Daniel Lei plays Omaha and A Response to Taggart's Omaha

Hilary TAGGART (b. 1948): “Omaha”, from Picture, 15 Pieces for Solo Flute
Daniel LEI (b. 1997)​: A Response to Taggart's “Omaha” – for solo bamboo flute (2023).
Daniel Lei, Western concert flute/ bamboo flute

"Omaha", composed on Remembrance Day 2000, is named after the beach designated for the Normandy Landings during the coda of World War II. The composer uses simple rhythmic cells adorned with expressive grace notes to convey a sense of grief and tranquillity. The velocity of the grace notes and the implied space between phrases can be varied by the performer to enhance the emotional impact of the music: generating tension, causing hesitation and fading into calm silence.

In A response to Taggart's “Omaha”, the use of grace notes and ornaments, instead of merely mimicking Taggart's, here incorporate bamboo flute characteristic ornamentation, for instance, short upper popped notes, flying fingers, and minor third/ perfect fourth portamentos, rather than Western arpeggios. Army Wagons: A Ballad (752), a famous ancient Chinese war poem written by Chinese poet and politician Du Fu (712–770), is an initial influence for the singing rhythm and sentiment of this piece, as the poem describes – “the new ghosts are tormented by their wrongs, the former ghosts just weep.” (Chinese: "新鬼煩冤舊鬼哭", English translation by Stephen Owen. See his monograph The Poetry of Du Fu. Germany: De Gruyter Mouton, 2016).

Positioned solemnly behind the stage in the video is an oak board that coincidentally commemorates those who sacrificed their lives for honour and freedom.