Moss Sutra
青苔经
From Lost to Boundless
“What if I were a little moss living on a cold continent? How might I see the world? And are we really so sure of who we are? The opera portrays a world of fragmented heritages and blurred histories. Amidst this vast puzzle of myth and legend, how do we find the self-belief to shape our own destinies?”
Moss Sutra is a new chanting music drama by Chinese opera performer, composer, and poet Qian Yi. The piece features an abstract, sutra-like structure containing layers of obstacles and liberation. As each state of obstruction is resolved, the mind and awareness are pushed forward, leading to a new expansion in the next stage of searching and wandering. It narrates a journey from being immensely lost to immensely boundless in the form of opera.
The score draws from various forms of chanting traditions, from Chinese opera, oratorio, cantata, as well as Western contemporary opera and minimalism.
The libretto, written in English, presents a succession of fragments, thematically related scenes, some historical, some mythical. Each scene involves a portrait. A mountain covered with snow and fog is visited by a deity. The frustrated British Lord Elgin decides to burn down a Royal Palace garden in China. A child rises from the garden’s ashes and sings the story of a young Zen Buddhist monk who devoted his youth to his master’s silver magic. A woman’s hand fan transforms into a lover. An ancient Oracle Master waves goodbye to his young disciple. A patch of lowly moss comes to life in an all-encompassing garden as its self-regarded sense vanishes like fog into the morning light.
— Qian Yi • William Youmans
The following samples are excerpts of work in progress.
Moss_Sutra The Moss Chant In An Encompassing Garden
Three Female Vocalists
Soprano Mezzo—Soprano
The Instrumentation part of the song was exported as a midi file from the score
Moss_Sutra The Ambient Song Variation #2
New Cells
A total Midi File exported from the score
Moss_Sutra Epilogue
A Traveler After All
Soprano Qian Yi
Mezzo—Soprano Qian Yi
Male Chanters Jeo Chapple
Paul Whelan
Cello Player Audrey Chen
Moss_Sutra The Ambient Song Variation #5
Happy Moss
A total Midi File exported from the score
Three Crustal Mirages
Wave Files exported from the Scores