Singing of Goose by Luo Binwang (619 – 687 CE) 
Song of Snow by Zhang Dayou (Middle Tang) 
Composition by Stephanie Chou

Singing of Goose is set for: Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Erhu, Orchestra
Song of Snow is set for: Bass soloist, TTBB choir, Erhu, Orchestra

Singing of Goose by Luo Binwang (619 – 687 CE) 骆宾王 《咏鹅》
The poet, at the age of 7, wrote this short poem with simple words that paint a colorful picture and capture the child’s spontaneous delight at the sight of geese in a pond.

鹅,鹅,鹅,
曲项向天歌。
白毛浮绿水,
红掌拨清波。
Goose – Goose – Goose,
Necks arched, they sing to the sky, 
White feather floating on green water, 
Crimson webs paddling clear ripples.

Song of Snow by Zhang Dayou (Middle Tang) 张打油《咏雪》
A man named Zhang Dayou — an ordinary scholar by all account — was the first to come up with this style: something more like a limerick than a poem, strictly speaking. It is casual, seemingly simple and often humorous. Here he was describing a snow scene without ever using the word “snow”. In quick broad strokes he tells us the details within this white expanse. His style was later much copied and was named after him to become dǎyóushī 打油诗”.

                江上一笼统,
                井上黑窟窿。
                黄狗身上白,
                白狗身上肿。
The river is one sweeping sight; 
The well looks like a hole in the night. 
Yellow dog is covered with white; 
White dog looks swollen all right.

Chou added her own lyrics to the introduction of Song of Snow: 
大家看過來!
來~來~來~
我們來猜謎.
看誰能猜中!
誰能猜猜中?
大家專心了!
Everybody listen up! 
Gather round. 
Listen to my riddle. 
Let's see who can guess correctly. 
Who will guess right? 
Everyone pay attention!

Instrumentation
Goose: Soprano and Mezzo-Soprano
Snow: Bass solo and TTBB
Erhu
Symphonic Orchestra
Woodwinds 3332, Brass 4331, Timp+3 Perc, Piano, Harp, Strings

Composed June 2020, Steph Chou Music (ASCAP)

Recording is
Banlingyu Ban, voice(Goose)
James Wordsworth, voice (Snow)
Ravel Virtual Studios, orchestral rendering

Singing of Geese & Song of Snow - Demo

A joke message Adam Rogers left on my answering machine message approx 2004.

Adam message

I give to you the crowded halls
And freedom closed in by four walls
I give all that I can
Sweet stranger take my hand
And know that things never work out quite like they are planned
But we still breathe when we may
It's a drag but it's ok
Tonight is just a door to yesterday

You came to me out of the sea
In a storm of agony 
With starlight in your hair
Velvet black and fair
And the sad look in your eyes saying
Wherever it is at, we aren't there
You know I couldn't help but sigh
As I looked into those eyes
Sweet stranger, can they blame us if we try?

Can't you see the future foaming on the sand?
The salt sea wearing down the beach where we stand?

Our time is like a scattered thought
Created just to come to naught
It gives and then it takes
Builds up, then it breaks
But what it ruins, what it leaves behind
Is what I find too pretty to forsake
So it's here that I will stay
Though with time and tide I'll fade away
Back into the dream of yesterday

Oh yesterday,
When you didn't feel 
So far away

When you came to me out of the sea
In all your far-fetched finery
And I fell for your smile
We stayed up in the clouds for a while
But when we fell back to the earth
Our parachutes were just ribbons of denial
Still, the sad light in our eyes is the kind that never dies
Sweet stranger, can they blame us if we try?
Sweet stranger, who can blame us if we try?

Singing of Geese & Song of Snow - Demo

Stephanie Chou Music

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