Courage Song - Act 2, Between the Stones

Performed at the National Museum for Asian Arts, Musée Guimet, Paris on 4 February 2020

Extract from Between the Stones, Act 2

Cast:

Spirit of the Silent Waves - Kinue OSHIMA, Spirit of Winter Butterflies - Iori OSHIMA, the Traveller - Jubilith MOORE

Chorus:

Teruhisa OSHIMA, Shigenobu UCHIDA, Richard EMMERT (Chorus Leader), John OGLEVEE, Laura SAMPSON

Instrumentalists (Hayashi):

Narumi TAKIZAWA (Flute - nohkan), Naoko TAKAHASHI (Shoulder drum - kotsuzumi), Eitaro OKURA (Hip drum - otsuzumi), Kiyoshi YOSHITANI (Stick drum - taiko)

Courage Song by Jannette Cheong

Music by Richard Emmert

Chorus

What is courage

In the face of death?

Displaying vulnerabilities

And fears

Or confronting

A loss of unknown years

Reducing anxiety

To protect others

Or caring for a child

Like so many mothers

The courage of acceptance

Gives the inner heart

A gift of peace

Before we depart

Spirit of the Silent Waves

In summer dreams

Our Autumn leaves

Drifting on an Eastward wind

Chorus

Looking to the distant horizon

Winter sun beckons

But we feel no cold

Forever warm

In the depth of your soul

Lost children found

Encircled by endless love

Captured in the beauty

Of silent waves and

Fallen leaves

Lifted gently, drifting

In their splendid colour

Like winter butterflies

Released

In a silent breeze.

Opera singer, Piran Legg sings the ‘Courage Song’

Opera singer, bass-baritone, Piran Legg, also worked with us as part of the Noh time like the present… tribute to professional noh actor, Akira Matsui in 2017 during his 70th year. During the noh time like the present programme Piran sang in the Opposites-InVerse piece written and composed specially for Akira Matsui by Jannette Cheong and Richard Emmert.

The Courage song is sung in Act 2 of the new contemporary noh drama, Between the Stones, but here Piran uses the original noh score with his Opera vocal rendition of the song.

Click on the image below to listen to Piran Legg singing the Courage Song