Full Orchestra - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1040096 Composed by An-lun Huang. 20th Century,Contemporary,Multicultural,Traditional,World. Score and parts. 424 pages. DoReMi Edition #644919. Published by DoReMi Edition (A0.1040096). One of the Masterpieces of Chinese Music of 20th Century The magnificent cave art at Dunhuang, in Western China sets the stage for the ballet, “Dream of Dunhuang”. In the middle of the vast wastes of Western China, lies the oasis of Dunhuang, situated in today‘s Gansu Province. Since the Western Han Dynasty(202BC-8AC), Dunhuang was an important trading and cultural center on the famous “Silk Road’, the ribbon of communication which fostered the historic ties between East and West. In the East was China, source of treasured trading articles such as silk; in the West, the ”road“ branched to Venice, and north to what is today‘s Russia. The mural led caves at Dunhuang, which were begun the Northern Wei dynasty(336AD), and developed over one thousand years into the Qing Dynasty, re presents one of the world‘s richest cultural treasures. Drawing on bothn Western(Indian and Persian) as well as Chinese tradition, the caves, of which 492 remain intact, were decorated as a mines of religious devotion, with the initiation of Buddhism into China. The subjects of the murals, such as devise, demons, apsaras and bodhisattvas, represent the entire pantheon of Buddhist mythology, yet are also significant in their representation of muti-racial and muti-cultural influences, standing as an important testament to the age old exchange between East and West. A fabricated fantasia, the story of the ballet was inspirited by the famous artist, maestro Chang Shu-hong, who dedicated his whole life to Dunhuang. One of the Huang An-lun‘s major compositions with the play written by Xu Qing-dong, the score of “Dream of Dunhuang” was completed in mid-1979. The ballet has been dedicated to the composer‘s closest friends, Canadian writers John Fraser and Elizabeth MacCallun. Up to the date this CD being released, the ballet has never got a chance to performed in mainland China. Nevertheless, its music has been wildly performed and warmly received around the world. The Singapore premiere of its suite No.1 was performed by the SSO, conducted by Maestro Lim Yao. It has been also chosen as one of the “Master Piece of Chinese Music in 20th Century” in 1993. The world premiere of the complete ballet was performed successfully by the Russian State Ballet of Moscow, directed by its artist director, Vyatcheslav Godeyev, in 1994. Choreographed by Chen Min, it was took place in Taiwan with the Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, conducted by maestro David C.H.Chen. In 2002, ROI of Hong Kong has released the CD of the whole ballet, performed by the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra of Moscow. This is also the audio file attached. Before this recording conducted by the composer himself, the entire score was also performed by the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra of Moscow in1995. The YouTube video was the World Premiere in Taiwan by the Russia National Ballet with the Taiwan symphony Orchestra, conducted by David Chen in 1994. The ballet, “ Dream of Dunhuang” depicts two young artists seeking the ultimate experience in love and expression. This two lovers arrived at desert and with the guidance of the celestial maiden, they discover the miracles of Dunhuang. It‘s divided into three acts: Act I: Desert, Act II: Cave, and Act III: Mogao cave.
