Human Flower Project
Hanoi, VIETNAM
Tokyo, JAPAN
Columbus, Texas USA
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Jasmine Song for the Olympians
Beijing will serenade medalists with jade chimes, ancient bronze bells and “Mo Li Hua”—a flower song centuries old.
Chinese jasmine (Jasminum polyanthum)
Photo: Ivette Soler, Germinatrix
Like a bad penny, John Williams’s “Olympic Fanfare” keeps turning up, only lots louder than a penny—tooting in your head. Rip Van Winkle, this clip’s for you….
Williams wrote the bloated jingle for 1984 Olympic games in Los Angeles, and twenty-four years later it’s going to require mass neurosurgery to free us of it.
Today, we were gladdened to learn that musical directors of the 2008 Beijing Olympics have taken a different approach, more ancient chimes, less Hollywood horns. Tan Dun calls it “jinshengyuzhen - gold sound and jade vibrations.” Here he describes his musical philosophy and instrumentation in relation to Taoism and Zen.
What most pleased us was Tan’s decision to make “Jasmine Flower,” a Chinese folk song, the theme of this year’s medal ceremonies. Even Westerners may actually have heard “Mo Li Hua” (Jasmine Flower). The song dates from the Qing dynasty, and Puccini made it the theme for his operatic princess Turandot.
If you’re preparing for the games and would like to be able to sing along to “Mo Li Hua,” there are loads of youtube recordings. Our favorite is this duet – recorder and a Chinese zither (Gu Zheng). Another pretty instrumental version comes from this chamber music trio: harp, cello, and violin. And how about played on a banjo at the kitchen table?