Strings of Soul
Hsin-Yun Huang and Wu Man | Viola and Pipa

Strings of Soul is a recital featuring pipa and viola, a rare combination. The program is a focused exploration of original material that has inspired composers from multiple cultures. Virtuoso pipa player Wu Man showcases the enormous range of this plucked Chinese instrument; through the prism of her artistry, we are transported to an expansive landscape with extraordinary nuance. The viola has normally acted as a unifying bridge in the chamber and orchestral settings of Western music; however, here I explore its capacity to stand by itself, as well as having a dialogue with the pipa.

In addition to showcasing the wonderful pipa traditional repertoire and Wu Man's own works, we discover deep emotional connections with Chinese composers like Wang Huiran 王惠然, Chou Wen Chung 周文中 (born in the 1930s), Bright Sheng 盛宗亮 and Guo Wenjing 郭文景 (born in the 1950s), then Lei Liang 梁雷 (1970s). Through decades apart, their music shares a common core. We were honored when Lei Liang agreed to write a duo for us. While our artistic journeys have taken us in different directions, we both started by leaving home at a young age and we have in common a sense of nostalgia and yearning for our cultural roots. The Mongolian Song expresses this indescribable and poignant emotion via a mother’s voice: her daughter is marrying off, and the mother and daughter will never meet again.

The other compositions on the program similarly draw on their respective cultural roots — Turkish composer Adnan Saygun, Hungarian composer György Ligeti, British violist/composer Garth Knox and American violist/composer Kenji Bunch each contribute non-negotiable voices to enrich this listening experience. 

The poem "Moonlit Night by the River in Spring" is the oldest thing on the program, we do not know who the composer was but the poem is one of the greatest in the history of Chinese poetries. The poet Ruo-Shu Zhang (張若虛) was from the Tang Dynasty (660AD) and published only two poems. In its 36 stanzas, the poet has a conversation with the universe, finding a way to expand the reader's relationship with time and space. The poem has an incredible symmetry as it evokes the cyclical rise and fall of life. It is Buddhism in its very finest essence. Here, the bicultural composer Sofia Jen Ouyang refracts a traditional text through her own lens. 

I am deeply grateful to the Foundation of Chinese Performing Arts, The Rockport Chamber Music Society, Capital Region Classical, and the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society for their support and trust in co-commissioning Mother Song. Further thanks go to The Juilliard School in welcoming a traditional Chinese instrument to its campus and presenting a performance for the school. We hope you will bring open ears and hearts to all that is unknown while listening to this unusual program. It is our “coming home.”

Program notes by Hsin-Yun Huang 黃心芸