About | 辜月 November Moon

Introduction

辜月 November Moon was composed for percussionist Yongyun Zhang in 2017. We selected a text together from 山海经 (Shan hai jing — Classics of Mountains and Seas), a collection of fragmented myths on geography, folklore, and magic from the ancient world. The lines that captured my imagination most were those about Chang Xi, wife of the emperor, who waded in the water while bathing the moons, who are her children. The title is a slight play on words between 鼓乐 (gu yue — drum music) and 辜月 (gu yue — a type of moon occurring in late November, around the time of the work’s premiere).

October 2017, Beijing

Year of Composition

2017

Text

Fragment from 《山海经》

Premiere

November 2017
Cincinnati, OH

First Performer

张永韵 Zhang Yongyun