Jan Gilbert

Flute (or Chinese Flutes) and Piano

Fantasy for Flute and Piano is an adaptation from the orchestral work Fantasy for Flute (or Chinese Flute) and Orchestra from the Chinese Folk Tale “The Magic Whip.”  Minnesota composer Jan Gilbert’s interest in Chinese music led her to collaborate with flute master Ying Zhang, creating a work commissioned by the St. Paul Civic Symphony and premiered in 2010 at the Landmark Center in St. Paul in a concert entitled “Nations United in Music.”  With permission from Ying Zhang, the improvisational flute solos from the premiere have been transcribed and added to the orchestral score, and subsequently to this arrangement for flute and piano.

“The Magic Whip” is an ancient Chinese folk tale that tells the story of a farmer’s daughter who confronts a powerful emperor whose intention is to destroy the South China Sea by filling it up with rocks from the mountains. The emperor steals a magic whip (made of hair from a mysterious old woman.)  The whip has the power to move even a mountain with the slightest tug.  The farmer’s daughter tricks the emperor and reclaims the magic whip.  Shamed and disgraced, and powerless to destroy the land without the magic whip, the emperor returns to his palace.  The kingdom and sea are spared from such evil intentions.  The mountains have not moved for centuries, and it is unlikely that they will move for centuries to come.

Fantasy for Flute and Piano follows the narrative of the folk tale. The flute expresses the daughter’s emotional connection to the land and sea.  The accompaniment portrays the story of