Cleaning the Temple for string quartet
灑掃大廟

Written for TANA Quartet during 2017 Royaumont | ACADÉMIE VOIX NOUVELLES. Premiere on 10th September 2017, Royaumont, France.

神秀說：「身是菩提樹，心如明鏡台，時時勤拂拭，勿使惹塵埃。」
慧能說：「菩提本無樹，明鏡亦非台，本來無一物，何處惹塵埃。」

Shenxiu, “I strive to be a tree of bodhi, And have a heart of a transparent reflecting plane, Forever polishing it I will be, To never let it be dusted and vain.

Huineng, “The bodhi did not really possess the form of a tree, A clear reflector restricted not to a plane; When not a thing ever really mattered, Where could dust have gathered and lain?”

I imagine cleaning the big ancient Buddhist temple, but in the end, I’m cleaning my soul. This piece is inspired by two famous poems in China from one thousand years ago.

Duration: 10

Performance History:

• Premiered by TANA Quartet at Royaumont (2017)

• Performed by Quartet Asasselo at Archipel Festival Geneve (2018)

• Performed by Chicago Civic Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Center, Chicago (2018)