The Train
2019 – for choir
Ensemble
Choir SSA, piano
Duration
2:10
Commissioned by/Premier
Premiered and recorded by Peking Sinfonietta Children’s Choir, conducted by Nicholas Michael Smith, pianist Shen Yue
Published by JC Link
Note
The words for this song were written by Wendy Wu, an old student of mine who has settled in the UK. She was visiting China after a long time away, and this poem was her reaction to her experiences of the new high speed trains. These sleek white beasts are indeed impressive, but many of us who experienced China before 2008 feel great nostalgia for the old green painted coaches that grumbled their way across China’s vast distances, and afforded us all such incredible opportunities for socialization (voluntary or otherwise). There are of course, many sentimental songs about trains in the literature. We have contributed one more.
