Cina Cuma (鄒族祭歌)
Composer: Hsiao, Yung-Shen
CINA CUMA is a ritual song of the Taiwanese aboriginal people “Tsou”. A long time ago, a young girl secretly followed the warriors into the forest in order to learn hunting skills. However, not aware of her presence, the warriors set up a fire in the hunting area, which forced the girl to climb onto a tree in search for protection. With the fire spreading, helpless, she could only sing this song to the heavens as an expression of her sadness. Once the song was complete, her spirit floated with the fire’s smoke into the heavens. Having learned about her presence, to honour her, the warriors shoved an arrow into the ground in front of her house. After several weeks passed, the arrow had transformed into bamboo, growing very fast into the sky and, for a brief moment, the girl mysteriously appeared in front of the house holding a child, only to disappear soon after. Thereafter, Cina Cuma became a ceremonial ritual song. This piece aims to integrate two old cultural materials together, in a Baroque trio form. Fragments from Carl Friedrich Abel's “Prelude in D minor WKO 208” are used as the basis of the viol voice. The materials interact with each other in different textures and speeds, from start to end. The centre pitch of the piece rises higher and higher toward the end, representing the girl’s spirit ascending with the smoke.
2支巴洛克木笛與古大提琴(tenor recorder/descant recorder/bass viol)
Ben Carr(tenor recorder),
Otto Hashmi(descant recorder),
Alice Trocellier(bass viol)