This Taiwanese song is about a couple arguing over how to cook a special kind of eel that surfaces in the fields when it rains. “Ti oh oh, beh lo ho” means “the sky is getting dark, the rain is coming.” It is such a quirky and fun song that it seemed perfect for the adventurous musicians of the Kronos Quartet and Wu Man, probably the most acclaimed pipa player in the world. Trombonist Jacob Garchik arranged this excellent version for the string quartet + pipa. What resulted is a wonderous, magical sound world. Huge thanks to Wu Man and the Kronos Quartet for all of the inspiration, support, and haunting music and to Ya Yun for turning me on to this song in the first place.

 

SONG LYRICS AND TRANSLATION 

 

 

MUSICIANS

Arranged by Jacob Garchik 

 

KRONOS QUARTET

David Harrington, violin

John Sherba, violin

Hank Dutt, viola

Jeffrey Zeigler, cello 

 

Wu Man, pipa

Akiko Hiroshima, vocals

Ya Yun Teng, vocals

Yoshi Waki, upright bass 

David Cossin, percussion

Elena, vocals, mandolin