became the A section of this piece.

My second and third inspirations are from the Chinese traditional opera and some of the scales and rhythms of India. You can hear these in my B and C sections. Moreover, I like my audiences to enjoy both senses of hearing and sight. That’s why I made this small piece like a small opera. The story of this Opera of String Quartet happens in a distant temple. I imagined we are in a temple on the top of a mountain far away from everything. Four players are playing drums and they are also playing instruments and singing songs in the fog. The sound is like cellophane that falls softly from another side of the universe. That’s why I call this piece “Sanskrit” because that’s the sound from my deepest heart. Furthermore, usually in many countries of Asia, the players will sing and play a musical instrument at the same time. This style is very common in China and India. I used this style in my C section. At last, I hope you can enjoy the fog, the temple, the dream and the performance. Thank you!