Composed by Man-Ching Yu Donald in 2021.
Performed by Oleksandr Perepelitsa, piano; soprano, Tetiana Muliar. The 30th Contrasts International Festival of Contemporary Music "New Music: Odesa-Lviv", S.Lyudkevych Concert Hall, Ukraine. (September 28th, 2024)

The text of We are in Darkness is written by Shen Haobo, the poem expresses the distress and suffering of victims during the outbursts of covid-19 in 2020. The music begins with incessant drive of diatonic figures while gradually transforming into darker mood of chromatic materials, which become even more dramatic and intensive when blending with the vocal part. Upon reaching the climax, the music shows substantial contrasts, here the world of diatonic sounds subtly expresses the poetic meaning and after passing through several transformations of rhythmic figures and pitches, the music fades away in a peaceful manner, symbolizing the glimpse of hope in the darkness.

We Are in Darkness
(Shen Haobo Translated by John Broach)
We all stand alone
I can’t see your face
you can’t see mine
Anger has lost its shape
Sorrow has lost its meaning
We grasp the last candle
mourning for the lost ones
but it always dwindles away
Caution is our crime
Fear is our fate
Whoever is content to live like this
does not deserve to see the light of the morrow

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