Choral Soprano I, Soprano
II, Alto I, Alto II
SKU: PR.312418590
For Children's Choir
and String Quartet.
Composed by Chen Yi. Self
Cover. Premiered by the
SFGC and Cypress String
Quartet, San Francisco
Conservatory, CA. Secular
choral. Vocal Score. With
Standard notation.
Composed 2010. 16 pages.
Duration 15 minutes.
Theodore Presser Company
#312-41859. Published by
Theodore Presser Company
(PR.312418590).
UPC:
680160595785. 8.5 x 11
inches. Text by Chen
Yi.
Often called
the Ellis Island of the
West, Angel Island in San
Francisco was used as an
immigration station in
the first half of the
20th century, processing
some one million Asian
immigrants. Because of
U.S. policy of the time,
many spent years on Angel
Island awaiting entry.
Recently named a National
Historical Landmark,
Angel Island and its
history is the
inspiration behind Chen
Yi's Angel Island
Passages, commissioned by
the San Francisco Girls
Chorus. Chen explores the
experiences of the
immigrants, even using
poems carved in the
walls, to express the
mood, the patient
yearning, and the
ultimate release and
embrace of a new country.
Angel Island Passages was
premiered June 4-5, 2010
by the SFGC and the
Cypress String Quartet at
the San Francisco
Conservatory. For
advanced performers.
Duration:
15'.
Commissioned by
San Francisco Girls
Chorus (Executive
Director Melanie Smith),
and premiered by the SFGC
and Cypress String
Quartet on June 4, 2010,
conducted by
SFGC’s Artistic
Director Susan McMane, at
San Francisco
Conservatory, CA, the
3-movement song cycle
Angel Island Passages is
written for
children’s chorus
and string quartet, with
multimedia projection on
the walls of the concert
hall, produced by visual
artist Felicia Lowe.Â
The creative idea of this
work was initiated by Dr.
McMane, who invited me to
write the music, and sent
me the book
“Island, poetry and
history of Chinese
Immigrants on Angel
Island, 1910-1940â€,
by Him Mark Lai, Genny
Lim, and Judy Yung for
reference in 2009; also
inspired by the Angel
Island stories, and
through cooperation with
Felicia, who shared with
me her film “Carved
in Silence†and
video productions
“Chinatownâ€
and “Road to
Restorationâ€.I
named the first movement
of my work as
“1882â€, which
reflected the dark mood
under the Chinese
Exclusion Act of
1882. The collective
poems carved on the
wooden walls in Angel
Island expressed deep
emotion in sorrow and
anxiety. The music in
the second movement
“Longing†is
sad and sentimental.Â
The third movement is
called “We Are
Americaâ€, which is
ever-moving, energetic
and optimistic. The
text sung in the
beginning in Chinese
means “I am an
Americanâ€.Â
It’s sung in
Cantonese dialect, then
in Mandarin. As the
music develops, from
homophonic to polyphonic
with increasing layers,
the climax is reached
when the text is turned
to English “We Are
Americaâ€, which
symbolizes the
flourishing society with
the great contribution
from thousands of
immigrants during the
years. The music
fades out towards the
ending of the work, which
pushes the scene to a
remote picture, to look
forward to the future
peace of the world.I am
grateful to have the
opportunity to work with
such inspiring creative
artists in this project,
and hope the work is
meaningful to our new
society after the
premiere
performance.—Chen
Yi.