Cover Story

Music & Folktales Cover Story

Have your parents ever told you stories that were told to them by their parents? These are examples of folktales – stories that have been passed down from generation to generation. One popular folktale you might have heard of before is about the origins of the name of our country, Singapore. Legend has it that 700 years ago, Sang Nila Utama landed on the island (then called Temasek) and saw a lion. He took it as an auspicious sign and named the island ‘Singapura’, or ‘Lion City’ in Sanskrit. Many countries have their own folktales, stemming from their traditions and cultures. Join us as we explore music and folktales from around the world in this issue!

Music & Folktales Cover Story

One Thousand and One Nights One Thousand and One Nights, or Arabian Nights, is a compilation of Middle Eastern folktales that were told to King Shahryar, by his advisor’s daughter, Scheherazade. This frame story is a folk tale in itself, where Scheherazade tells King Shahryar stories over many nights to prevent him from executing her.

One tale you definitely know from One Thousand and One Nights is Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp, which has been adapted into many films – such as the slient film, The Thief of Bagdad (1924) and Disney’s Aladdin (1992).

The many tales in One Thousand and One Nights are fantastical and imaginative, inspiring many composers to compose works based on them. The most famous of them all is the symphonic suite, Scheherazade, Op. 35 by Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, completed in the year 1888. Scheherazade consists of four movements: I. The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship II. The Legend of the Kalandar Prince III. The Young Prince and The Young Princess IV. Festival at Baghdad. The Sea.

Depiction of Scheherazade by various artists

Rather than present narratives that are reflective of the stories, Rimsky-Korsakov intended for Scheherazade to capture the spirit and mood of the frame story, and to convey an array of fairy tale images. Throughout Scheherazade, themes representing different characters, ideas and setting in the stories are present. Here are two!

King Shahryar’s Theme In the first movement, King Shahryar’s bitter nature is conveyed using the use of low strings and brasses in a broad and imposing – almost evil-sounding – theme. As he falls in love with Scheherazade towards the end, his theme returns shorter, quicker and livelier. 3

Scheherazade’s Theme Scheherazade, a smart and charming woman, is represented by a graceful and tender theme played on the high register of a violin accompanied by the harp.

3 3 3 3

Listen to SSO’s harpist Gulnara Mashurova and former concertmaster Igor Yuzefovich play Scheherazade’s theme, or catch it live on 21 August 2020 performed by the SSO!

3

Music & Folktales Cover Story

Music inspired by folktales around the world Folktales are present in countries around the world, and represent the traditions and cultures of its country of origin. Read on to learn more about works inspired by folktales around the world!

Russia: Baba Yaga, Op. 56 by Anatoly Lyadov (1904) Lyadov’s Baba Yaga is a tone poem – a piece of short orchestral music that depicts or evokes the content of a non-musical work. It is based on the legend of Baba Yaga, a terrifying witch-like lady who lives deep in the forest and preys on young children. In Russia, parents tell their children the story of Baba Yaga to scare them from wandering far from home! The breathless and exhilarating music follows the Baba Yaga as she whirls through the forest, rustling the trees and whipping up the winds. The music winds down as she returns to her hut (built on chicken legs), and eventually fades into nothingness as she disappears into her hut.

Depiction of Baba Yaga and her hut

China: The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto by He Zhanhao and Chen Gang (1959) This beautiful and expressive work is based on a Chinese folktale about the tragic love story between Zhu Yingtai and Liang Shanbo.

Set in Ancient China, the story follows Yingtai as she falls in love with Shanbo while disguising as a man to obtain an education. Despite having feelings for each other, they remained friends due to societal pressures.

祝英台 梁山伯

Shanbo met Yingtai one year later, only to realise she was bethrothed to someone. Heartbroken, Shanbo fell ill and passed away. During her wedding, when Yingtai’s carriage passed by Shanbo’s grave, lightning struck and the grave opened. Yingtai jumped into it and both emerged as butterflies, never to be separated.

Although it is written for a Western-style orchestra and solo violin, the Concerto is uniquely Chinese in its use of the traditional pentatonic (five-note) scale and glissandi in the solo violin part. The Concerto has also been adapted for Chinese Orchestra, featuring a solo erhu – also known as the ‘Chinese violin’. Listen to the SSO and violinist Gil Shaham play The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto here!

Music & Folktales Cover Story

Singapore: The Sisters’ Islands by Wang Chenwei (2009) Close to home, the Sisters’ Islands are two islands located at the south of Singapore, right below Sentosa. Wang Chenwei’s symphonic poem follows the storyline of the legend about how the islands were formed.

The Sisters’ Islands is about two close-knit sisters, Minah and Linah. One day, Linah was abducted and forced to marry a pirate. Upset and desperate, Minah swam after the pirates in a storm. Seeing this, Linah jumped into the sea to join Minah, and they both drowned. After the storm subsided the next day, the villagers discovered two islands that emerged from the sea. These islands are now known as the Sisters’ Islands.

Chenwei very cleverly made use of tone colour and orchestral textures to portray the mood of the story. Here’s how he portrayed the difference between a calm and stormy sea!

calm sea

- Deep and broad theme played by the horn - Accompanied by a backdrop of wave-like ornamentations that represent the glistening sea

stormy sea

- Ominous theme played by the brasses - Accompanied by drums rolls on the timpani and rapid woodwind scales to convey a sense of urgency

Be transported into the legend with the SSO performing The Sisters’ Islands at the 2018 National Day Concert!