黃鸝 - A Yellow Oriole
for unaccompanied SATB choir
ca. 6’15”
The lofty ideals and brazen fervor of youth flit away like a yellow oriole dissolving into pastel clouds. What can we do other than watch it fade—letting go of the people, passions, and principles we once held near and dear?
《 黃鸝》was commissioned by the Diocesan Boys' School and Diocesan Girls' School Senior Mixed Choir; Felix Shuen, conductor.
Text 《黃鸝》—徐志摩 :
一掠顏色飛上了樹。
“ 看， 一只黃鸝! ”有人說。
翹著尾尖， 它不作聲，
艷異照亮了濃密——
像是春光， 火焰， 像是熱情。
等候它唱， 我們靜著望，
怕驚了它。 但它一展翅，
沖破濃密， 化一朵彩雲;
它飛了 ， 不見了 ， 沒了 ——
像是春光， 火焰， 像是熱情。
A Yellow Oriole — Xu Zhimo
A burst of color flits up a tree.
"Look, a yellow oriole!" Someone says.
Flicking its tail, it stays silent,
its beauty illuminating the canopy——
like the spring sunshine, like a blaze, like passion.
We wait for its song, observing in silence
to not frighten it. But it spreads its wings,
and bursts through the canopy, dissolving into pastel clouds;
it soared, it disappeared, vanished——
like the spring sunshine, like a blaze, like passion.
Performances:
30 Apr 2025
Prize Winner’s Concert: 77th Hong Kong Schools Music Festival
Sha Tin Town Hall, Sha Tin, Hong Kong
Diocesan Boys’ School and Diocesan Girls’ School Senior Mixed Choir; Felix Shuen, conductor
25 Mar 2025
Hong Kong Schools Music Festival: Choir Finals
Sha Tin Town Hall, Sha Tin, Hong Kong
Diocesan Boys’ School and Diocesan Girls’ School Senior Mixed Choir; Felix Shuen, conductor
24 Feb 2025 (world premiere)
Hong Kong Schools Music Festival: Secondary School Choir Chinese Mixed Voice Competition
Tsuen Wan Town Hall, Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong
Diocesan Boys’ School and Diocesan Girls’ School Senior Mixed Choir; Felix Shuen, conductor