大风歌 - Dr. Zechariah Goh

大风歌 by Dr. Zechariah Goh
Conducted by Mr Nelson Kwei
Soloist: Raymond Lee
Singapore Choral Artists
SCA Gala Concert 2024
14th April 2024
SOTA Concert Hall, Singapore
“Song of the Great Wind” weaves together three poetic compositions about the War between Xiang Yu's Western Chu and Liu Bang's Han. Xiang Yu's "Song of Gaixia," with a male chorus as the main body, depicts the hero's achievements, valor and his neverending love for his concubine Yu Ji.
"Song of Consort Yu" shows Yu Ji's loyalty to her emperor Xiang Yu; she laments that if he dies at Gaixia, she would have no reason to live on. Both songs are intermittently disrupted by the melancholic Southern folk tunes, reflecting Xiang Yu's despair in the face of an unavoidable defeat.
The final "Song of the Great Wind" describes Liu Bang's regret over the death of his sworn brother Xiang Yu after claiming victory and proclaiming himself emperor. In historical records, when Liu Bang
wept and mourned Xiang Yu, the young men and women sang this song.
The composer used an extremely liberal approach to express the lyrics, showcasing love, loyalty, pride, and regret in the epic story. The emotions of the entire piece are interwoven in the colorful lines
of the chorus, vividly portraying the characters' personalities.