2013臺北藝術節

By Lin Tsai-Yun  Courtesy of National Taiwan Music Center

Schumann’s song cycle Dichterliebe (The Poet’s Love) is a gem of the German Lieder (art songs). Each song is at once a lyrical poem and a beautiful piano piece. Nanguan (literally “southern pipe”, a style of classical music) is the “living fossil” of Chinese music, tracing its history back for a thousand years. With its wistful melodies and elegant lyrics, nanguan music unhurriedly tells the stories of human emotions. Nanguan and the Lied represent the finest examples of the marriage between poetry and music in the East and the West respectively, and enter into a dialogue in the Timeless Love concerts, part of this year’s Taipei Arts Festival. 

Conductor Chien Wen-Pin is the moving force that brought Schumann’s Lieder and nanguan together on the stage. In his view, the differences between the two are even more intriguing than the similarities. Schumann was an artist who recorded every inspiration the instant he experienced them, grasping every fleeting moment, Chien said. On the other hand, when he first heard nanguan artist Wang Xin-Xin perform, the music was so soulful and serene that it seemed to transcend space and time. “Then and there I thought, if the two [genres] could be brought together, something interesting might come of it.”

A performance of Schumann’s oeuvres is also timely, as this year marks the 200th birthday of the composer, who was born on June 8, 1810, and who seems to have been all but forgotten in comparison to Chopin, whose 200th birthday was festively celebrated worldwide. 

Dichterliebe played an important role in the life of Schumann, who vented all his emotions through the song cycle, completed in 1840. This was the year when Schumann and the pianist Clara were finally wedded after a long and difficult romance. From the newfound marital bliss came a burst of creativity that resulted in some 140 songs in one year, including the Dichterliebe.

Dichterliebe was inspired by the works of German poet Heinrich Heine, with music set to 16 poems from Heine’s Das Buch der Lieder (Book of Songs). The autobiographical poems were expressions of the poet’s youthful sorrows of love, which must have resonated deeply with Schumann. 

A number of nanguan tunes are also related to love and romance, such as Love Letter and 
Song of the Burial of Flowers. Nanguan artist Wang Xin-Xin pointed out that as she read the Chinese translations of Dichterliebe, many nanguan tunes came to mind. Words from the 10th poem in the song cycle, “I hear the dear song sounding/That once my beloved sang/And my heart wants to burst so strongly/From the savage pressure of pain,” prompted her to respond with words from Chao-Chun Crossing the Border: “The chimes of the pipa/Misery upon misery/Miserable chimes/‘Tis all but listlessness.” 

In the concert, Wang Xin-Xin’s nanguan performance in the Chuan-Chou dialect will be interwoven with German art songs sung by tenor Tilman Lichdi. Chien Wen-Pin says the audience will witness three fascinating attempts: one is the alternating of Dichterliebe and nanguan, the second is when the two are performed side by side, and the third is when the nanguan music is played and not sung in accompaniment to the art song. 

As the one who conceived the concert, Chien Wen-Pin will temporarily lay down the baton to accompany the artists on the piano. Also contributing to the performance is theater director Wei Ying-Chuan. Wei points out that the performance is essentially a concert, and she has done more in terms of creating a mood rather than giving stage directions. She also says that although she has been active in the realm of modern theater, she is no stranger to more traditional art forms: “I studied folk dance in junior high school and learned Peking opera movements in high school. I once learned to do Chinese paintings and even now often study collections of calligraphy, paintings and seal engravings.” 

Timeless Love will run from September 3rd to 5th at the Guangfu Auditorium of the Taipei Zhongshan Hall.