Zodiac Tales (2005-2016) 十二生肖

Concerto for Orchestra 管弦樂協奏曲 32 minutes

1. The God of Rain 騰龍駕霧

2. Of Mice and Cats 老鼠與貓


3. Three Lambs under the Spring Sun 三羊開泰


4. The Elephant-Eating Serpent 蛇吞象


5. The Tomb of the Soulful Dog 忠犬塚
(In Memory of Alice Cheng) （紀念鄭德娟女士）


6. The Flying Horses 天馬行空

Program Note

The original 2006 version of this work was commissioned by The Philadelphia Orchestra, Christoph Eschenbach, Music Director. This commission was made possible with support from the Philadelphia Music Project, an artistic initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts, administered by the University of Arts.

Five movements of the work were premiered by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin, conductor, on January 30, 2014.

This is the revised 2016 version, premiered by the National Symphony with Christoph Eschenbach conducting his final concert as its Music Director on June 15, 2017.

The fifth movement, The Tomb of the Soulful Dog was written in memory of my mother Alice Cheng who was born in the year of the dog, and passed away on February 8th, 2005.

The work is scored for three flutes (with the second doubles piccolo 2, and the third doubles piccolo 3), three oboes (with the third doubles the English horn), three clarinets in Bb (with the second doubles Eb clarinet, and the third doubles the bass clarinet in Bb), three bassoons (with the third doubles the contrabassoon), four French horns in F, three trumpets in C (with the third doubles trumpet in Bb), two tenor trombones, one bass trombone, one tuba, timpani, four percussion players (xylophone, glockenspiel, crotales, four cowbells, four wood blocks, 4 bongos, guiro, slapstick, ratchet, triangle, low temple block, Peking Opera cymbals, 2 bell plates, wind gong, small tam-tam, large tam-tam (60”), low bass drum), harp, and strings.

Every Chinese is born in a zodiac year symbolized by a specific animal that accompanies the person throughout his or her life: the year of the mouse, the buffalo, the tiger, the rabbit, the dragon, the serpent, the horse, the ram, the monkey, the rooster, the dog, and the pig.

However, we know that the Chinese did not first create the notion of the zodiac cyclic calendar. Many other ancient civilizations such as the Greeks, the Egyptians, the Indians, and the Babylonians all cultivated the concept that the planets in the heavens were divided into twelve constellations, represented by twelve animals, although some of these animals were different from those in the current Chinese system.

We also know that, approximately four thousand years ago—around the time that zodiac belief reached China—the Chinese started studying astronomy and astrology. However, the first detailed writing in Chinese literature did not appear until the Eastern Han Dynasty (23-220 A.D.) well over two thousand years later, when a Chinese philosopher named Wang Chong discussed the relationship of nature and the twelve constellations in his famous treatise, “Weighing the Measurement”. Since then, legends of these astrological animals have been appearing throughout history of Chinese literature; and some of the most vivid images of these largely fictional tales have provided me with inspiration as a point of departure for me to compose.

1. The Rain God

Also known as the dragon, The Rain God is the only mythical animal among the twelve. According to Chinese tradition, the dragon symbolizes the highest celestial power. Its appearance is a combinationof nine animals, the head of the qiu (a Chinese mythical animal between a small lion and large dog), the antler of the deer, the eyes of the rabbit, the ears of the bull, the body of the serpent, the belly of the giant clam, the scales of the carp, the paws of the eagle, and the palms of the tiger. Among the twelve, it is not only the mightiest but also rules for the affairs of rain and water. Through history, the Chinese have built temples all over the country to honor the dragon god, praying for a good season of rain for the crops and for protection from the flood.

2. Of Mice and Cats

A pair of mice can reproduce almost a thousand young ones over the period of a year; and each three-month-old mouse is mature enough to reproduce again. With the mouse, I see different images: from one mouse to hundreds, to thousands, and even millions of mice all in one place.

According to the legend, the cat did not make it into the zodiacs because of the mouse. They were good friends at one point, but when the Jade Emperor (a god-like figure in Chinese mythology) summoned the animals to his court for zodiac designations, the mouse intentionally did not wake up his sleeping friend as he had promised he would. Arrived the first before the Emperor, The mouse was chosen as number one of the twelve zodiac animals. The cat and mouse became enemies ever since.

3. Three Lambs under the Spring Sun

Chinese myth believes that the ram is the sun god. Here, the picture of three lambs resting under the sun in early spring signifies the good omen of happiness and a generous harvest for the year.

4. The Elephant-Eating Serpent

Although the serpent is not as powerful as the dragon, it still has much strength and is known for its ability to swallow much bigger objects than the size of its own body. Thus the metaphor describing a person’s extreme greediness is called ‘the serpent who craves to eat an elephant’.

5. The Tomb of the Soulful Dog

The notion that ‘the dog is Man’s best friend’ has also been part of Chinese culture for a long time. The most well-known fable is about the dog of Emperor Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.). In the legend, the Emperor’s dog saved his master’s army by sacrificing himself to put out a fire set by the enemy as they besieged and surrounded the Emperor’s troops. Emperor Liu later buried the dog in a serene ceremony and built a large tombstone inscribed with ‘The Tomb of the Soulful Dog’.

6. The Flying Horses

In Chinese mythology, the heavenly horses could travel as much as a thousand miles a day across the sky—an image that is truly inspiring, with visions of thousands of them dashing over the horizon together.

—Bright Sheng

 

盛宗亮 樂隊協奏曲：十二生肖 (2005/2016)
1. 騰雲駕霧
2. 老鼠與貓
3. 三羊開泰
4. 蛇吞象
5. 忠犬塚（紀念鄭德娟女士）
6. 天馬行空

作品介紹

《管弦樂協奏曲：十二生肖》2006年版本由美國費城樂團委約，Christoph Eschenbach時任音樂總監。 其中五個樂章於2014年1月30日由底特律交響樂團首演，Leonard Slatkin指揮。2016年修改版本由美國國家交響樂團於2017年6月15日首演，Christoph Eschenbach指揮。

第五樂章《忠狗塚》為紀念鄭德娟女士而作。我的母親生於狗年，於2005年2月8日逝世。

樂隊編制：3支長笛（第二兼中音長笛與第二短笛，第三兼第一短笛），3支雙簧管（第三兼英國管），3支降B調單簧管（第二兼降E調單簧管，第三兼降B調低音單簧管），3支大管（第三兼低音大管），4支F調圓號，3支C調小號（第三兼降B調小號），2支男高音長號，1支低音長號，1支大號，定音鼓，4位打擊樂（木琴，鋼板鐘琴，黃銅鐘，4個牛鈴，4個木魚梆子，4個bango鼓，guiro，拍板，ratchet，三角鐵，低音木魚，京劇中釵，2個鐵板鐘，風鑼，小低音鑼，大低音鑼（60吋），小型低音大鼓，大型低音大鼓）豎琴，弦樂隊。

每個華人都由生肖伴隨終生：鼠、牛、虎、兔、龍、蛇、馬、羊、猴、雞、狗、豬。然而十二生肖概念並非華夏文化首創。其他文明，如古希臘、古埃及、古印度以及古巴比倫等均早就對天文星象分為十二體及十二生肖有所認同，雖然有些動物與傳承中華的生肖略有出入。

大約四千年前華夏文化開始研究天文學和星象學，適時十二生肖知識傳入中國。但直到兩千餘年後的東漢時期（公元23-220年）華夏文化方有對生肖的紀錄：王充的著名論文《論衡》中首次闡述十二星座與大自然的關係，十二生肖的星象便由此普及華夏。這些活龍活現的神話故事便是創作靈感的起步。

1. 騰龍駕霧：十二生肖中僅有的神話動物龍是華夏文化之尊，形象來自九畜：犰頭、鹿茸、兔目、牛耳、蛇身、蛤腹、魚鱗、鷹掌、虎爪，不僅龐大無比，更能呼風喚雨。由此人們為祈豐年避水患廣泛建造祭龍寺廟。

2. 老鼠與貓：老鼠繁殖能力極快， 週期為三個月。一對老鼠在一年內能增至上千。這便是我的意象：一隻老鼠很快增至上成千上萬。

據說貓是由於老鼠而未能加入十二生肖。它倆本是朋友，但在玉皇大帝召集動物分配星象生肖時，老鼠未如約喚醒酣睡的貓咪，並且自己搶先來到玉殿成為十二生肖中的第一位。貓與鼠從此便水火不容。

3. 三羊開泰：中國神話認羊為太陽神。初春陽光下休憩閒散的三隻羊呈現出喜氣洋洋、豐衣足食的兆祥。

4. 蛇吞象：蛇雖沒有龍強大卻能吞食多陪於自己的食物。“蛇吞象”寓意世人永不滿足的貪慾。

5. 忠犬塚：“狗為人之良友”的故事在華夏文化中屢見不鮮。最著名的是有關漢朝（公元前206年至公元後220年）開國皇帝劉邦的狗。傳說漢高祖的狗因救漢軍滅火而獻身。之後劉邦盛葬愛犬，立碑“忠犬塚”。 這裏取用母親去世時為她超渡的佛教誦經作為樂章中一個來回反覆的主題。

6. 天馬行空：傳說天馬日行千里：萬里蒼穹，成千上萬的天馬奔騰飛翔。

---盛宗亮