whither
三瘦
a Chen Yihan record
feat. Dai Wei & Julia Glenn
Cover Photo by Lychee Art
Listen on all major streaming platforms, including:
Featuring three original songs set to the lyrics of Li Qingzhao, Whither marks my debut personal record. Celebrated as a seminal figure in Chinese literary history, Li Qingzhao's spirit deeply resonates within this album, commemorating the 940th anniversary of her birth. This collaborative work features Dai Wei on vocals and Julia Glenn on the violin, with both artists infusing it with their uniquely intercultural and cross-genre styles.
The songs in Whither breathe new life into Li Qingzhao's timeless lyrics, originally set to now-lost music, through new compositions. This album acts as a bridge from the past to the present, merging historically authentic pronunciation from the Song Dynasty with traditional poetry recitation from my hometown, Changzhou. This confluence blends historical language and vanishing traditions with modern musical practices, aiming to create a fresh artistic world. The work's soundscape is further creatively sculpted by audio engineer Andrés Villalta.
I warmly invite you to join this journey, where academic research, cultural roots, and contemporary sonic landscapes merge.
Lyrics
by Li Qingzhao (1084 – ca. 1155)
Translated by composer
1. As Before
昨夜雨疏風驟
濃睡不消殘酒
試問捲簾人
卻道海棠依舊
知否
知否
應是綠肥紅瘦
Last night, the rain was light,
yet the wind was gusting.
A deep sleep did not fade the lingering wine.
Tried asking the one rolling the shades,
who said those crab-apple flowers were just as before.
"Don't you know?
Don't you know? —
The greens should be plump,
and the reds should be thin."
2. After Dusk
薄霧濃雰愁永晝
瑞腦銷金獸
時節又重陽
寶枕紗廚
半夜涼初透
東籬把酒黃昏後
有暗香盈袖
莫道不銷魂
簾捲西風
人比黃花瘦
Faint fog, thick vapor,
dejected by the unending day,
aroma melts within the golden beast.
Once more it’s Chongyang time:
to a precious pillow inside veils,
at midnight entered a new chill.
By the eastern fence,
a drink after dusk,
a hidden fragrance filled the sleeves.
Don’t tell me this isn't disheartening!
As shades are lifted by a western wind,
here’s a body more withered
than those yellow petals.
3. As I Gaze
香冷金猊
被翻紅浪
起來慵自梳頭
任寶奩塵滿
日上簾鉤
生怕離懷別苦
多少事
欲說還休
新來瘦
非干病酒
不是悲秋
休休
這回去也
千萬遍陽關
也則難留
念武陵人遠
煙鎖秦樓
唯有樓前流水
應念我
終日凝眸
凝眸處
從今又添
一段新愁
Incense lies cold in a lion of gold;
the quilt was tossed into waves of red
as I rise, too weary to comb my hair.
Let that jewel case gather dust,
as the sun climbs to the drapery hook.
Anxious of the sorrows of parting,
how many things
I would like to say,
yet do not.
I've grown frail of late,
not from illness over wine,
nor from griefing over autumn.
No more! No more!
This time as I leave,
however many verses of Yangguan
will not hold me back.
Longing for the Hills of Wu, far away,
as clouds lock me in this tower.
Only that stream, there,
longs for me,
as I gaze at it day and night.
Wherever I gaze,
from now on there will be
a new sorrow.