Butterfly Lovers (2022) for two alto saxophones

ca. 6'00"

Butterfly Lovers (梁山伯與祝英台) is a Chinese legend of a tragic love story between two lovers, Leung Shan-pak (梁山伯) and Chuk Ying-toi (祝英台). The story ends with the two protagonists, who have not been able to be together due to societal restraints, flying out from the grave in the form of a pair of butterflies, never to be separated again. The legend, which dates to the Tang Dynasty, has been famously adapted into traditional Cantonese opera (粵劇). This piece incorporates various musical features and melodies from the opera, and is based on the idea of transformation. Butterfly Lovers was written for Violet Meltzer and Carl Ng, and was premiered in April 2022.