Lover
MUSIC THEATRE FOR MIXED CHORUS AND PERCUSSION
LOVER, composed by the German Composer Christian Jost, is a music theatre work, setting into music, of selected love poems from Chinese ancient classics and the American poet E.E. Cummings. While Cummings’ poetry praises the desire and eroticism of Individual, the poems from Chinese Poetry of Classics and Han Dynasty Ballads celebrates love in the beauty of Nature.
Performed by Rundfunkchor Berlin and U-Theatre, LOVER combines the soundscapes of occidental choral tradition and Zen-inspired drum rhythms. The harmonies and rhythms are composed in a rich and compact six-times divided structure, where a constant pattern of counterpoint balance the sounds of two groups without losing their individual identities.
Tai-Chi, coincidentally, becomes the language Liu and Jost found in common about their artistic concepts for LOVER. Liu chooses Tai-Chi San Shou, a profound physical movement from China, originally for attack and defense, as U-Theatre’s response to intrigue interactions between lovers. Tai-Chi San Shou exhibits the use of force back and forth between the couple based on their natural instinct to deal with the other’s intentions. Jost, on the other hand, creates the musical passages of tensions and relaxations between the chorus and drummers. The energy flows in a constant give and take motion, just like the organic progression in Tai-Chi practice. After several rounds the finale reaches a dramaturgical climax. Tai-Chi becomes a new language for the dialogue between East and West. LOVER, through Tai-Chi, attempts to connecting heart and body, and sending out the message of universal desire for love of all human kind.
Scenes
1. “Guan Ju” – Shijing (1111-771 B.C.)
2. “May I feel said he” – E. E. Cummings (1894–1962 A.D.)
3. “I like my body when it is with your body” – E. E. Cummings (1894–1962 A.D.)
4. “In spite of everything” – E. E. Cummings (1894–1962 A.D.)
5. “No word poem” – E.E.Cummings (1894–1962 A.D.)
6. “Shang Ye” – Han Yuefu (202 B.C.-202 A.D.)
Credits
Composer: Christian JOST
Drumming Director: Ruo-Yu LIU
Choreography: Chih-Chun HUANG
Musical Direction: Christian JOST
Chorus Master: Nicolas FINK
Stage/Lighting Design: Keh-hua LIN
Costume Design: Johan KU
Performer: U-Theatre and Rundfunkchor Berlin (original creation)
Conductor: Christian JOST and Nicolas FINK
Video
