The Formosa Singers have made a reputation for themselves through their command of musical forms as diverse as sacred music from the 16th century to traditional Hokkien ballads. Julian Su (蘇慶俊), the group's musical director, says that the group tries to incorporate something Taiwanese in every performance. On this occasion, the Taiwanese element is particularly significant, as the piece to be performed is the premiere of a cantata to be sung in Hokkien. Composer Hsiao Tai-jan (蕭泰然) is regarded by many as one of Taiwan's greatest classical composers. A long-time resident of the US, Hsiao has written many compositions about his homeland, and his work is widely known both in the US and Taiwan. The Prodigal Son, which follows his highly successful 1947 Overture, is the result of nearly five years work, and is based on words written by pastor Huang Wu-tung (黃武東).
Hsiao has composed many choral works in Hokkien out of personal interest, as opposed to political reasons. "I want to speak in my own mother tongue. This has nothing to do with the ideology of localization." As a tonal language, Hokkien presents special challenges to the composer and arranger of the music. "It can lead to significant differences in meaning if the tone [of a word] is altered by the music," said Su. For Hsiao, his work is part of an effort to open up a new field of classical music, that of the Hokkien song. "The tradition has been developed in Mandarin, but not yet in Hokkien," Hsiao said.
The choir and soloists are accompanied on the piano by Cai Yu-shan (蔡昱姍), whose piece Hsiao says has been reduced from its original conception for a whole orchestra. "It is much more than just accompaniment," he said. The music itself is designed to make the most use of the musicality of Hokkien, using the Santou dialect that the early missionaries used to translate the Bible. In addition to The Prodigal Son, the Formosa Singers will perform Four Poems by Lu Hsiu-yi (虜修一) and songs by Brahms and Debussy.
WHAT Premiere of Hsiao Tai-jan's The Prodigal Son (浪子)
WH0 Formosa Singers Concert (福爾摩沙合唱團)
WHEN Nov. 28, 7:45pm
WHERE The National Concert Hall, Taipei (國家音樂廳)
TICKETS NT$250 - NT$500
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