Gregory Youtz - ”The Lament of Cai Yan“ sung by Fan Li

The Lament of Cai Yan I.In Xiong Nu Country Dreaming of China II.In China Dreaming of Xiong Nu Country Excerpts from the opera Fiery Jade-Cai Yan Libretto by Zhang Er Music by Gregory Youtz (1956- ) The Lament of Cai Yan presents excerpts for soprano singer and chamber ensemble from the full-length opera Fiery Jade-Cai Yan which premiered with a chamber orchestra at Pacific Lutheran University in November of 2016. The opera is based upon the famous historical life and extant poetry of Chinese woman poet Cai Yan (Cai Wenji) who lived during the tumultuous ending of the Eastern Han Dynasty in China in the 2nd century CE. The chamber work focuses upon those sections of the opera which use the historical Cai Yan’s own poetry to describe her life- the daughter of a Chinese court official, captured and taken to the Northern nomadic Xiong Nu territory by the Prince of an invading army, then ransomed back to China without her two multi-ethnic sons. The 19-minute piece is divided into two halves: In Xiong Nu Country Dreaming of China and In China Dreaming of Xiong Nu Country. The harp plays a major role both in the chamber piece and in the opera itself, including evoking the sound of the instrument Cai Yan herself played- the Chinese guqin. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dr.Zhang Er, poet, librettist, born in Beijing, has written opera libretti in English for American composers including Moon in the Mirror (for composer Stephen Dempski, performed in 2015),  Fiery Jade-- Cai Yan (for composer Gregory Youtz, performed in 2016) and Tacoma Method- in progress for Gregory Youtz. She is the author of six collections of poetry in Chinese, most recently Closest to You (Showwe, Taiwan). She has seven chapbooks in English translation, among them, The Disappearance of Little Fang Family Lane (Belladonna). Her selected poems are collected in three English translations, First Mountain, So Translating Rivers and Cities and Verses on Bird (Zephyr Press). She co-edited and participated in the translation of the bilingual volume Another Kind of Nation: an Anthology of Contemporary Chinese Poetry (Talisman House Publishers). She has lived bicoastal in US, New York City and Olympia, WA. She teaches at The Evergreen State College, WA. Dr.Gregory Youtz, composer received his D.M.A. in composition from the University of Michigan and has been professor of Music Composition at Pacific Lutheran University since 1984. His compositions include works for orchestra, band, choir, voice and chamber ensembles, two operas and a full-length musical theater show.

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