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Act 4 - Searching (Scarborough Fair/ 阿​瓦​尔​古​丽​)

from Songs of the Sakura by Minwen, Kanako Honma, Ivan Chew

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Visit songsofthesakura.blogspot.com to download the free companion art ebook and short story.

"This piece is a combination of two songs: A Chinese Uyghur folksong from Xinjiang China 阿瓦尔古丽 ( Ah Wa Er Gu Li), and The English traditional song “Scarborough Fair”.

阿瓦尔古丽, “Beautiful Flower” in the Uyghur language, is about the search of one’s love. 古丽 (meaning ‘flower’) is often used in names of girls in the region. The original lyrics described the difficulties that the protagonist went through in search of his beloved. Riding on his horse, the protagonist passed through the Ili region , trudged through the Gobi Desert, climbed the Tianshan Mountains to look for the girl he loves.

"Scarborough Fair" is a 17th century English ballad. The song lists a number of impossible tasks given to a former lover who lives in Scarborough, North Yorkshire.

Though set in two contrasting regions – the dry Gobi desert and wet England, the mood of the two pieces are similar — the longing and the search for one’s beloved; the love fed by longing and the impossibility of achieving it. The imagery of horse, desert, country fair and carousel from the two songs are combined in a re-imagined love story between a human and a robot lover, in a futuristic setting:

A man waits for his beloved at a fairground, just in front of the carousel. Somehow he does not know his beloved is actually a robot. The reason she never shows up is because she is dying (reasons are up to your imagination).

The last memory the robot girl has is that of a galloping horse in the desert. In her final moments, she asks (to no one, or perhaps strangers passing by) if they are going to the Fair, hoping that someone would take her along.

The man waits in front of the carousel however, still waiting, and waiting. The sound of merry music plays on, as the wooden horses turn on the merry-go-round."
~ Minwen

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from Songs of the Sakura, released August 26, 2022
Vocals: Minwen
Music: Ivan Chew
Art: Choo BK

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