New Dawn is based on the same collection of Tang Dynasty poems that formed the scenario for Another Dawn, for orchestra, baritone and oboe soloists. New Dawn, however, is for orchestra alone. It is the orchestra here that paints the picture, not the singer.

(For the complete poems see: 5 Tang Poems)

The opening sounds of the orchestra look forward to the second line of poem # 1: "Now, birds everywhere chirrup, cheep". "A noisy storm..." brings in the low brass, while "How many blossoms did the wind reap?" brings back the quiet Spring morning.

The mysterious chords which open Song #2 are an echo of the second act, second scene from Berg's opera Wozzeck, one of my favorites. In the orchestral introduction Berg paints a picture of spacious Nature, which is also what I wanted to do with this poem. However, Berg's hero goes on to describe his hallucinations, wiile in the Tang poem the message is one of inner preparation for meditation.

Song #3, "Passing Beauties" begins with a light-hearted description of lovely Court ladies parading by a suburban lake. The final lines delicately point to poet Du Fu's outrage over the ladies' conspicuous consumption at the expense of the common people of ancient China..

In the fourth poem we hear the aching homesickness of one of these commoners - a recruit looking out from his post on the Great Wall.

The final poem brings us back to the dawn of the opening: two friends part for probably the last time. This is the only part of From Dawn to Dawn" which uises an actual Chinese folk song - "Jiang He Shui" ("long river waters") The song is about the flow of a river as well as of time.

Please contact Lawrence Moss for further availability details.