A secret language known only by women in China's Hunan Province is the focus of Tan Dun's new multimedia work for harp and orchestra. The piece will receive its U.S. première on October 31 by the Philadelphia Orchestra under music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
Nu-Shu: The Secret Songs of Women tells the story of this ancient language through music and film, incorporating 12 short films directed by the composer and shot on location in Hunan Province.
The films will be projected behind the orchestra during performances in Philadelphia's Verizon Hall. Elizabeth Hainen, principal harp of the Philadelphia Orchestra, will play the intricate solo part.
Nu-Shu ("women's writing") is the only known gender-based written language.
For centuries, messages written in Nu-Shu--along the folds of a fan or embroidered in cloth--were often the only means for a woman to communicate with her sisters or daughters who lived in other villages.
There is no historical record of this language's origins. "Nu Shu is a language of intimacy and suffering," says Dun. "It is disappearing...very few women can still write, sing and communicate in it."
Harp soloist Elizabeth Hainen said "...playing this piece represents an incredible opportunity to introduce audiences to a secret society of women who have had to devise their own way to communicate. Tan's ability to tell their stories and give their ancient language a current voice is remarkable."
Tan Dun, who was born in Hunan Province, traveled to the village of Shang Gan Tang with a small video crew. The films they made feature six women, most of them elderly, who have been entrusted with preserving the language. Their songs, words and images, captured in "micro-films" of one to five minutes each, became the foundation for Dun's 30-minute multimedia work.
Tan Dun is no stranger to film. He won an Academy Award for his score to the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in 2000. Dun's work has been performed by major orchestras and opera companies around the world.
One of his more unusual commissions, from Google, was to write an internet symphony--which was premièred by the YouTube Symphony Orchestra in 2009.
Nu-Shu: The Secret Songs of Women will be repeated on the orchestra's November 1 program. It is part of a Philadelphia Commissions Micro-Festival, to be held October 31-November 2.
Tan Dun will be in residence at Philadelphia's Verizon Hall during the festival and will share his insights into the complex, creative process that exists between composer and soloist.
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