Raffles Institution (Y5–6) Chinese Orchestra | 莱佛士书院（高中部）华乐团
Conductor: YANG Ji Wei | 杨纪伟 指挥
Zhongruan: CHUA Rui Yi, WONG Yu Xian | 中阮：蔡睿洟、黄宇贤
Composer: WANG Chenwei | 王辰威 作曲

“The Sisters’ Islands” is a programmatic concerto for double Zhongruan and Chinese orchestra, inspired by the local legend of the Sisters’ Islands located south of Singapore. The 13-minute piece features four sections:

1. Fishing Village: A strike of the gong opens the piece, introducing the peaceful tropical scenery of Singapore. The orchestra evokes the ebbs and tides with wave-like patterns in Indonesian Gamelan style, playing in the pentatonic “pelog selisir” scale. The broad “sea” theme is presented first by the solo Ruan, and then the bowed strings. The following “sisters” theme represents the beautiful young Malay sisters Minah and Linah in an “asli” dance. The music then proceeds into a lively Malay “zapin” dance portraying the festivities in the village.

2. Capture of the Bride: Suddenly, a throng of pirates raids the village, illustrated by the menacing “pirates” theme in a hexatonic scale. The captain, awestruck by Linah’s beauty, intends to abduct her as a bride. A weeping Ruan melody implores the release of Linah but to no avail as she is dragged away, and a fast descending scale represents Minah stumbling into the sea to chase after the pirate ship.

3. Raging Waves: Bass instruments play a transformed “sea” theme, while woodwind glissandi in octatonic scale and percussion effects depict the stormy sea. A struggling “sisters” theme emerges amidst the chaos as Minah swims after the pirates, until she is overcome by exhaustion and disappears amidst the raging waves. Linah struggles fiercely to break free of her captors and jumps into the sea to join her sister. This tragedy incurs the wrath of the gods; thunder and lightning strike, and a giant orchestral wave engulfs the pirate ship. After a long timpani roll, calmness is restored.

4. Spirit of the Sea: In the morning, a conch (seashell) calls out for the sisters’ spirits to rest in peace. The “sea” and “sisters” themes are recapitulated and finally played together in counterpoint, building up to a climatic ending as two islands emerge from the sea where the sisters drowned.

Composed by WANG Chenwei at age 17, “The Sisters' Islands” won the Singapore Composer Award at the 2006 Singapore International Competition for Chinese Orchestral Composition. Originally scored for Chinese Orchestra, this piece was later re-arranged into a double Zhongruan concerto by the composer.

双中阮协奏曲《姐妹岛》取材于新加坡岸外姐妹岛的民间传说，全曲长13 分钟，分为四段：

(一) 渔岛：低音锣一声鸣响，拉开了乐曲的序幕。乐队以印尼甘美兰风格的波浪式音形和 pelog selisir 五声音阶烘托出一望无际的大海和蕉风椰雨的渔岛风光，双中阮和胡琴先后呈示出宽广的「海」主题。大合奏之后，轻盈优美的「姐妹」主题描述一对年轻马来姐妹米娜与丽娜的 asli 舞姿。双中阮接下来在马来手鼓的伴奏下进入一段欢快的 zapin 舞乐段。

(二) 抢婚：突然，胡琴响起阴森的颤音；中阮弹出凶悍的「海盗」主题，一伙海盗冲进渔村，首领强掳丽娜为妻。悲伤的姐妹苦苦哀求海盗放手，但海盗拖着丽娜乘船扬长而去，米娜随着疾速下行音阶哭喊着追入海里。

(三) 怒涛：急促的快板和八声音阶调式展现了暴风骤雨的场面。低音乐器奏出「海」主题，吹管和敲击乐器模仿汹涌的波涛。在一片混乱之中，「姐妹」主题再次出现；精疲力竭的米娜消失在惊涛骇浪中。船上的丽娜眼见失去唯一的亲人，猛力挣脱海盗的魔掌跃入大海。这一幕触怒了上天，刹那间雷电交加，一股巨浪吞噬了海盗船。在一阵定音鼓的滚奏后，一切恢复平静。

(四) 海魂：次日清晨，深沉的海螺声缓缓响起，为姐妹安魂。村民们回到岸边，惊见海面上浮现出两座相依而立的小岛。双中阮再现「海」主题，胡琴奏起悠扬的「姐妹」主题，最后「海」与「姐妹」两个主题以复调手法同时呈现，把乐曲推向高潮的尾声，象征溶入大海的一对情深姐妹化为永恒的海岛。

王辰威17岁创作华乐合奏《姐妹岛》，在2006年新加坡国际华乐作曲大赛中获「新加坡作曲家奖」，随后改编为双中阮协奏曲等多种不同乐器组合的版本。