Persis Overture

Persis Overture is a contemporary band piece composed by James L. Hosay. It is one of the most famous band pieces in the band scene due to its ability to 'attach' the listener and its enchanting melodies.

Persis Overture is essentially about a love story in a dream. The piece has a 'persian', 'oriental' feel and starts off grandly with lots of brass instruments. The Percussion 'push' the music forward with lots of running notes especially on the marimba. There is some sort of interplay between groups of instruments requiring some balancing feat. The entire piece, however, is generally homophonic.

The oboe solo in the middle of the piece is expressive and requires musicality of the soloist. The oboe solo should be played with lots of expression but not to the extent of being melodramatic. The oboe solo is then built up to a larger instrumentation and eventually, we are brought back to the recapitulation.

The finale of the piece is one of my favourites. It is a modification of the melody of the oboe solo and accompanied by horns. It brings about some form of 'sustained' emotion in the listener and its extremely 'touching' and melodious.

I give this piece a 8/10. However, it is often overplayed.

Kenji Wu Ke Qun - Bu Xie Ji Nian

Apparently, this song is inspired from Kenji's experience with his ex. In terms of composition, this ballad is emotive and has a 'tinge' of a feeling of denial. This song is also reflective in nature. I especially like the chorus and the variations associated with it. (The first time the chorus is sang, it is sang expressively without percussion. Afterwards, it is sang with percussion to give the music its 'wheels' ). A similar technique of instrumentation is used in Jay Chou's An Jing.

Also, the chorus is cleverly composed in the sense that the 'up-beats' is diminished upon repetition. i.e. the length of the 3 up-beat notes is shortened. This is a common technique used to emphasize certain notes. In this case, "Wo Bu Xie" is emphasized using this technique.

Kenji's ballad is definitely well composed but uses common or even classical techniques. Definitely an addictive piece. I'll give it a 7.5/10.

不屑纪念

十月十八我生日这一天
蜡烛熄灭后浮现你的脸
你说祝我生日快乐
但还有话挂在嘴边
你说你身边多了一个他
之后伤人的话你不想讲
你说你会怀念或纪念
谢谢你我该说声感谢
我不屑纪念这一天我们分别
我不屑怀念你的嘴喊着抱歉
我后来发现你的侧脸
只是我脑子里面的一点残缺
一点残缺
但还有话你挂在嘴边
我不屑怀念你的脸欲止又言
忘了说抱歉的是我才对

Translation (from chinesemusicblog.com forum):

"Don't Want to Remember" - Kenji Wu

October 18th - my birthday.
The candles went out and your face appeared,
And you wished me happy birthday
But there was something more on the tip of your tongue.
You said you'd found someone else,
But you didn't want to say anything else that would hurt me.
You said you'd always remember us.
I should speak up and thank you.

I don't want to remember the day we split,
I don't want to remember you screaming you're sorry.
Eventually I find your profile,
Has lost a little inside my mind,
Lost just a little.

But there was something more on the tip of your tongue,
I don't want to remember your face as you wondered if you should say it, I forgot I should be the one to say sorry.

Jay Chou - Ju Hua Tai

菊花台 | Ju Hua Tai | Chrysanthemum Flower Bed

This song is the theme song of The Curse of the Golden Flower. The composition is sort of reflective and the lyrics are descriptive as expected from fang wen shan. Personally, I felt that this song is an excellent theme song of the movie. After watching the movie, I had a deeper appreciation of the song. The mood of the song is sad and reflective. Although there are 2nd person and 1st person elements inside the song, the song is predominantly 3rd person.

Technically, the song is not difficult to sing. The chinese instrumentation (gu zhen) contrasts really well with jay's voice and gives a chinese touch to the music. I especially liked the 'orchestral' introduction. However, as with all Jay's music, there is an obvious modulation at the end to create tension. I felt the modulation is too sudden creating a melodramatic effect (that is common in asian music).

Overall, I feel that the piece is well-composed and sung. I'll give it 8/10


曲：周杰倫
Qu : Zhou Jie Lun
Music: Jay Chou

詞：方文山
Ci: Fang Wen Shan
Lyrics: Vincent Fang

妳　的淚光　柔弱中帶傷
ni de lei guang rou ruan zhong dai shang
Your tears glistens with weakness admist the pain

慘白的月彎彎　勾住過往
can bai de yue wan wan gou zhu guo wang
The ghostly white curved moon hooks onto the past

夜　太漫長　凝結成了霜
ye tai man chang ning jie cheng le shuang
The night is too long and has crystallised into frost

是誰在閣樓上　冰冷的絕望
shi shui zai ge lou shang bing leng de jue wang
Who is in the attic [filled with] cold hopelessness

雨　輕輕彈　朱紅色的窗
yu qing qing tan zhu hong se de chuang
Rain gently bounces off vermillon window

我一生在紙上　被風吹亂
wo yi sheng zai zhi shang bei feng chui luan
I have (written) my life story on paper (only to be) blown into a mess by the winds

夢　在遠方　化成一縷香
meng zai yuan fang hua cheng yi lv xiang
The faraway dream has become really faint

隨風飄散　妳的模樣
sui feng piao shan ni de mo yang
The wind has dispersed the image of you

＊菊花殘　滿地傷　妳的笑容已泛黃
ju hua chan man di shang ni de xiao rong yi fan huang
Chrysanthemum destroyed A whole floor of pain your smile has become faintly yellow

花落人斷腸　我心事靜靜躺
hua luo ren duan chang wo xin shi jin jin tang
People are heartbroken when the flower falls My thoughts lay quietly (aside)

北風亂　夜未央　妳的影子剪不斷
bei feng luan ye wei yang ni de ying zi jian bu duan
The north wind is chaotic the night is still young your shadows can’t be cut

徒留我孤單　在湖面　成雙＊
tu liu wo gu dan zai hu mian cheng shuang
Just leaving me lonely doubled (when I stand) by the lake

花　已向晚　飄落了燦爛
hua yi xiang wan piao luo le can lan
The flower has already come late, drifting down brillantly

凋謝的世道上　命運不堪
diao xie de shi dao shang ming yun bu kan
the wilted morals an unbearable fate

愁　莫渡江　秋心拆兩半
chou muo du jiang qiu xin chai liang ban
(If you are) sad don’t cross the river worries broken into two

怕妳上不了岸　一輩子搖晃
pa ni shang bu liao an yi bei zi yao huang
In fear that you can’t get back on shore and will sway for a lifetime

誰　的江山　馬蹄聲狂亂
shui de jiang shan ma ti sheng guang luan
Chaotic sounds of horse hoofs (in) whose territory?

我一身的戎裝　呼嘯滄桑
wo yi shen de wu zhuang hu xiao cang sang
My armory shouts out the wear of time

天　微微亮　妳輕聲的嘆
tian wei wei liang ni qing sheng de tan
The sky is starting to light up your voice is sighing

一夜惆悵　如此委婉
yi ye chou chang ru ci wei wan
A night of disappointment is (said) in such a roundabout way

REPEAT＊＊

Music Reviews

The Music of Mooty Cow aims to delve into the musical interests of Mooty Cow.
I will give reviews from time-to-time of all kinds of music from Contemporary to Medieval.