M.I.A

The Peony Pavilion is a romantic tragicomedy play written by dramatist Tang Xianzu in 1598. The play has a total of 55 scenes and the plot depicts a love story between the young scholar Liu and his beloved Du, a maiden of sixteen, whom he first meets in a dream and later successfully marries after she has died of longing for him. The play was originally written for staging as Kunqu opera, one of the genres of traditional Chinese theatre arts.
Written for solo violin and solo cello accompanied by two antiphonal string ensembles consisting of 10 violins, 4 violas, 2 cellos, and 2 double basses, Peony Pavilion for Violin, Violoncello and Orchestra was first performed on March 12, 2009, by the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan. The work lasts 12 minutes and has two sections.  The first section depicts Du visiting her deserted family garden with her maidservant. The second section depicts Du sinking into a daydream in which she encounters Liu and falls in love with him; and then, the dream is suddenly interrupted. When Du wakes and realizes that all is a dream, she is heartbroken and falls ill.  Peony Pavilion is distributed by the Universal Edition.
https://www.universaledition.com/Werke/PEONY-PAVILION/P0209366

Peony Pavilion for Violin, Violoncello and Orchestra (8-minute excerpt)

The meditative, calm second movement of my Second Piano Concerto, "Confluence," is a reconstruction of a Hakka folk tune.
Yiu Kwong Chung conducts the Taoyuan Chinese Orchestra, Piano Soloist: Fan-Chiang Yi

Piano Concerto No. 2 "Confluence" 2nd Movement

Il cuore giovane, triste e smarrito, dal lontano paese natale, sono giunto qui. Per ritrovare quel volto familiare, ho attraversato mari, monti e cieli.
Lei, la mia stella, il mio splendente sole, è promessa ad altri, il suo cuore è lontano. Sognavo di abbracciarla ancora una volta, ora vedo l'ultima speranza svanire.
Destino crudele, hai portato via il mio amore, ma non puoi spegnere la luce nel mio cuore. Il tempo guarirà le ferite dell'anima, ma mai cancellerà il dolce nome tuo.
Complete MV on YouTube: https://youtu.be/toZ3RFY0L0k?si=8FM2YTnWnRkqPcB2

Addio, Mio Amore

In 410 A.C. Romans left the rule of Britain. The date and the reasons are still and always a matter of debate among historians; however, in 2010, when it may have been 1600 years since that event and to commemorate it, 500 lighthouses were lit along the route of Hadrian's Wall, from east to west (cover image).
The first draft of the track is not recent (I didn't like it so much) and can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/michele-ansani/departure-from-britannia. I recovered audio material that I had discarded at the time (recording quality not optimal) and added some stuff.
Vocals by Ginevra Ansani and Arthouse Acoustic (samples). Flute by Trey Eley (Soul Surplus samples).

------

Composed by Michele Ansani (2017-2024).
Posted on SoundCloud: 2024, August 19.

Departure from Britannia (final version) *

Zephyrus abducted and then married the nymph Chloris, transforming her into a goddess: Flora.
The portrait of Flora, together with the scene of the abduction, is depicted in one of the masterpieces of Renaissance art: ‘Primavera’, by Sandro Botticelli (Uffizi Gallery, Florence).

I wrote this song when I was in high school (which means in the mid-70s), so I guess the naivety of the lyrics and the simplicity of the original melody are understandable. Francess (@pianofran : you all know her) worked beautifully on that melody (the archeological version of the song had a definitely different rhythm); we weren't planning to revive the song (the idea was to produce a purely instrumental piece), but the beauty of this piano arpeggio motivated me to give it a try. And so I sang it.
Of course, my gratitude goes to Francess for the magnificent work she has done on this my old music! 🙏

Lyrics (ENG / ITA)

You live in the leaves
of your fears
like a snowdrop
that can never bloom
Sad mechanisms
your tears and your smiles
seek the courage
to break the enchantment

But the wizard who imprisoned you
With golden bracelets
cannot stop the wind
that ruffles your thoughts
and only in little moments
incredulous and light
you imagine that time
listens to your breath

Already the leaves are falling
of your fears
and the wind disperses them
among thousands of plains
Your new smile
like fountain water
chases in the streets
other gazes and new lives

The sky is a hawk
and air a bee
the waters together dance
in your soft fingers
of perfumed musk
you will carry them with you
never more shall you pass
where they still shade
cold, dark bushes

----

Vivi tra le foglie
delle tue paure
come un bucaneve
che non potrà mai fiorire
Tristi meccanismi
i tuoi pianti e i tuoi sorrisi
cercano il coraggio
di spezzare il sortilegio

Ma il mago che ti imprigionò
con braccialetti d'oro
non può fermare il vento
che ti spettina i pensieri
e solo in brevi attimi
incredula e leggera
ti immagini che il tempo
ascolti il tuo respiro

Già cadono le foglie
delle tue paure
e il vento le disperde
fra migliaia di pianure
Il tuo nuovo sorriso
come acqua di fontana
rincorre nelle strade
altri sguardi e nuove vite

Il cielo è un falco
e l'aria un'ape
le acque insieme danzano
nelle tue dita morbide
di muschio profumato
li porterai insieme a te
mai più dovrai passare
là dove ancora ombreggiano
cespugli freddi e scuri

----

Lyrics: Michele Ansani
Music: Michele Ansani & Francess Harris
Piano: Francess Harris
Vocals and arrangement: Michele Ansani
Composed by Ansani & Harris (1976-2025)
Posted on SoundCloud: 2025, February 14

Flora [with Francess Harris] *

The lyrics translated into Italian are taken from the well-known T.S. Eliot, "The Waste Land". Part IV: "Death by Water".

To give a new and different look to this old track I asked to my (and yours) friends (you know them well: @beatingedge). They improved the mix and above all added an instrumental part, on wich I enjoyed myself with other guitar, pad and cello sounds and parts. Obviously, I thank them immensely, with a special thought for Vampira (aka Mary).

LYRICS (ENG - ITA)

Phlebas the Phoenician,
a fortnight dead,
forgot the cry of gulls,
and the deep sea swell
and the profit and loss.
A current under sea
picked his bones in whispers.
As he rose and fell
he passed the stages of his age and youth
entering the whirlpool.

Gentile or Jew
o you who turn the wheel and look to windward,
consider Phlebas,
who was once handsome and tall as you.

----

Phlebas il Fenicio,
morto da quindici giorni,
dimenticò il grido dei gabbiani
e il fondo gorgo del mare,
E il profitto e la perdita.
Una corrente sottomarina
Gli spolpò l’ossa in mormorii.
Mentre affiorava e affondava
Passò attraverso gli stadi della giovinezza
della maturítà
Procedendo nel vortice.

Gentile o Giudeo
o tu che volgi la ruota e guardi sopravvento,
Considera Phlebas,
che un giorno fu bello e alto come te.

----

Music by Michele Ansani & Beating Edge (1981-2025).
Picture is from James Abbott McNeill Whistler, 'The Ocean Wave' (1883-1884), National Museum of Asian Arts, Washington.
Posted on SoundCloud: 2025, March 6

Phlebas il Fenicio [with Beating Edge] *

*** 2017 Perception ***

I hope you enjoy the track and let me take you on a short journey into my music.
Close your eyes, feel the music and tell me where It took you to :)

Cheers and thanks for the support.
Ray

Perception

COMPLICADAMENTE

Maria, para quê fazer simples,
se o posso fazer complicadamente?
Tu já me conheces, tu sabes o quanto eu aprecio
nunca seres simplesmente.

Tudo o que faço e digo, o faço e digo complicadamente.
Sou inimigo, sempre fui inimigo do simplesmente.
Que o simplesmente complica-me com os nervos,
baralha-me as ideias.
Sabe-me ao primarismo desses servos
que broncamente arrastam as cadeias.
São estas as principais razões porque ajo e penso complicadamente,
e que, por paradoxo, são a chave
de um outro e bem mais simples simplesmente:
Maria. Simplesmente Maria...

Not easy to capture the ambiguities of the portuguese lyrics, but here goes a try:
COMPLICATED WAY
Mary, why should I do things in a simple way, if I can do them in a complicated way?
You know me, you know how much I appreciate that you don't simply exist.

Everything I do and say, I do and say it in a complicated manner.
I'm wary, I've always been wary of the "simply",
because the "simply" gets on my nerves, confuses my ideas.
It tastes to me like the rudimentary nature of those servants that drag their chains in a clumsy way.
These are the main reasons I think and act in a complicated manner.
And this, paradoxically, is the key for another and much simpler "simply":
Mary. Simply Mary.

Complicadamente

** A QUESTÃO DO FUTURO **

Por muito negro que seja o livro do passado,
o futuro é sempre uma página em branco...

Se queres saber o que é o futuro,
dou-te uma resposta inocente:
É como um filho prematuro
da gravidez que é o presente.

Porque o presente sempre está
com a barriga dilatada,
sempre a parir um venho já,
um porvir que ainda agora é nada.

Convém agora meditar:
Esse porvir, esse talvez,
é tempo para nos libertar
da nossa humana insensatez.

Dá-me tua mão. Vamos dançar,
que esse porvir, esse talvez,
talvez nos traga um madrugar
que leve as dores da gravidez.

Penso que o mais que podemos
fazer nesta curta vida
é tocar com a mão que temos
outra que esteja estendida.

E, desse contacto breve,
tentar extrair a verdade,
um feixe de luz que leve
ao fundo da eternidade.

Here is an English translation:

** The Question of the Future **

No matter how dark the book of the past is,
the future is always a blank page...

If you want to know what the future is,
I'll give you an innocent answer:
It's like a premature baby
of the pregnancy that is the present.

Because the present is always
with a dilated belly,
always giving birth to an I'm coming,
an upcoming that is yet still nothing.

It is now worth meditating:
This future, this perhaps,
is a given time so we can get free
of our human foolishness.

Give me your hand. Let's Dance,
because this future, this maybe,
may perhaps bring us a dawn
that will take away the pains of pregnancy.

I think the most we can
do in this short life
is to touch with our hand
another that is begging.

And, from that brief contact,
try to extract the truth,
a beam of light that will takes us
to the end of eternity.

A Questão Do Futuro

Hi, 

I am Ray Charles a Dutch composer and hope you enjoy my music.


Thanks for listening and support on my music.

*** Be strong, focussed and creative and make music from your heart **

Cheers
Ray

Perception

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