SINGAPORE

Music by Vladimir Martynov

Text: (DP/Loa Tse)

Publisher: Copyright Control

ARTISTS:
Vladimir Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Artem Markin

Vladimir Chamber Choir
Conducted by Eduard Markin

Opus Posth Ensemble
Conducted by Tatiana Grindenko

World Premiere
Recorded at Tchaikovsky Concert Hall
Moscow October 5, 2005

Recorded and mixed: Yuri Bogdanov
Mastered: Yuri Bogdanov (Magic Mastering Studio)
Design: Chaika Studio
Editorial: mmedit
Producer by Michael Tay, Ambassador of Singapore
To the Russian Federation (from 2003)


Notes on SINGAPORE. A Geopolitical Utopia

Vladimir Martynov is a highly eclectic composer and every new
work that springs from his pen is almost certain to have its sur-
prises. His music is also, for the most part, highly accessible,
written not to impress a coterie of fellow composers, but rather
to be listened to by audiences of ordinary music lovers.

SINGAPORE. A Geopolitical Utopia abounds with both surprise
and accessibility. The surprise derives chiefly from Martynov’s
decision and ability to pay tribute to an Asian country with music
that overwhelmingly comes from the Occident in inspiration and
style. Along the way, the listener hears echoes of the handclap-
ping and shouted song of an American black or bible-belt church
service, Russian Orthodox chant, jazz, and the music of 19th century
European composers and of present-day Western minimalists,
all of it coherently pieced together with enormous skill.

Martynov's score brings to mind another quite different sort
of work that also sets translated Chinese poetry to music, Gustav
Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde. Like Mahler with his assortment
of Chinese poets, Martynov has managed to give full value to the
words of Lao Tze without resorting to more than mere hints of
Oriental music.

The accessibility of the music should be apparent to almost
any listener. One might not altogether agree with the view of one
Moscow critic who noted, following the work's premiere, that
“(Martynov's) music is not for understanding. It is just for listening”.
There can be little doubt that most will find the listening part
an enormously enjoyable experience. As for understanding,
the reasons behind Martynov's choice of words and juxtaposition
of musical styles may never become fully apparent. But the work
he has fashioned from them surely gives the people of Singapore –
and of the rest of the world as well – some serious food for thought.

Words of praise are very much in order for the performance
heard on this disc. The orchestra and chorus come from the
medium-sized city of Vladimir (located on the Klyazma River) the capital of one of European Russia's less prosperous regions. Yet their playing and singing
have about them precision and commitment of a kind one
might expect from the leading ensembles of Moscow and
St. Petersburg when performing at their very best.

Raymond Stults
Music critic, The Moscow Times
October 2006


The lyrics of
SINGAPORE. Geopolitical Utopia

Singapore...

Singapore consists of the main island
and some sixty-three offshore islands.

The main island is about forty-two kilometres from east to west
and twenty-three kilometres from north to south.

Singapore. O, Singapore

Flag of Singapore – two equal horizontal sections,
red above white.
Upper left section – white crescent moon,
five white stars within a circle.
Red – symbol of universal brotherhood
and equality of man.
White – signifier of eternal purity and virtue.
Crescent moon – the rising of a young nation.
Five stars – the ideals of democracy, peace,
progress, justice and equality.

Singapore. O, Singapore

The tao that can be described
is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be spoken
is not the eternal Name.
The nameless is the boundary of Heaven and Earth.
The named is the mother of creation.
Freed from desire, you can see the hidden mystery.
By having desire, you can only see what is visibly real.
Yet mystery and reality emerge from the same source.
This source is called darkness.
Darkness born from darkness.
The beginning of all understanding.

Let your community be small, with only a few people;
Keep tools in abundance, but do not depend upon them;
Appreciate your life and be content with your home;
Sail boats and ride horses, but don't go too far;
Keep weapons and armour, but do not employ them;
Let everyone read and write,
Eat well and make beautiful things.
Live peacefully and delight in your own society;
Dwell within cock crow of your neighbours,
But maintain your independence from them.

Singapore. O, Singapore
Chapters 1 & 80 from Tao De Jing
Lao Tze (circa 604-521 BC)

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