The "Word Painting • Formosa" album and theatrical concert productions unite outstanding teams from the fields of music, language, sound recording, and theatre. Much as the French invoke Versailles as a tangible symbol of their culture, "Word Painting • Formosa" selects beloved Taiwanese folk melodies and weaves them into four astonishing classical concertos and suites, allowing collective memory to take on a newly articulated form.

  Program  

I. Spring Breeze Through Rain — Concerto Grosso
Based on original compositions by Deng Yu-Xian
Composed and arranged by Yi-Hsien Chen
I. Flowers in the Rainy Night
Based on the Taiwanese song "Rainy Night Flowers," expressing sorrow and resilience through nocturnal imagery and lyrical lament.
II. Crimson Through the Seasons
Based on the Taiwanese song "Crimson Through the Seasons," reflecting emotional constancy unfolding across the cycles of time.
III. Awaiting the Spring Breeze
Based on the Taiwanese song "Awaiting the Spring Breeze," articulating longing and anticipation through gentle melodic motion.
IV. The Eighteen-Year-Old Maiden
Based on the Taiwanese song "The Eighteen-Year-Old Maiden," portraying a moment of transition at the threshold between youth and adulthood.
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II. Echoes Beneath the Pavilion — Suite on Taiwanese Popular Songs
Based on Taiwanese popular and folk songs
Composed and arranged by Paul SanGregory
I. Prélude – When Remembrance Awakens
Based on the Taiwanese folk song "Siang-Siúⁿ-Khí," a song in which memory and longing are awakened through singing.
II. Allemande – A Gathering of Stars
Based on the Taiwanese popular song "A Gathering of Stars," evoking collective presence and shared musical memory.
III. Sarabande – When the Applause Resounds
Based on the Taiwanese popular song "When the Applause Resounds," reflecting affirmation, response, and communal resonance.
IV. Courante – Butterfly Lovers (Distant Hills in Gentle Laughter)
Based on the melody of "Butterfly Lovers," reimagined as a poetic metaphor of love, distance, and transcendence.
V. Gigue – Folk Opera in Seven-Syllable Verse
Based on traditional Taiwanese folk opera melodies characterized by seven-syllable verse patterns and rhythmic storytelling.
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III. Songs from the Tea Mountains — Keyboard Concerto
Based on Hakka folk songs
Composed and arranged by Szu-Hsien Lee
I. Tea-Picking Ballad (When the Sky Turns to Rain)
Based on a Hakka tea-picking song, in which labor, landscape, and rhythm converge through oral tradition.
II. Lament for Rouge Blossoms
Based on the folk song "Lament for Rouge Blossoms," expressing female emotion and the passage of time through lyrical lament.
III. A Maiden's Grace
Based on the folk song "A Maiden's Grace," portraying restrained beauty and intimacy within everyday life.
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IV. Harvest in Song and Dance — Double Concerto
Based on Indigenous songs of Taiwan
Composed and arranged by Chien-Yu Huang
I. Harvest Dance
Based on Amis harvest songs, in which music, movement, and ritual merge as communal celebration.
II. A Love by Ghost Lake
Based on Rukai oral tradition, linking love, myth, and landscape through song.
III. Longing
Based on Atayal songs of longing, conveying distance, memory, and transmission through vocal expression.
IV. Song of Drinking Wine
Based on a Bunun ceremonial song, collected and documented by Kuo Ying-Nan, in which singing affirms kinship, ritual continuity, and intergenerational bonds.

  Creative and Production Team  

Composers｜CHEN Yi-Hsien, SANG Lei-Po, HUANG Chien-Yu, LI Szu-Hsien

Playwright & Director｜YANG Shih-Ping

Lighting Designer｜TSAI Chao-Yu

Choreographer｜CHANG Ya-Ting

Costume & Styling Designer｜WU Yi-Chen

Baroque Camerata