Sweet Rice Pie

c.14 min

Empyrean Ensemble

Sweet Rice Pie was commissioned by the Koussevitzky Foundation in the Library of Congress, and is dedicated to the memory of Serge and Natalie Koussevitzky and premiered by the Empyrean Ensemble in California.

voice, flute, clarinet, percussion, harp, violin, cello

I found these four nursery rhymes while researching Taiwanese folk music.  These rich, funny, imaginative Taiwanese texts evoke a carefree, curious childhood and have no specific melodies attached to them.  While containing a universal quality, they also exhibit a sense of humor that is distinctly Taiwanese.  Perhaps I find them so charming because of a desire to share something of my own mischievous childhood in Taiwan with my daughter Lia as she grows up in America (Lia was three years old when I wrote these).

This work is theatrical and can be performed with a lighting design, costume, and props for dramatic effect.

Sweet Rice Pie was commissioned by the Koussevitzky Foundation in the Library of Congress, and is dedicated to the memory of Serge and Natalie Koussevitzky and premiered by the Empyrean Ensemble in California.

–Shih-Hui Chen