Without word

Saw my parents today for the last time before my trip to Asia. Shortly before leaving, I asked my mother whether she had any idea of a Vietnamese poem for one of my songs. I had written this short piece for cello and piano that I entitled The life before my eyes during my recording sessions with Karen in Chicago.

I played it to Bévinda who she suggested I used a Vietnamese text to create a nice contrast between the music which sounds very European and the lyrics. Then the whole summer passed…

My mother went to her library and came down with a small book a poetry by Xuân Diêu, one of the most important poets of 20^th century Vietnam - he wrote around 450 poems… By my troth! When I think how laboriously I pen only one…

I immediately liked the one she chose: Tiên không loi, which, once translated could be understood as ‘a wordless sound‘. It’s so simple and most beautiful in its simplicity and goes with the music perfectly well.