Music
Music
As a high school student from Beijing, in August 2024, I stayed in Cangyuan Wa Autonomous County for a month, aiming to redefine authenticity in a world infiltrated by high-modernism and discover the possibilities of music discourse of the Other. After visiting the tourism village of Wengding ten times, where life and revenue are clearly separated, I was finally recognized by the locals and no longer being viewed as an outsider.
Once, I was able to witness a religious ritual called "Calling the Soul" in a villager's home when sharing dinner with rural Wa families. What struck me during the dinner was the fire pond, warm and bright, with flickering firelight that conveys worships and welcomeness. In a world full of uncertainties, people maintain the spiritual unity of their families and villages through the most genuine communal dining activities, constructing the meaning of life.
The fire pond
Later, I learned that the fire pond symbolized the spirit of the Wa people—'fire as god, fire as home, fire as harmony’. In a dusty ink-printed book in the local library, there was a solo piece for the lusheng (a gourd-made wind instrument) notated by researchers in 1993, known as ‘the fire pond tune’. During my communication with a local lusheng player, Mr. Xiao Nikuai, I recorded a piece he played on the lusheng, called ‘the village song’. With the inspiration offered by sentimental perceptions found in the journey as well as the localized melodies that continue to be played from generation to generation, I composed a fantastical single-movement chamber music piece titled ‘In Echoes Off Embers’.
‘The Village Song’ played by Mr. Xiao Nikuai, recoded on August 10, 2024
Initially, this work was titled ‘Cangyuan’, suggesting the fieldwork cite explicitly. The new name was suggested by a friend of mine, a collaborator during the field journey. The following is a brief explanation of the meaning of this name. In Cangyuan, many local intellectuals have gradually lost their power to interpret their own culture, being forced to work for government departments and tourism companies, interpreting the cultural narratives they design. The word ‘Embers’ in the title ensembles these individuals whose glorious days have long passed, dwelling upon the ruthless reality just like the dropping embers at the fire pond. In addition, ‘Echoes’ are murmurs mingling across the perennial mountain, trembling from the past. In the context of contemporary tourism, these individuals are drifting away from the life they interpret, hence the echoes are ‘Off’, resonating in bitterness between the present and the past.
As the plane ascended above Cangyuan’s cloud, I ponder where this field trip leads to, ending up with a beautiful yet lost world of meaning through my own perspective. While I love tonal music, I have found that it is gradually losing its interpretation power in contemporary musical contexts, often to be seen as carrying imprints from centuries past. In this backdrop, my resonance with the Wa people comes from a reflection of myself in the Other----this is where the music comes from.