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Press Release
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Flowing Music
-Gems from the Chinese plucked-string instruments
 | Feng means 'wind', and Liu means 'flow'
- It's music from plucked-string instruments that sweeps you off your feet and immerses you in soothing notes!
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The concert features virtuosi in plucked string music from the Mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The Taipei Liuqin Ensemble and five of the recitalists representing different generations in the Chinese music world will be performing a programme of exotic sounds on the liuqin and the ruanxian. Yan Huichang, Artistic Director, and Yuen Shi-chun, Research Development Officer (Musical Instrument) of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra will be navigating the audience in a highly enlightening concert experience through the time tunnel.
Unlike the western orchestra, in which the plucked strings are excluded from the standard configuration, the Chinese orchestra places considerable weight on the plucked string instruments. While the bowed string instruments produce linear notes and therefore are perfect for ensemble effects, plucked string instruments produce granular notes that make it difficult for a harmonious ensemble effect. But with their flowing melodic lyricism, they have an exotic quality that is charming and at the same time unique.
For this concert, we have invited the Taipei Liuqin Ensemble from Taiwan, formed by Cheng Tsui-pin and her students more than twelve years ago, to perform for us. They will be joined by the plucked-string ensemble of the HKCO for a programme that is beautifully conceived: the first half will be five robust 'winds' and the second half, four lyrical 'flowing melodies' . There will be special lighting effects and installations for each item on the programme to highlight the music. Be prepared for a world of Chinese poetry in music, and sounds that would enrapture you!
This concert is a rare gem of Chinese music because there is only one show in this year's series, and if you miss it, you won't have a second chance to go back for it.
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This is a concert of Chinese ensemble music with 'fusion' as the main concept.
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| There is the wind that rises from our own city, Flying with the Wind, performed by a guzheng ensemble from Hong Kong; |
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| Then from a more northern region comes the wind of Shaanxi, with Song of the Mulberry Fields, performed by a banhu and plucked strings ensemble; |
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| From an arrangement of Adagio by a Beijing composer comes the glimmering; |
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| And from our very own spring source comes Feng Liu, the latest work by local composer Law Wing-fai, which gives the inspiration for this concert. |
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My Choice
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As for the second half of the season, my first choice would be the May concert, Flowing Music. To me, plucked strings have a charm that makes them stand out among all other Chinese instruments. Also, the new work by Law Wing-fai, Feng Liu, would reflect the composer's in-depth knowledge of Chinese plucked-string instruments and its versatility in application.
Chow Fan-fu, an established arts critic
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Highlights of the Programme
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The first half of the programme is Feng, or 'Wind', and it blows from five directions:
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| Scenes of Yili is the wind that blows from China's northwest, by the river of Yili in exotic Xinjiang; |
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| Two arrangements by Gu Guanren of Shanghai -Moon over Guanshan and Liquormania - represent the winds from antiquity; |
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| Tan Dun's Water and Earth are winds swept from pristine earth: |
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| The wind that rises from our own city is Flying with the Wind, composed by Clarence Mak and performed by guzhengs from Hong Kong. |
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| And the charming Bring in the Wine by the local composer, Mui Kwong-chiu, gives us a taste of the whirlwind rhythms and sounds of the Tang poet, Li Bai. |
The second half of the programme is a meeting of streams that flow from four places:
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| There is the flow of the seasons from the Shanghai 'odd ball' composer, Liu Xing, in the ever-changing month of April; |
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| From the Beijing composer Gao Weijie comes the glimmering Adagio, an arrangement based on Barber's famous piece; |
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| From the ancients comes the sound of the running brook, Flowing Water, performed on guqin solo; |
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| And from our very own spring source comes Feng Liu, the latest work by local composer Law Wing-fai that gives the inspiration for this concert and gives us the spectacle of a flowing river down the history of Time. |
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Know your Chinese
music
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The plucked-string instruments in the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra:
In the standard disposition of the HKCO, the plucked-string instrument section includes four pipas, one to two guzhengs, one sanxian, two liuqins and a six-member family of ruans who play the zhongruans and daruans. Depending on the programme, sometimes a konghou would be brought in. Now are they all going to appear in this concert series?
Answer:
Orchestration is a balancing act, that is, to combine the sounds of a full range of instruments of an orchestra to form a satisfactory blend and balance, both in terms of tone colour or volume. That is why in this concert, besides the standard plucked-string section of the HKCO, which includes liuqin, pipa, sanxian, quzheng, zhongruan, daruan, konghou, yangqin and various types of percussions, there will be musicians from the Taipei Liuqin Ensemble who will be playing the liuqin, zhongruan and daruan, which forms an orchestration with ten liuqins and zhongruans, six daruans, two yangqins, one sanxian and konghou, and one to two quzhengs. Depending on the items of the programme, there will also be the additional pieces of guqin and percussions. The plucked-string ensemble, then, would be more than forty musicians. This not only strengthens the expressiveness of music, but also creates a brand-new tone colour.
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Music from the Heart
Talk hosted by Liu Xing
4.5.2005(Wed)
7:30pm
No 1 Rehearsal Room, Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra
(Conducted in Mandarin)
Fee:$50 (Free for FoHKCO)
Reservations:3185 1670
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| Programme |
Ensemble From the people Scenes of Yili Gu Guanren
Zheng Quartet From our contemporary
Flying Against the Wind for a Zheng Ensemble Clarence Mak
Zheng: Luo Jing, Tsui Mei Ting, Xu Lingzi, Chin King
Plucked-string Ensemble
From the ancients Moon over Guanshan and Liquormania Ancient Melody Arr. by Gu Guanren
From the earth Water, Earth (The third and fifth movements from 5 Elements for Plucked-string Instruments) Tan Dun
From poetry Bring in the Wine Mui Kwong-chiu (Commissioned by HKCO/ World Premiere)
Performed by Taipei Liuqin Ensemble and Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra
Plucked-string Ensemble Of the seasons April Liu Xing
Performed by Taipei Liuqin Ensemble and
Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra
Guqin Solo Of the sounds Flowing Water
Ancient Melody Tian Wen Ge's scores
Guqin: Tse Chun-yan
Plucked-string Ensemble
Of the luminous lights Adagio Barber Arr. by Gao Weijie
Of the flowing shape Feng Liu Law Wing-fai
(Commissioned by HKCO / World Premiere)
Performed by Taipei Liuqin Ensemble and
Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra
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| Date:
7.5.2005
Time: 8:00 pm |
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Venue:
Hong Kong City Hall
Concert Hall |
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7.5.2005
$150, 130, 110, 90
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Yan
Huichang
Conductor |
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National Class One Conductor. As a conductor who has worked with all professional Chinese orchestras in Beijing, Shanghai, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong, Yan has won the acclaim of the music circles in China and abroad for his artistic and conducting talents.
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Under his baton, and in collaboration with the famous composer Zhao Jiping, the Symphony Orchestra section of the China National Symphony Orchestra made the soundtrack recordings for such award-winning films as Raise the Red Lantern, Ballad of the Yellow River, and Five Girls and a Rope.
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Yan was awarded the "Cultural Medallion (Music)" by the National Arts Council of Singapore in September 2001. Since 2004, he has been a Visiting Professor in many music conservatories. Yan was awarded a Bronze Bauhinia Star (BBS) by the Chief Executive of HKSAR in 2004 in recognition of his remarkable achievements in Chinese music as well as his efforts in promoting Chinese music.
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"Meticulous execution with a charming stage presence"
The Strait Times, Singapore
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Taipei Liuqin Ensemble |
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The Taipei Liuqin Ensemble was established in 1993 by vocalist of Chinese folk songs, Cheng Chui-ping, who is also its founding director and concertmaster. All its members are young musicians dedicated to the art of liuqin performance.
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The aim of the Ensemble is to explore the possibilities of orchestrating Chinese plucked strings instruments to achieve breakthroughs and to discover new talents in the field. The acoustic concept of the ensemble is to use the liuqin and the ruanxian, both played with a plectrum, as the core instruments to give consistency in techniques while at the same time, create harmonious and pure tones. The fluidity of moving from low to high register with the daruan, zhongruan, xiaoruan, alto liuqin and soprano liuqin highlights the stylistic features of Chinese music and at the same time, creates a refreshingly different overall acoustic effect. The Ensemble is noted for its uniform performance standards, rapport between its members, and brilliant, rounded and richly varied tone colours. This type of configuration for a music ensemble has opened up a new form of performance and sound for modern Chinese music.
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Since its first establishment, the Ensemble has given more than a hundred performances to critical acclaim. It has toured Guam, Honolulu, Santa Barbara, Las Vegas, Hong Kong, Beijing and Guangzhou. Everywhere it went, it has received critical acclaim.
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Tse Chun-yan
Qin |
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Born and brought up in Hong Kong, Tse Chun-yan was first interested in European music. In the 1980s, he started learning the qin under Kwan Sheng-yau, Lau Chor-wah and Madame Tsai Teh-yun, a grand master of the Fan Chuan School.
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Tse has composed a number of qin pieces and has given many public performances as a qin soloist in Hong Kong. He has also performed in Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and London. His solo CD recording of qin music, The Oil-Lamp Flickered, was released in July, 2001. Other than this, his compositions are also included in the CD collection, The Art of Qin Music and Qin Music on Antique Instruments. Tse Chun-yan is a medical doctor by profession.
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Law Wing-fai
Concert Pogramme Design |
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Law Wing-fai has written music for orchestra, television, theatre, modern dance, opera, Canto-pop and over twenty films. He is currently the Composer in Residence at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, where he was Head of Composition for many years and a faculty member since 1984. He is now an honorary advisor for the Hong Kong Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
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Andy Tong
Set Design |
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Andy Tong graduated from the Department of Theatre Design of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in 1990. He worked as a set designer in the Television Department at RTHK, then on shop image and display design for many major department stores. Since 1996, he has designed the stage for the pop concerts by Emil Chau and Sammi Cheng. He set up his own design company in 2002, working on space design and packaging design etc. for many malls and shopping arcades in Hong Kong.
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Tong was presented the Excellent Award for Theatre Space Design in 1998, and the Excellent Award for Display Design in 2000, and the Interior Design award in 2002 by the Hong Kong Designers' Association.
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Jeff Lui Pak-lap
Lighting Design |
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Jeff Lui is a graduate of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts with BFA Honours Degree major in Theatre Lighting. His major works in theater include drama productions of Hong Kong Repertory Theater, Musical by Hong Kong Childrens' Musical Theater and he has lit extensively around Hong Kong's professional theatre community.
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Jeff has worked as technical director / fireworks display designer for productions that include: Shopping Festival-Aqua Fantasia (HKTB), Strato Fantasia (HKTB), and also designed pyrotechnic effects for most of the local pop singers¡¦ concert and TV entertainment shows. He was also the assistant lighting designer of The Symphony of Lighting, a habour musical lights show with 18 buildings along the coastal front of Hong Kong Island, presented by the Hong Kong Tourism Committee.
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