Original tune by A'bing, arranged by Jennie Liu.

Erquan Ying Yue (“The Moon Reflected on the Er-quan Spring,” or “The Moon Mirrored in the Stream”) is a score of solo Erhu music composed by blind Chinese folk musician Hua Yanjun, known colloquially as A’Bing, in 1949. A’Bing lived much of his life in poverty and performed on the streets for a living. After combating an opium addiction, contracting syphilis, and losing his eyesight at the age of 34, he put all of his sorrow and sufferings into this piece. A friend of Abing beautifully articulated its meaning: “The piece conveys an inexplicable deep meaning of life and shows the complexity within life. The repetition of the motifs within the melody throughout the piece gives a sensation of continuity, but the variations within the melody hints at underlying changes that are not yet perceivable to the eye. The changes in the melody are subtle at first with a clear manifestation in the end of the piece in which Abing composes all of his sorrow into the music, but also conveys a determination to live on. Ozawa Seiji, one of the greatest East Asian conductors of all time, burst into tears when heard the Erhu music in 1978, saying that “one can appreciate it only on bended knees”.

Notes for the Performer

The Erhu is a two-stringed string instrument with an incredibly expressive sound. Elaborate use of glissandi and decorations is common in Chinese Erhu music. In the violin and cello parts, slides are indicated by curved arrows. Instead of an even slide, they should be played as if lingering a slight bit longer on the starting note.