In our station's preparations for Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, I met with local Asian-American advocates to discuss how best to represent their community in WXXI Classical's programming.
One of my correspondents, Sungmin Shin of APAPA Rochester, happens to be a member of Rochester's vibrant classical guitar community. He threw out this very album as an example of the kind of project worth highlighting. We put in an order for the album and I gave it a listen as I cataloged it in our library.
I was entranced.
Stay, My Beloved features seven classical guitar pieces written and arranged by Vietnamese composers and performed by Vietnamese guitarist An Tran. Each track celebrates an element of Vietnamese history, its landscape, and its culture.
The Legend of the Bamboo Child by The An Nguyen opens the album, taking you on a real journey courtesy of the old folk tale by the same name. The story is about a child who jumps out of his crib, turns into a giant, and embarks on heroic escapades that earn him a spot among the Four Immortals. Nguyen's musical take is colorful and evocative, beginning with a rocking, lullaby-like motif suggesting the baby in its cradle and following him along his adventures, including his furious, violent military campaign and victory (with plenty of virtuosic flair on Tran's part).
The remaining tracks follow in this vein, exploring traditional folksongs like "Drifting Duckweeds, Floating Clouds" and "Stay, My Beloved" from which the album gets its name, plus celebrations of the Vietnamese highlands. It even includes a world premiere of An Tran's own commission, Ru Con (Lullaby), also composed by The An Nguyen.
This album, at times nostalgic and at times energetic, is a splendid celebration of Vietnam and we are happy to be featuring it as we kick off our celebrations of Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month.
