43rd Orchestral Season

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A Night of Melodies from Movies and TV Dramas

Date and Time
3-4/1/2020 (Fri, Sat) 8:00 pm
Venue
Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall
Ticket Fee
$170, $220, $280, $350
Conductor
Chew Hee Chiat
Performed by
Guanzi, Suona: Ma Wai Him
Remark
The concert will end at about 9:30pm with no intermission. Thank you.
The 1980s and 1990s were the heyday of Hong Kong’s film and television industries. The soundtracks that came out from them made their way to the hit charts and became the collective memories of a whole generation or more. For this concert, we bring to our audience golden oldies with themes from television drama series of HK TVB and ATV, and household tunes of yesteryear. Let us stroll down memory lane together and enjoy!
Programmes

Prelude of Dagger Society (Soundtrack from the movie Buddha's Palm)  Shang Yi


Song of the Fishermen of the East Sea  (Soundtrack from the movie Kung Fu Hustle) Ma Shenglong and Gu Guanren


Theme of the Pioneers (Soundtrack from the movie Buddha's Palm) Yu Huiyong and Hu Dengtiao   Arr. by Sim Boom-yew


Capriccio   Joseph Koo   Lyrics by Cheng Kwok-kong   Arr. by Ng Cheuk-yin


Heart on Fire (Theme from the movie Fight and Love with a Terra Cotta Warrior) Joseph Koo and James Wong Lyrics by James Wong Arr. by Ng Cheuk-yin


Guanzi, Suona and Orchestra  Let Go of All Love  (Theme from the HKTVB Drama Series The Legend of Master So); The Understudy (Theme from the HKTVB Drama Series The Understudy)  Arr. by Joseph Koo based on his own composition

Guanzi, Suona: Ma Wai Him


Golden Hits from Television and Movies – Medley (Excerpts) Arr. by William Wu based on his own composition
Times We Have Gone through Together (OST from the movie Casino Raiders II)  Lyrics by Siu Mei
Tricks to Seize the Upper Hand in Close Combat (OST from the movie The Legend of the Drunken Master II


RTV Dramas Suite  Michael Lai Lyrics by Jimmy Lo Arr. by Pong Law

Reincarnated (Theme from the ATV Drama Series Reincarnated)  
Fatherland (Theme from the ATV Drama Series Fatherland)


All About Ah Long Suite  Lo Ta-Yu Arr. by Pong Law
Maybe It Ain’t Easy (Exit music from the movie All about Ah Long)  Lyrics by Douglas Li

Ah Long’s Love Song (Theme from the movie All about Ah Long) Lyrics by Sam Hui


Sam’s Songs in the Movies  Music and Lyrics by Sam Hui Arr. by Ng Cheuk-yin

The Private Eyes (Theme from the movie The Private Eyes)
Aces Go Places (Theme from the movie Aces Go Places)
Love Song of Two Stars (Theme from the movie Games Gamblers Play)
The Contract (Theme from the movie The Contract)
Music Views & Previews

Kindling Fond Memories

Chow Fan-fu

Music tracks from movies and television series often kindle fond memories in its audience. Generations of viewers in Hong Kong have collectively experienced this firsthand.

Original scores and “handpicked” soundtracks

From the era of silent movies to talking motion pictures, through to the arrival of television for the household, in both short advertising messages and long television dramas, whether on the big screen in cinema halls or the small box in living rooms, music has always been inseparable from the overall audio effects. Even with silent films, musicians were frequently present to play live “accompaniment” for them.

The music that is so much an integral part of movies and television, especially television drama series, comprises both theme songs and purely instrumental tracks. They may be original scores specially written for the movie or series, or “put together” using ready-made music. Medleys and ensembles of some of these original theme songs and “assembled” soundtracks are included in this concert. The more noteworthy works
among them are the original Song of the Fisherman of the East Sea by Ma Shenglong and Gu Guanren, Theme of the Pioneers by Yu Huiyong and Hu Dengtiao, and Prelude of Dagger Society by Shang Yi. Although these titles were not composed specifically for film, they often occur in movie soundtracks. During an age when “assembling” soundtracks (handpicking existing music off-the-shelf, like picking herbs at a Chinese medicine shop to make up a traditional medicinal recipe) was common industry practice, familiar strains from these compositions were often used in the soundtrack, especially in wuxia movies popular at the time.

Beautiful cantabile melodies 

The soundtracks released with movies and television dramas may, for the eyes and ears of viewers, be described as functional practical music. The function of such accompanying music is largely to trace the storyline as it develops, simultaneously enhancing its dramatic and visual effects and intensifying the emotions evoked by the characters portrayed in the story, in order to increase audience appeal.

A common characteristic of movie and television music is their melodic, cantabile appeal. When coupled with the on-screen images, they can effectively create emotional responses in the audience. With or without vocals, many of these melodies are sweet and catchy. Listeners tend to remember the tunes for a long time, and this is a key reason why film and television music has such capacity to kindle fond collective memories.

That being said, film and television music is generally ballad-like, with short and simple structures. Budget constraints also mean that the soundtracks are largely played by an ensemble rather than a full-size orchestra. So, for this concert, the soundtracks featured are given new instrumentation so they can give the Chinese orchestra ample opportunities to display its rich expressiveness. Often, different theme songs can be rearranged to form song cycles or medleys.

This concert programme of rearranged and adapted soundtracks is performed without the benefit of visual stimuli from the movies or television. To keep the audience interested and captivated through sound alone, not only is preserving the original melodies a prime consideration, deft transformation of colours is just as important. In addition, for the medleys or suites, transitioning between the individual theme songs has to be natural and seamless, so as to provide an audio experience that exceeds the audience’s expectations. 

In this way, even those who have not seen the films or television serials in question can enjoy the tuneful music purpose-arranged for the  evening. And of course, for Hong Kongers who have gone the distance with the movies and dramas, there is also the beautiful trip together down memory lane!
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