Other Sandra Tavali
BAN SHAN (2015 version)

BAN SHAN 扮仙

一個八家將少年在深夜過度練習後的一場清醒夢。 他一直跳,一直跳,跳到真的成仙。

Play God

The Taiwanese mediums of “Ba Jia Jiang (八家將)” originated from the Chinese folk beliefs and myths, usually referred to a few members of God, generally eight members. The general argument of the existence of Ba Jia Jiang is from the eight generals catching evil exorcism for Wufu Emperor (五福大帝). These eight generals are the gods of the underworld. They are also known as the bodyguards or attendants for the temples of the nether Gods such as Dongyue Emperor (東獄大帝), Y ama (King of Hell, 閻羅王) and Cheng Huang (City Gods, 城隍).

This computer music work “Ban Shan (means “play God”)” is a story about a Ba Jia Jiang (八家將) young medium (who also represents as the bodyguards of the God. ) 's lucid dream after a temple fair in the mid night. This young medium just kept dancing and dancing in the dream, finally he became one of the God.

In order to draw out the scene of the temple fair in Taiwan, where usually “Ba Jia Jiang (八家將)” mediums dance for God, with firecrackers and Taiwanese gongs sounding crossover, a setup of 5.1-surround sound had been designed into this work. The composer hopes to carry this charming flavor from the traditional festival in her own culture via computer music to the world.

• Ba Jia Jiang
  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba-Jia-Jiang

*Lucid dream
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucid_dream
A lucid dream is any dream in which one is aware that one is dreaming. In relation to this phenomenon, Greek philosopher Aristotle observed: "often when one is asleep, there is something in consciousness which declares that what then presents itself is but a dream". One of the earliest references to personal experiences with lucid dreaming was by Marie-Jean-Léon, Marquis d'Hervey de Saint Denys.