《白蛇傳》笛/張君豪 群藝民族管弦樂團

鄭濟民、羅偉倫/曲 指揮/周聖文
2024/09/10《神話傳說》群藝民族管弦樂團
地點/臺北市中山堂中正廳

"The Legend of the White Snake", also known as "Xu Xian and White Maiden", is a renowned Chinese legend. It is now counted as one of China's Four Great Folktales, the others being Lady Meng Jiang, Butterfly Lovers, and The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl (Niulang Zhinu).

The very original folktale was formed in the Tang dynasty. The main male character, Xu Xian, is described as a heartbreaker who abandoned a beautiful white snake spirit after their first encounter. The main female character, Bai Suzhen, is a white snake spirit capable of transforming into a human form after practicing Taoist magical arts for thousands of years. In the Qingming dynasty, the folktale was then adopted and developed in various Chinese operas. Through the evolution in a thousand years, new characters are added, including the green snake spirit, Fahai, and the old man of the South pole, which enriched and formalized the story in various aspects. In the Story, Xu Xian was facing a dilemma between morality and love, manifesting an ordinary yet weak humanity. However, Bai Suzhen, as a seductive monster, expressed her toughness and courage for love after experiencing an extraordinary love with Xu Xian.

The composers, Law Wai-Lun and Zheng Ji-Min, adopted Wu opera in Zhejiang and Jiangnan melodies as the prominent motifs which drive the piece to become the most classic Dizi concerto. It debuted in May 1986, and Chou Ji-Min himself played the solo. The piece comprises 4 movements:

"Attachment between Xu and Bai": The music initiates with a delicate and airy introduction implying the background of the myth. The Dizi solo afterward plays a cantabile theme portraying a beautiful landscape of West Lake where Xu Xian and the white snake spirit started their sweet relationship.


"Fahai's Enchantment": Dizi plays an astonishing mournful and sorrowful passage expressing Bai Suzhen's sincere imploration. Dizi solo plays alone in the lower register in the middle part of the movement revealing Bai Suzhen's miserable and hopeless soul.


"The Flooding of Jinshan Temple": The entire movement is covered with fast passages depicting the tense scene where Bai Suzhen confronted Fahai with strong magic powers. With the earth and sky covered by furious waves, they intended to outshine each other with their best skills.


"Leifeng Pagoda in the Sunset": The epilogue unfolds with Dizi playing a cadenza as if the lake sparkles in the sunset light. Eventually, the theme in the first movement recapitulates in a more subtle and calm emotion. The entire piece gradually ends with the music fading away. The melancholy feeling of this relationship between a human being and a snake profoundly surrounds the listeners.