| DESCRIPTION
Surrender: A Tai Qi Cantata is a choral work where the singers move through t'ai qi phrases while singing.
PRESS QUOTE
"... meditative music without the mush and just a hint of muscle." The Stranger
PROGRAM NOTES"To yield is to preserve unity."
The
opening line of Byron Au Yong's Surrender encapsulates the message and
experience of his work. As the text, music, and movement weave together
in performance, one feels viscerally the essential truth that to
resist, defend, or insist is to enter more deeply into struggle. In a
time so beset with aggression, anxiety, and violence, it is a great joy
to be reminded of the wisdom in surrendering: to the unknown, the
unassuming, to the collective gesture of creativity and imagination.
The
meditative state that this piece evokes and requires holds us in such a
gesture - drawing energy into itself, and then surrendering just as
fluidly, as a prayer for possibility and for peace.
Karen Schwartz, The Esoterics
COMPOSER NOTESAs
an American in a time of discord, I challenge myself to untangle the
complexities, hear the outrage, accept the justifications, recognize
the fear, embrace the sorrow, and acknowledge the denial of war,
because I am descended from survivors of involuntary migration. My
grandparents fled Japanese imperialist aggression during World War II.
I am touched by their hardships as well as ceremonies of healing.Surrender
combines singing with tai qi to reach a state filled with strength and
compassion, so I can continue to be engaged with my country at war. I
use text from the Dao De Jing because of the potential for
transformation contained in the Chinese ideograms of Verse 22, by Lao
Tzu. These include the character images for missing, confused heart,
hands pull apart, sun disappears, claws, chopping sound, crimes of the
mouths, and plants rise from the ground.With the help of hip
hop poet Aaron Jafferis, I merge Mandarin and English texts. The tai
qi movements and vocals for Surrender are forever mindful of taking the
next step.Byron Au Yong | | CREATIVE TEAM
music and movement Byron Au Yong
English lyrics Aaron Jafferis
Chinese lyrics Lao Tzu
DETAILS
- Duration 6 minutes
- Premiered at churches in Everett, Medina, Seattle and Tacoma, August 2005
- Commissioned
by Eric Banks and The Esoterics with support from Meet the Composer and
the National Endowment for the Arts Access to Artistic Excellence Grant
Tao Te Ching texts inspire composer
Jen Graves, The News Tribune, 05 August 2005
Classical, Jazz and Avant: Byron Au Yong
Chris DeLaurenti, The Stranger, 11 August 2005
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