Aboriginal musician sings of a cross-strait affair

Bringing a whole new meaning to the term "cross-strait affairs," a renowned Aboriginal musician yesterday released a love song he composed for a young Chinese musician he met eight years ago in Beijing.

For many artists, love is the primary muse, and this is particularly true of musician Lee Tai-shiang (李泰祥) of Taiwan's Amis tribe.

Lee has never talked publicly about his own love life, letting his songs tell the story instead. Rumors about his love affairs have always accompanied his album releases.

Most fans are first attracted by the lyrics, a taste for the modern-classical style music is usually acquired later.

But once the taste for the music is acquired, the listener is hooked by the dramatic melodies and the music's spiritual qualities.

The new release once again happens amid reports of a romance, but this time it is not a mere rumor.

The new album, titled That Time I Saw You (自彼次遇見妳), includes a song called This Is a Secret (這是一個秘密). Lee uses the song to reveal the "secret" he had buried in his heart for years.

As usual, in this new album he composed music for poems written by famous poets like Siang Yang (向陽), Tu Shi-san (杜十三), Lo Men (羅門) and the late and greatly lamented writer San Mao (三毛).

This Is a Secret is one of the few songs in which both the words and music were written by himself.

In the song, he sings "This is a secret. Nobody knows it. Because you once smiled at me. How wonderful, how amazing, when our eyes met ..."

According to Edward Chen (陳建育), producer of the album, the love story began when Lee was conducting China's Central Orchestra (中央管絃樂團) in Beijing during recording of an album that was composed by him. The young lady, in her early twenties at the time, was a cellist in the orchestra.

"He was very impressed by his encounter with her in Beijing. When he returned to Shanghai, he decided to compose some music for her. Two years ago, he decided to publish this song," said Chen.

At yesterday's launch of the album, he admitted that love was a major element in his latest work. "I just looked at her with all my heart. Then the music came out naturally," said Lee.

Having suffered from Parkinson's disease for years, and with a constantly shaking hand, Lee is not discouraged by pain. He pledged to be "true to myself."

"I have to learn to cope with my present self, instead of my past self. I have to face myself, as disabled and imperfect as I am, and try my best to present myself completely and without fear," Lee said.