Lullaby 摇篮曲
for Mezzo-Soprano, Cello and Piano (2016) Op.35
Fleur Barron, Mezzo Soprano; Myra Huang, Piano; Coleman Itzkoff, Cello; Lauren Herrmannm Dancer; Jie Guo, Text
Duration:
[8'30"]
Instrumentation:
for Mezzo-Soprano, Violoncello and Piano
Premiere:
Premiere performance: Rachel Calloway, Mezzo-Soprano; Bob Jesselson, Cello; Charles Fugo, Piano
Commissioned:
Commissioned by Jesselson/Fugo Duo for Celebrating the 300-year-old birthday of the Boquay cello
Notes about Lullaby
Lullaby was commissioned by cellist Robert Jesselson in celebration of the 300th birthday of his 1716 Jacques Boquay cello.
Inspired by Olivier Messiaen's seven modes of limited transposition, I drew upon the fourth mode as the foundation of this work. The text comes from a nursery rhyme in my opera Golden Lily, with libretto by writer Guo Jie. Within the opera, this lullaby is sung by Granny Wang (the mother) to her beloved seventeen-year-old son, returning at several key moments as a tender, recurring motif of love and devotion.
This piece is dedicated to its first performers—cellist Robert Jesselson, mezzo soprano Rachel
Calloway, and pianist Charles Fugo—who premiered it on November 20, 2016, at the Recital Hall of the University of South Carolina.
Text and Translation
艾窩窩， 艾窩窩， Aiwowo*, aiwowo,
堆成山的艾窩窩。 A huge pile of aiwowo.
窩窩甜，傻兒愛， Aiwowo is sweet, and Sha’er* loves it.
娘給傻兒捏窩窩！ Mama will make you a lot of aiwowo.
傻兒乖， 娘最愛， Sha’er is good, and Mama loves you.
娘要給俺傻兒啊， Mama will make Sha’er,
一世吃不完的艾窩窩。 Piles of and piles of aiwowo. ]
( *Aiwowo: a handmade rice cake;
Sha'er: literally "silly son", a term of endearment.)