Now Comes The Dragon's Hour, by Grand Union Orchestra

Now Comes The Dragon's Hour

by Grand Union Orchestra

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Full Digital Discography

10

releases

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Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Made By Human Hands, Love That Day (Single), Can't Chain Up Me Mind (Single), 12 For 12, If Paradise, Now Comes The Dragon's Hour, Around The World In 80 Minutes, The Rhythm Of Tides, and 2 more. , and , .

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1.	Whisper Me Wish 00:45	lyrics	buy track
Wish, wish, whisper me wish Wish, wish, whisper me wish Whisper me flesh, whisper me bones Whisper me stories, whisper me songs Wish, wish, whisper me wish Wish, wish, whisper me this
2.	Mirage 08:14	lyrics	buy track
After the mountains After the long descent through the tortuous passes Now you the traveller Now you the traveller on the Great Silk Road Come to the desert Here you will travel by night Passing by moonlight and the light that the stars spill The empty quarter where temptations dwell If you should linger After the caravan, or just wandering idly Leaving your comrades on the Great Silk Road Leaving your comrades Find yourself drifting Then you will hear a voice Calling your name aloud and seeming to know you But when it ceases, friends and path have gone Sometimes the night wind Carries the sound of music from out of the desert You will hear singing You will hear singing on the Great Silk Road High and alluring Useless to stop your ears Its thrilling sound is sweeter than wine from palm trees But there is nothing save the restless sands
3.	Invocation 01:14	lyrics	buy track
All that was solid melts into the air The night grows tall and black Your mother Night grows tall, my child Her eyes are pregnant with a million stars All stories have a tell-by date - it's time It's time to tell some stories from the Great Silk Road My little babe, my child, my girl to be Listen and hear: your future speaks through me
4.	Notun Desh, Notun Jiban 03:16	info	buy track
5.	Sujala Sufala 02:11	lyrics	buy track
Sujala sufala shamoli desher Ami shamolima ek meye Nadir dheuaye bhasiye dilam Ganer dali tomar patho cheye Nadi jamon sagore jay Kakhono sesh hay na tar chala Tomar kachhe amar temon Sesh kathati hay na kabhu bala Nadi jakhon e kul bhange Takhon o kul nadi garhe Tomar kathai takhan amar Kebal mane pare Ami tomar ghare ghar bandhigo Notun e gan geye Sujala sufala shamoli desher Ami shamolima ek meye
6.	Rimjhimamim 02:20	lyrics	buy track
Rimjhimamim rimjhimamim Barsha asere barsha asere Nadi thai thai nadi thai thai Bannya asere Aie baner pani, jakhon sare jabe Pali matir chhoyay, jamin bhare jabe Soner dhana fasal bona Ayon bhare kancha sona Notun diner ashay Abar manush hasere abar hasere Bannya to amar ghare Ek notun kannya asere kannya asere
7.	The Flame Of Love 03:23	lyrics	buy track
When the flame of love turns wood to ashes Hear the glowing fire whisper in the dark Willow is not the same as sandalwood Says the perfume of sandal rising in the air Fire is of god, fragrance is of the soul When the burning wood turns to ashes In the heart of the flames it finds itself With the smoke of sandal curling in the air For the fire of love purifies the soul Says the perfume of sandal rising in the air Willow is not the same as sandalwood Says the perfume of sandal rising in the air Tomar kachhe amar temon Sesh kathati hay na kabhu bala
8.	Notun Jiban Ekti Notun Desh 02:40	lyrics	buy track
Notun jiban ekti notun desh Nebo baran kori Nadi theke ar ek nadi Sagar theke ar ek sagar Se sagarer pare Notun bandar Se bandare notun ghar Khonje mor tari Notun jiban ekti notun desh Nebo baran kori
9.	Nadir Srote Ektaratir 04:57	lyrics	buy track
Nadir sroter ektarate Bandha amar gan Bangladesher hridoy hote Ektaratir tarete dei tan Tumi amar sujan bandhu Sat sagarer pare pare Ektaratir surer kali Shonau bare bare Temser tire nibas tomar Kemon paripati Tahar sathe meshe amar Desher sonar mati Kandhe kandh miliye Sure sur miliye Sujan bandhure Janai ahban Bangladesher hridoy hote Ektaratir tarete dei tan Notun desh notun manush Notun karlya shikhi Notun jaban Jai jai din chale jai Chand ese meshe nadi mohanaya
10.	When We Left / The Song Of Displacement 12:48	lyrics	buy track
Behind them the ruined towers lie breached and broken Small careful lives gone beneath the rubble No matter that they lay within their labyrinth Quiet and unambitious, shy with strangers The enemy came and ate them, like a spider Now round the smoking tents hysterical soldiers Go at their casual pillage all the morning Ignoring children's bodies cut to fragments Fathers of families do rape on corpses While the blood dries slowly, like a rusting blade Yo no quiero mi tierra Herida e oscura Yo no quiero mi tierra Vestida de sangre Between sky and sea I travel, leaving behind faces A multitude shouting in silence Break the chains, give us liberty Behind we left the dead Behind we left the night When we left, when we left ¿Dónde quedó el sol? ¿Dónde está la luna? ¿Dónde están nuestros dioses? Where are our gods? But now, as you stand inside this steel enclosure Ancient with pain and pain of pain's suppression A bundle of rags, your eyes upon the runway While searchlights cut the air in tiny slices You touch your permit twenty times an hour As winds from the south blow softly over the delta From arm to arm the soldier shifts his rifle Excited by its cool expensive glamour A guard dog trembles with an abstract hatred Slowly unhinging its long glittering jaw Yo no quiero mi tierra Herida e oscura Yo no quiero mi tierra Vestida de sangre Behind we left benighted land And three thousand people who will never return From the mountains to the sea Twelve bells rang from the church Twelve hundred men left for dead Rivers of flesh meandering When we left, when we left ¿Dónde quedó el sol? ¿Dónde está la luna? ¿Dónde están nuestros dioses? When comes the sun? Where are our gods? Where is the moon? Where are our gods? At last the wheels come screaming off the tarmac The future plucks you towards a destination Somewhere with clever uses for your suffering Giving to liberty its definition You'll kiss the flag and fall in love with money Lusting for power and the fire next time I never wanted to see my land Hurt and in darkness I never wanted to see my land Shrouded in blood But one remains, his dull foot stuck in history Stubby, cold, old granite milestone, dying Joe Never-smile, the local god of boundaries See how the green moss grows and tries to hide him He won't forgive, and he will not bow down
11.	The Bird Of Heavenly Bells, Pt. 1 02:27	info	buy track
12.	The Bird Of Heavenly Bells, Pt. 2 04:08	lyrics	buy track
Wish, wish, whisper me wish Wish, wish, whisper me wish Whisper me flesh, whisper me bones Whisper me empires, whisper me thrones Wish, wish, whisper me wish Wish, wish, whisper me this All that was shadow thickens into sleep The gravid night breathes on Your mother night breathes on, my child Exuding secrets to the passing hours Her stories speak of chance and fate, so hear The story of a bird, the bird of heavenly bells My little moon, my wisp, my craft, sail on This blood your ocean, this flesh your shell Whisper me spaces, whisper me things Whisper me cradles, whisper me kings Wish, wish, whisper me wish Wish, wish, whisper me this Listen then child, listen and hear In the mirage of bells and the legend of bells And the soft push of the camel's foot And the long haul of the camel train Pushing along the Great Silk Road From China to Africa Listen, listen and hear The song of the bird of heavenly bells How once every year she flies up to the moon Singing Singing her own wild song, song of the mountains Song of the drifting snow 啊无島阿飛過雪山啊飛啊飛啊他從心中飛出翻翻雪花
13.	The Bird Of Heavenly Bells, Pt. 3 02:52	lyrics	buy track
Listen then child, listen and hear In the rhythm of bells, the decision of bells And the soft push of your infant head Inside me, out of the dragon pool Moving along the great silk road From Chang’an to Carthaginia Listen, listen and hear The legend of the bird of heavenly bells How once on a time or so the story goes Angry and fearful of her song Her wild song, song of the mountains Song of the drifting snow Listen now child Men made a cage for the bird Made a cage for a song Listen and hear In the beating of drums and the sheeting of drums And the soft clasp of the merchant's hand the trader in signs and in silks and spices Moving along the Great Silk Road From Kusan to Alexandria Listen, listen and hear The legend of the bird of heavenly bells How after that time or so the story goes Never, never was heard again her song Her wild song As the armies plundered the silk road And the passes filled up with tanks and guns 啊天鳥啊落入貪墊的雙手不再飛啊牠從我的視野消失天鳥不再歌唱啊關在籠中的飛鳥啊牠不再歌唱不再歌唱滿天的雪花飛舞的雪花我想飛啊飛向遠天
14.	The Bird Of Heavenly Bells, Pt. 4 03:20	lyrics	buy track
Listen then child, listen and hear In the bidding of drums and the kidding of drums And the soft folds of the pleated dunes And the undecidable boundaries Spread out beyond the Great Silk Road From the jade gate to the hanging gardens Listen, listen and hear The story of the song of the bird of heavenly bells How one of these days the bird will be heard again Singing, singing her own wild song Her wild song, song of the mountains Song of the drifting snow 啊關在籠中的飛鳥啊牠不再歌唱不再歌唱滿天的雪花飛舞的雪花我想飛啊飛向遠天
15.	The Bird Of Heavenly Bells, Pt. 5 06:48	info	buy track
16.	The Quest Of The Dragoness 03:50	lyrics	buy track
Who am I? 我是誰 I have no name 我無名無姓 I am non-human, non-beast 我非人非獸 I have no shadow I am non-movement, non-stillness 我無蹤無影我無動無靜初入江湖時我身边如蝦薩水波起伏不見頭和尾但是我是誰我突竟是誰
17.	I Grow In The Rising Waves 03:31	lyrics	buy track
人們叫我龍女人們也叫我東方歌聲之吟我最愛引坑長歌歌聲如雲如風飄向長空啊坐四季之椅吸風飲露啊臥恆古之風吸風飲露感受沙粒撰面的變化我融身融進大地啊
18.	I Breathe The Wind 04:43	lyrics	buy track
I breathe the wind and drink the dew I lie on the wind of time I feel the change of rushing sands upon my face I blend my body into rivers, mountains and the land But who am I? Can anyone tell me who I really am? 以喉為洞穴以心為嬰風徹夜長嘴聲純如玉海嘯撲天林濤蓋地大風曠野橫掃環宇天下地穴應合齊鳴 My throat is the cavern My heart is the wind Throughout the night I wail and call my sound is pure as jade The sea is my song The forest is my voice I howl like the wind blowing in space Caves and caverns echo in response 猶如初生嬰兒大嘴 My song is like a new-born baby crying aloud Crying aloud
19.	A New Dawn Breaks 01:48	lyrics	buy track
Now comes the dawn 凌晨時分萬賴寂寞 All is silent, lonely 我是我是誰我究竟我究竟是誰忽然我聽見 Suddenly I hear The sound of my heart 聽見我的心聲 The morning sun breaks through the dark 輪朝陽破曉而出 The sky 天 The land 地 The empty space 空間 Everywhere is bright, is bright with sunshine 四處燦爛的光芒
20.	Now Comes The Dragon's Hour 02:02	lyrics	buy track
Dawn breaks us open, desert bleeds with light And every woman has to make her own song, my child Dying is also an event in life one day we shall have to tell that story too Whisper me flesh, whisper me bones Whisper me stories And how we are held, yes held, yes held In all the places we pass through Whisper me stories, whisper me songs Wish, wish, whisper me this

about

Imagine you’re travelling in Asia today, and you have to stay overnight in one of the expensive, characterless multinational hotels you find anywhere between London and Shanghai. In the basement is the Dragon Bar, the cabaret is beginning, and the club’s singer is just coming on for her nightly spot.

But this is no ordinary night in an ordinary club in an ordinary hotel: the singer is expecting a baby, and this evening all her thoughts are on the child about to be born. She imagines the child asking her about the world it will be born into, so she conjures up a series of songs about life along the Great Silk Road, past and present. As it happens, the club band contains some very fine jazz players to help her; and passing through the hotel that night are a number of distinguished musicians from different parts of the continent. She enlists their help in evoking the voices and instruments of a myriad different musical worlds, to tell her stories and draw some poignant moral lessons...

These stories include: the explorer Marco Polo’s description of the seductive sounds of the desert, which lure unwary travellers away from the caravan; a couple from Bangladesh affirming their love and loyalty, and despite the pain of separation, looking forward to building a new life in London; refugees from a bloody civil war or political revolution gathering at an airport, revisiting past horrors, and anxiously waiting to fly off to an uncertain future; the capture of a mysterious bird whose eventual release will bring freedom to the people of Tibet; and a female dragon searching for her own identity and individuality. At the end the singer imagines – or maybe it actually happens? – the birth of her child.

Of course, this is more than just the singer’s personal obsession. The Silk Road is the ancient trade route between East and West, and its history goes back over two thousand years. It passes through countries with a turbulent past, and which are seldom off the front pages of our newspapers today; the migration of its peoples, colonised in the not-so-distant past by Europeans, deeply affect the lives of all of us; and the rise of global corporations has changed irrevocably the economic relationship between East and West. There is also a danger of cultures being diluted, degraded or lost for ever. The Silk Road therefore also takes on a metaphorical significance, which presents a welcome challenge to the musicians of the Grand Union Orchestra – how the trading of cultures and musical language can create new forms of artistic expression in Britain today.

NOTES ON THE MUSIC

The music on Now Comes the Dragon's Hour is to a great extent inspired by ideas and techniques associated with non-Western cultures, and occasionally flavoured with folk music of different kinds (e.g. the women's voices in Mirage, the Bengali fishing song sung by the choir in Nadir Srote Ektaratir, or the Tibetan melody used throughout The Bird of Heavenly Bells).

Notun Desh, Notun Jiban is based on variations of a rag very prominent in bhangra and the music of rural north India - Rag Bhairvi, which is like playing the white notes on the piano beginning on E (the 'Phrygian mode' in European music). Most of the five songs which follow vary this heavily minor scale (at its 'purest’ in the bhangra brass section of Notun Jiban Ekti Notun Desh) by raising the third and/or the sixth notes of the scale to a major interval (corresponding with classical Indian rags Aheer Bhairav and Ahiri Todil. Changing the bass from the standard drone, and deriving chords from the scale(s) gives further variation, at its most developed in the bluesy harmony of Nadir Srote Ektaratir.

Much Chinese music is strongly pentatonic, so two characteristic scales (like playing the black notes on the piano starting from F sharp and E flat) form the basis of The Quest of the Dragoness and the three subsequent tracks. However, they are based on a common root (E), which creates some tension between them, increased when the root changes to F; they are alternated, modulated and finally combined.

The Tibetan melody in The Bird of Heavenly Bells is also pentatonic, and this forms the basis of the pipa introduction (part 1) and the soprano saxophone improvisation (part 4); it is quoted again in the jazz section (part 5). The rest of the harmony, including the flute obbligatos, is in complete contrast: derived from the augmented triads first heard in Whisper Me Wish, by the time it reaches the jazz section (part 5) it has developed into atonal harmony using intervals of a major and minor third in different combinations, but rooted in two alternating tonal centres (E flat and G). The ballad sections (parts 2/3/4) occupy territory somewhere in between tonal, but completely chromatic.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This album was compiled from recordings of performances given in London at the Queen Elizabeth Hall (5 April 1999) and Sadler's Wells Theatre (27 May 2000).

The original recordings were made by the BBC and broadcast on 16 November 1999 and 6 July 2000 respectively. We should like to thank Derek Drescher, Mike Walter, Neil Varley, and Philip Burwell at the BBC for their expertise and patience in engineering and producing the recordings, and the BBC for permission to use the recordings.

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Calouste Gulbenkian, Holst and Britten Pears Foundations who contributed to the development of the work; the Arts Council of England, London Arts Board, and London Boroughs Grants for financing the production and tour; the Cripplegate Foundation for generous support for the performances at Sadler's Wells; the Paul Hamlyn Foundation for a grant for developing work with refugee musicians and groups; the Esmee Fairbairn Charitable Trust, the John Lewis Partnership, and the Mercers Foundation for supporting education and outreach work; Islington Borough Council; Shoreditch Town Hall Trust for rehearsal space.

Thank you to Bridget Thornborrow for marketing expertise. We should also like to thank Catherine Mummery, Grand Union's long-serving General Manager until 1999, for all the energy and commitment she devoted to the development of Grand Union's work, without which the music on this album would not have been created.

credits

released October 18, 2002

Wei Li (China) voice
Lucy Rahman (Bangladesh) voice
Brenda Rattray (Caribbean English) voice
Vladimir Vega (Chile) voice, quena, panpipes, charango
Richard Scott (England) voice, tenor saxophone
Stephen Douse (England) voice, piano
Akash Sultan (Bangladesh) voice
Baluji Shrivastav (India) sitar, dilruba
Yousuf Ali Khan (Bangladesh) tabla, dholak
Miao Xiaoyun (tracks: Miao Xiao Yun) (China) pipa, ruan
Claude Deppa (South Africa) trumpet, percussion
Paul Jayasinha (Sri Lanka / Scotland) trumpet, flugelhorn, cello
Neville Young (England) trumpet
Louise Elliott (Australia) tenor saxophone, flute
Tony Kofi (Ghana) soprano saxophone, alto saxophone
Chris Biscoe (England) alto saxophone, alto clarinet
Niall Ross (Scotland) tenor saxophone
Scott Stroman (USA) trombone
Ros Davies (Wales) trombone, bamboo flute, piccolo, tanpura
Tony Haynes (England) trombone, piano
Alice Kinloch (England) tuba, bass trombone
Gerry Hunt (England) guitar, soprano saxophone, baritone saxophone
Keith Morris (Wales) bass guitar, bass clarinet
Brian Abrahams (South Africa) drums, voice

Sir John Cass's Foundation School Year 6 string group
Eclectic Voices women’s choir, under the direction of Scott Stroman

All music composed, arranged and directed by Tony Haynes
Lyrics by David Bradford, Masud Ahamed, Rukhsana Ahmad, Vladimir Vega, and Li Yan

Live sound by Paul Sparrow and Martin Pilton
BBC sound engineers: Mike Walter Philip Burwell
BBC producers: Derek Drescher and Neil Varley
CD editing/production by Dave Hunt and Rob Harbron

Artwork designed by M2
Photography by Marilyn DuMars, Derek Drescher, and M2

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about

Grand Union Orchestra London, UK

Grand Union Orchestra is a multicultural world jazz ensemble based in London. It has been performing, touring and recording large-scale shows for over 30 years and is well known for its educational work. Grand Union specialises in large-scale musical performances that reflect the backgrounds of its performers and often invites participation from amateur musicians and community groups. ... more