In the 16th Century, Portuguese sailors spotted Taiwan, back then an uncharted island, and dubbed it "Ilha Formosa", which means "beautiful island". Five Formosa Songs is an exploration into the sound world of the traditional music of Taiwanese Hokkien, delving into its idiomatic phrasing and use of intervals, among others. It is also an artistic exchange with the art song tradition in the West, probing possibilities on how the two traditions might influence and enrich one another.

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Through the penetrating texts by celebrated Taiwanese poet Chen Mo Lin, this song cycle seeks to portray ordinary scenes of everyday life, and to unveil pressing social/political issues in Taiwan's past and present, from the long colonial shadow cast upon the island nation to environmentalism.

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Huge thanks to Chen Mo for allowing me to set his powerful texts to music, to Maureen and Tara for bringing their tremendous gift to this song cycle and tackling it with perseverance and grace, to Victor for helping us with diction, to Phín-tsì for, oh so many things (diction, editing, translation etc-), to the marvellous team at Leaf Music, and to Canada Council for the Arts and Arts Nova Scotia, for your generous support.