The Swallow by Sharon Chen

Chen uses the Chinese folk song, “The Swallow”, as her inspiration for this work. As stated in the program notes, this is “a love song expressing a man’s admiration to a girl.” The 7:30 work evokes this graceful and sweetly flowing sentiment beautifully. While the entire folk song is not presented until the last section of the work, Chen does a wonderful job creating multiple layers of the melody line, arpeggiated accompaniment, and clear bass line. Although the form is AABA, Chen provides a great deal of variety of underlying rhythms that contribute to the expressively rubato feel. Chromaticism is utilized throughout, but a general sense of tonality is constantly present. Additionally, Chen provides clear markings of her expressive direction, while also allowing the performer the freedom to make their own decisions.