On the Eve of the Dragon Worship Festival

On the Eve of the Dragon Worship Festival is a theatrical work for treble choir in four parts (SSAA), child soloist and percussion. Drawing on the festival traditions of the Honghe region of Yunnan Province in southwest China, it portrays a group of children who, on the day before the great Dragon Worship Festival, stage a festival of their own: they call their friends together, rehearse the dragon dance, dress in festival costume, parade from village to village, and remember the legendary hero A-Long.

Rhythmic speech, shouted calls, hand claps and traditional drums and cymbals are woven into the choral texture, and the score invites movement and dance throughout. The work may be performed in concert or fully staged. The text is by the composer; this edition is sung in Huayao Yi, the language of the Flower-Waist Yi people of the Honghe region.

Every year in the Honghe region of Yunnan Province, the local people celebrate the Dragon Worship Festival (Jì Lóng Jié), the greatest festival of their year. The village chooses a young man and dresses him as a bride; he is carried in a flower-decked sedan chair through the whole village amid gongs and drums, and then all the villagers come together to worship A-Long, the hero of their people.

Long ago, the legend says, a demon near Honghe forced the people to bring him a young girl as tribute every year. To save his people, a young man named A-Long took the girl's place. Disguised as the bride, he was carried into the demon's cave and slew the demon — but lost his own life. To honor him, the people hold the festival every year, with dragon dances and a dragon-dance contest.

This year, on the day before the festival, the children decide to hold a festival of their own. The song follows their game from beginning to end: mm. 1–17 — A little girl runs in and calls her friends together to dance the dragon. mm. 18–56 — Tomorrow is the festival: the children rehearse the dragon dance with gongs and drums. mm. 57–92 — They choose a boy to play A-Long, dress him as a bride and parade him from village to village. mm. 93–98 — "Watch our show!" The dragon dance begins, then the drums stop suddenly. mm. 99–120 — Quietly, the children remember A-Long, who gave his life for his people. mm. 121–136 — "We may be young, but tomorrow we will dance the dragon too!" The leader drills the dancers. mm. 137–183 — The whole troupe dances the dragon and parades through the villages in honor of the hero.

The text is written in a pinyin-based romanization, one syllable per note. The score ends with a Pronunciation Guide and the complete text of every section, voice part by voice part, with broad IPA and English meaning. Sing open, bright vowels and keep the consonants light and clear. Spoken, shouted and body-percussion passages (whistle, clap, stamp, shout) are notated on single-line staves; the choir enters in two groups from both sides of the hall. Stage directions are printed above the staff, and free movement and dance are encouraged.