Bukit Batok Chinese Orchestra | The Seventh Month — The Blazing Sun 七月 — 骄阳

Fantasia 梦幻 30 August 2025 NAFA Lee Foundation Theatre Conductor: Tan Toh Nguan Concert held in conjunction with Singapore Chinese Music Festival 2025. === Programme Notes === Composer: Peng Xiuwen 彭修文 Year of composition: 1984 骄阳似火，行人路上走。 心如焚，口更苦，炎热酷暑无避处。 疾走，疾走， 清凉之境在前头。 The fiery sun blazes, travellers trudge. Wildfires upon hearts; parchedness within – no sanctuary from the torrid summer. Run away; run toward: Yonder an oasis lies. Singapore’s hottest months are typically May or June, with temperatures reaching 35°C. Meanwhile, Beijing’s temperature (and humidity) peaks later, in July, also at around 35°C. At the extremes, Beijing hit 42.2°C on 24 July 1999 during a heatwave, while Singapore’s record high was at 37°C on 13 May 2023. When Peng Xiuwen composed The Seventh Month — The Blazing Sun in 1984, Beijing’s highest temperature was 36.1°C on 6 August, the Seventh lunar month that year === About Peng Xiuwen's “Twelve Months” Suite The themes of “four seasons” or “twelve months” are prevalent in Chinese folk and traditional music. Such themes also appear in Western music throughout the ages, as seen in the works of composers like Vivaldi, Tchaikovsky, and Stockhausen. Peng Xiuwen was inspired by these themes to express his impressions and reflections about the lives of people in the past and present. He also wanted to counter the surge of large-scale, grand works written for the Chinese orchestra during that period of time, by composing short, romantic pieces that would appeal to all instead. Hence, he composed The “Four Seasons” Suite (1979 – 1982), followed by The “Twelve Months” Suite (1984 – 1989). The composer utilised the tào qǔ 套曲 (“suite”) form to convey an overarching theme across twelve independent movements, each representing a month and accompanied by a subtitle and short introduction. The music was not meant to be refined or conventional; Peng only intended it to be accessible for all listeners. Whether he succeeded in achieving his intent, he left it to the audience to decide. (Programme notes for The “Twelve Months” Suite are adapted from Peng Xiuwen’s personal descriptions of his own works, taken from “Collection of Peng Xiuwen’s works” 《彭修文作品集》, published by 现代出版社 in 2019)