Saturday, June 24, 2006
He wakes up with a start in the middle of the night to find his mother gone. He's alone in the dark, and suddenly every shadow in the corner is a boogeyman; every noise in the darkness is a monster under the bed.
Summoning up his courage, he calls out fearfully into the darkness, "Who's there?" He thinks he hears something in the dark, a sound he doesn't recognise, and he imagines he sees someone hiding behind the trees outside the window.
But he's a young child, and even though he is frightened, somehow he drifts off to sleep. And as he sleeps he dreams of hope and pleasant things, and the sun starts to rise, unfurling and blooming like a flower to cast light and warmth upon the child.
It is a sunrise like any other; and yet, it is also magical and miraculous, and the composer celebrates the dawning of a new day as if it was the first sunrise.
That is what "Yoru" by Matsushita Kou is supposed to sound like. Unfortunately, when NTU choir sings it, we often sound more like Ah Bengs and Ah Lians going to pia zui. Off-key Ah Bengs and Ah Lians some more. -_-;;
|
:: Photo by National Geographic Society Copyright © 2002 ::