NINE SONGS
Nine Songs is a Chinese operetta based on ancient poems from The Verses of Chu (500-200 BC). It debuted in the AlUlah desert Saudi Arabia in November 2022. The work was directed by Farooq Chaurdy OBE, with musical direction by Jocelyn Pook in collaboration with singer and artist Rui Fui.
Blue Pieta was the dramaturg for this production
Nine Songs is a set of poems from the ancient anthology known as The Verses of Chu. They reflect on a time in Chinese history (~ 500-200 BC) when society moved from the age of mythology to the age of reason, fragmenting the delicate relationship between mankind and the natural forces of the world. This storytelling music performance, adapted and inspired from Rui Fu’s translation, takes the poems as a point of departure to tell the story of the protagonist’s loss of innocence: A pure being experiences an inevitable spiritual fracture, fragmenting her own relationships with herself and her environment. We embark on her journey as she attempts to retrieve an elusive sense of peace and eventually surrenders to the realization that the innocence lost cannot be regained.
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Nine Songs is an international collaboration created over one year and devised through a global sonic language which includes the Chinese Dulcimer, Chinese Guqin, Japanese Taiko Drums, Shakuhatchi, lever & bray harps, violin, double bass and guided produced by Fengling Productions. TRAILER
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Tatler Asia: “A concert of rich and harmonising music paying tribute to ancient rituals that celebrate human life.”
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Forbes: “Nine Songs is a multi-sensory performance that reimagines the dynamic between human creation and the natural world.”
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Iwona Blazwick OBE: “Nine Songs promoted the commonality of rituals and practices between cultures and the use of nature as a catalyst between them."
CREDITS Images by @voxfon and Emma Pu Yurong. Dramturgy: Blue Pieta Artistic Direction: Farooq Chaudhry Narrative Concept/Scenario/Text: Rui Fu Music Direction: Jocelyn Pook Creative Production: Geni Lou Visual Design: Margaux Lalanne & Marie Cantenys Lighting Design: Fabiana Piccioli Sound Design: Fred Defaye Movement Direction: Farooq Chaudhry, Geni Lou & Rui Fu MUSCIANS Lead Vocals: Rui Fu Percussion, Vocals & Shakuhachi: Joji Hirota Harp & Vocals: Ruth Wall Violin & Vocals: Preetha Narayanan Chinese Dulcimer & Sibao: Chao Tian Chinese Guqin & Vocals: Xiaogang Zeng Double Bass & Vocals: Nina Harries TECHNICAL TEAM Production Manager: Sander Loonen (ARP Theatre) Sound Engineer: Fred Defaye COMISSIONERS Special Thanks to: British Council, East London Dance, Sumi Ghose, Anand Bhatt, Alex Anslow, PAX, Steph Be, Yao Xie Chui (poem recitation), Elif Karlidag, Victoria Valette, Manon Renault , Rose Xinran Qi Chief Commissioner: Royal Commission for Al’Ula Co-Producer: Dance City Newcastle