La’i
Subtitle: Love Song. For Orchestra without Strings
General Info
Year: 2005
Duration: c. 5:10
Difficulty: VI (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: G. Schirmer
Cost: Score and Parts - Rental
Instrumentation
Full Score
C Piccolo I-II
Flute
Oboe I-II
English Horn
Bassoon I-II
Contrabassoon
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II
B-flat Bass Clarinet
C Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II
Bass Trombone
Tuba
String Bass
Harp
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV:
- Bass Drums (high and low)
- Cowbells (4)
- Tam-Tam, large
- Triangle
- Wind Gong
- Xylophone
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
La’i is a form of Tibetan love song. It is most popular in eastern Tibet where I lived for seven years in my teens. I watched men and women approach each other singing La’i while herding, working in the fields, or especially in festival settings. If things went well, they would exchange memorabilia and set a new date to meet again. The character of the music is lyrical, slow in a free tempo, with quick moving throaty grace-notes decorating an overall simple melody. The decoration forms a special notation to the melody, a unique feature of La’i.
When I first heard the singing, I was struck by the beauty and overtly romantic feeling, as well as by the natural unruly wild emotion the music generated. This work is loosely based on the impression of the La’i singing.
- Program Note by composer
This work was commissioned jointly in 2004 by the Philharmonisches Orchester Dortmund (conductor Arthur Fagen) and the University of Michigan Symphony Band (Michael Haithcock, conductor).
- Program Note from Teaching Music through Performance in Band
Media
- Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown
- Audio CD: University of Louisville Wind Ensemble (Frederick Speck, conductor) - 2012
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Northern Arizona University (Flagstaff) Wind Symphony (Daniel Schmidt, conductor) – 16 March 2006 (CBDNA 2006 Western/Northwestern Division Conference, Reno, Nev.)
- University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) Symphony Band (Michael Haithcock, conductor) – 25 February 2005 (CBDNA 2005 National Conference, New York, N.Y.)
- Philharmonisches Orchester Dortmund (Germany) (Arthur Fagen, conductor) – 16 January 2005 *Premiere Performance*
Works for Winds by This Composer
- La’i (2005)
- Shanghai Overture (2007)
Resources
- Bright Sheng website Accessed 29 August 2017
- The Horizon Leans Forward…, compiled and edited by Erik Kar Jun Leung, GIA Publications, 2021, p. 471.
- Sheng, Bright (2004). La'i : Love Song : For Orchestra without Strings (2004) [score]. G. Schirmer: New York.
- Threinen, Emily L.. "La'i (Love Song) for Orchestra without Strings." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 6, edit. & comp. by Richard Miles, 836-843. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2007.