Taiwanese Suite 臺灣組曲 (2000)

for Solo Violoncello

commissioned by Li-Ling Wang

Program Notes

Taiwanese Suite for solo violoncello is based on three Taiwanese folk songs written during the period of the Japanese occupation. The first one “A Small Bird Chirping (一隻鳥仔救哮哮)” is a folk song representing the Chia-Yi region. The song depicts a small bird that could not find its home at night. This reflects the feelings of Taiwanese people before the landing of the Japanese army to the island. “The Torment of A Flower (雨夜花)” is based on a tragic love story, used as a metaphor to describe the great suffering of the Taiwanese people under the Japanese occupation. The original songwriter of the last one “Handsome Bottoms Up (杯底不通飼金魚)” tried to put aside of the frustration of the Taiwanese people toward the political situation and offered a channel for the suffering people during the “February-28 Incident.” With the love and appreciation of the land and its people, I wrote this suite, especially dedicating it to the people who devoted themselves to the island.