Fräulein Datuk 拿督姑娘 (2018)

Instrumentation: [Chinese Orchestra] 3 笛⼦,  ⾼⾳笙, 中⾳笙, ⾼⾳唢呐,  扬琴, 柳琴, 琵琶, 中阮, ⼤阮, 古筝, 2 perc,  高胡. 二胡, 中胡, vc/革胡, kb/倍革胡

Duration: 6 minutes

Program Information:
Many years ago, while reading about old local folklore, I found reference to a shrine tucked away in Pulau Ubin that the local Chinese erected for a young German girl in the early 20th century. This shrine (despite being one of many on the island) is particularly intriguing because while it is listed as a place of interest in Pulau Ubin on the National Parks website, there is no mention of it on official island maps. Despite this, local and international explorers have found the shrine and shared its GPS location on their blogs. Today, the shrine is visited by many who are seeking lucky 4D numbers for the weekʼs drawings.

Despite having tried, I have not yet been successful at locating this shrine on Pulau Ubin. Its lore, shrouded in endless mystery and its atypical intercultural confluences piqued my interest in this subject, and I want to highlight these peculiarities in my composition.

Reading: March 12 2018 | Singapore Chinese Orchestra | Singapore