Quiet Night (静夜思)
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for SATB choir, a cappella
Duration: ~4.5-5'
Premiered June 19, 2026 in New York, NY by C4: The Choral Composer/Conductor Collective; Stephanie Leah Evans, conductor
Program Note:
For years, I've dreamed of composing with a Mandarin text as a way to connect with my Taiwanese and Chinese heritage. With most of the choral repertoire I have experienced being in English or Latin, I was further intrigued by how I might explore the sonic differences of this language in music while sharing a piece of my culture with my dear colleagues in C4. I ultimately chose a famous poem by the 8th-century Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai, the title of which translates to Quiet Night Thought. The poem describes the narrator being woken up by moonlight. Mistaking it for frost on the ground, he stares up at the moon, and bows his head thinking of home. Although short in length, the poem is packed with imagery, hidden meanings, and raw emotions, and its ambiguity makes it widely relatable.
The human qualities of the text combined with Li Bai's economical use of characters inspired me to set long melismas wavering in irregular rhythms; this became the central element with which I chose to convey this human condition. At the same time, my instincts with harmony have always been informed by the American genres I absorbed: jazz, rock, and indie, to name a few. I was intrigued to see how this piece would reflect my multi-cultural upbringing, especially while setting a text that addresses themes of ancestry, home, and longing.
Duration: ~4.5-5'
Premiered June 19, 2026 in New York, NY by C4: The Choral Composer/Conductor Collective; Stephanie Leah Evans, conductor
Program Note:
For years, I've dreamed of composing with a Mandarin text as a way to connect with my Taiwanese and Chinese heritage. With most of the choral repertoire I have experienced being in English or Latin, I was further intrigued by how I might explore the sonic differences of this language in music while sharing a piece of my culture with my dear colleagues in C4. I ultimately chose a famous poem by the 8th-century Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai, the title of which translates to Quiet Night Thought. The poem describes the narrator being woken up by moonlight. Mistaking it for frost on the ground, he stares up at the moon, and bows his head thinking of home. Although short in length, the poem is packed with imagery, hidden meanings, and raw emotions, and its ambiguity makes it widely relatable.
The human qualities of the text combined with Li Bai's economical use of characters inspired me to set long melismas wavering in irregular rhythms; this became the central element with which I chose to convey this human condition. At the same time, my instincts with harmony have always been informed by the American genres I absorbed: jazz, rock, and indie, to name a few. I was intrigued to see how this piece would reflect my multi-cultural upbringing, especially while setting a text that addresses themes of ancestry, home, and longing.
Text:
床前明月光
疑是地上霜
舉頭望明月
低頭思故鄉
- Li Bai 李白 (701-762)
Pinyin Transliteration:
Chuáng qián míngyuè guāng
Yí shì dìshàng shuāng
Jǔtóu wàng míngyuè
Dītóu sī gùxiāng
English Translation:
Before my bed shines the bright moon,
I mistake it for frost on the ground.
I raise my head to gaze at the moon,
Lower my head thinking of home.
- Translated by the composer
床前明月光
疑是地上霜
舉頭望明月
低頭思故鄉
- Li Bai 李白 (701-762)
Pinyin Transliteration:
Chuáng qián míngyuè guāng
Yí shì dìshàng shuāng
Jǔtóu wàng míngyuè
Dītóu sī gùxiāng
English Translation:
Before my bed shines the bright moon,
I mistake it for frost on the ground.
I raise my head to gaze at the moon,
Lower my head thinking of home.
- Translated by the composer
