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Music about China 2
The annual music extravaganza is here again!
Exploring the boundless realm of modern Chinese orchestral music A sell-out concert with Music about China, in 2007
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What the Composer says¡G
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Festivity Wang Ning
I am delighted to have this opportunity to collaborate with the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra. It is a professional Chinese orchestra with very high standards, and enjoys international acclaim. I am impressed by the efficiency and professionalism of all the members, from concert management to administration, and from the various functional departments to the musicians themselves. The sections of the orchestra demonstrate their tacit understanding in creating a harmonious, balanced sound. In launching new works, they have also contributed tremendously to the repertoire of Chinese music with their accumulated commissioned works.
Scenes of Rivers Xiao & Xiang Yang Qing
This is a work commissioned by the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra in 1998.
As a native of Hunan, I hold the landscape, the place and the people dearly to my heart. There is a saying in Chinese about chilli lovers, "it's alright to be spicy hot, it's only not alright when it's not." The craving for the spicy hot sensation among the Hunan people has become very much a part of their lives, so much so that the 'spiciness' is no longer limited to the palate, but has become an ingrained part of their character and attitude towards life. Therefore, an undaunted spirit, a resilience and a passion are manifested in whatever they do.
But then, there is another side to the Hunan character. In the works of the famous Chinese novelist, Shen Congwen, the Hunan people come alive as a sensitive, tender loving lot.
Like the belief that what kind of land would breed what type of character, the surging River Xiang and the serene Mount Hengshan have bred a people with a unique charm.
My heart goes out to that magical land still¡K.
Chang'An Symphony Zhang Haofu
(Commissioned by the HKCO / World Premiere)
When Mr Yan Huichang, Artistic Director of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, invited me to write a piece for them, the first idea that flashed through my mind was to write about the loess plateau in the northwestern part of China. It should be a song in praise of the hardy people who have, for generation after generation, lived on that vast, ancient but infertile land. My musical conceit should probe into their inner psyche, and picture their mind and soul. The people in that region are noted for their open-hearted exuberance, earthy simplicity and tenacity in spirit. They can bring the sky down with their yells when they are happy, and tear at all hearts with their weeps and wails when they are sad. It has always been my wish to write music about them, and I am truly grateful to the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra for giving me this opportunity to fulfil my fervent dream. I would, therefore, like to dedicate this piece to my good friend, Huichang, and the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra.
During those days and nights when I pored over my staves, two verses from a poem by Du Fu to Li Bai, two of the greatest poets in Chinese literature, kept coming to my mind, "Each stroke of the brush raises a storm; each poem finished would make the spirits weep." I felt as if I was having visitations from the great poet Du, across the thousands of miles, to teach me, guide me and inspire me. It was as if I had suddenly been enlightened, and I could see what state of the art I should aspire to reach.
In writing the music and applying the subject matter, I recalled phrases of Shaanxi Opera music that had become part of my childhood memories. So I incorporated them into my music, in a way my heart and my composer instinct would dictate. Yet at the same time, I would not allow myself the wilful pleasure of using the opportunity solely for self-gratification with the so-called improvisation. While steering away from the lure of going along with what is popular, I also refrained from going to the other extreme and challenge the baseline of acceptance. I only tried my best to maintain an equable state of mind and turn the commonplace into an uncommon piece. I would put all my attention into giving a work of art its perpetual life, and ruminate what kind of work can earn its niche in the 'hall of fame' of its art form. To me, there should be at least two factors to an outstanding piece of music: a commonly recognisable 'orthodoxy' that springs from its traditional culture at its core, and a distinct 'externalisation' of character that is lacking in traditional culture. And this, is what I strive to achieve in my music-making.
Nine Suonas and Orchestra Dragon-lantern Tang Lok-yin
(Commissioned by the HKCO / World Premiere)
My association with the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra goes back a long way. Apart from writing and arranging music for the Orchestra, I was formerly a member of the big family, meeting tight rehearsal schedules and performing on stage. Also, I joined the Orchestra on site visits to Chaozhou, Shantou and Huizhou to collect folk songs as part of its Cadenzas of Hong Kong project. It was always an enjoyable trip as we could relax while we work.
Many of my works have been performed by the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, such as Li ¡V a concerto for two pipas, Sculpture for orchestra, and more recently, A Day in the Village which was part of the Cadenzas series, and Dragon-Lantern, which is on the programme of the Music About China concert of the Orchestra in the Hong Kong Arts Festival this year. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Orchestra for commissioning me to create the first ensemble of its kind with nine suonas and orchestra. My thanks also go to Mr Yan Huichang, Artistic Director of the HKCO, the nine suona players, and all my musician friends in the Orchestra for playing my work, Dragon-Lantern.
Zulu Gazing at the Rising Sun Bongani Ndodana-Breen
(Commissioned by the HKCO / World Premiere)
First I must say that the first time I heard the HKCO live, I was blown away. It is not just an orchestra, but a forward-thinking, engaging community of artists. I was very impressed by how they sought to break down the barrier between the concert stage and the auditorium by involving the audience in playing little drums. It was fun. Zulu Gazing at the Rising Sun has been a wonderful and unusual project for me. I had to learn a great deal about Chinese instruments (which was fascinating!) and my goal was to make them sing like African voices.
I don't think this has ever been done before ¡V an African composer composing for Chinese instruments on such a huge scale. I had to translate a lot of African vocal ideas and some rhythmic ideas to the sound world of a completely different culture. It was a bit challenging, and I am pleased with the result. These instruments are not used in the way that I think a Chinese composer would instinctively use them. The voicing and orchestration are different, with an interesting outcome.
Zulu Gazing at the Rising Sun is basically a greeting from one people (Africa) to another (China). It is a short message that says, "Hello neighbour, we have not talked for quite a while". It marks the increasingly warm relationship between the Chinese people and Africa, and our need to get along, work together as global neighbours, and understand each other. And what better way to communicate with each other than through the universal language of music, with African voices on Chinese instruments?
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Festivity Wang Ning
The music is a description of the celebrations on a feastday. It is made up of four sections, each incorporating the folk music elements of a specific region of China, such as the gongs and drums of eastern Zhejiang, the instrumental music of the ethnic minority tribes of Guangxi, the music of 'narrative singing' of Henan, and the regional opera of the northeast etc... It is therefore self-explanatory in meaning.
* The music was commissioned and premiered in April 2006 of the concert 'An East-West Crossover' by the HKCO, under the baton of Yan Huichang.
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Scenes of Rivers Xiao & Xiang Yang Qing
Scenes of Rivers Xiao and Xiang is a suite on Hunan and consists of four movements: The Ambiance, The Tunes, The Sentiments and The Intensity.
1. The Ambiance
This movement is built on an architecture that has assimilated some typical interval characteristics of the folk music of southern Hunan. The first theme is full of tension, poised to cry out and to explode; the second is quiet and calm, filled with sighs and moans. Sometimes in contrast and sometimes in conflict, the two themes closely intertwine to create the vast landscape of mountains and fields, or a stately, awe-inspiring temple. The struggle and helplessness of man are the two main threads of the work.
2. The Tunes
The mood of this section is in the main humorous, witty and generous, formed by a number of melodies with a strong Hunan flavour. Interesting and bubbling with life, the music manifests the optimism of the Hunan people as well as their positive attitude towards life.
3. The Sentiments
This movement focuses on the colour of the music. An old love song, softly hummed, hovers amid the kaleidoscopic colours of the orchestra ¡K. The subtle changes of feelings are sublimated in the spectrum of colours.
4. The Passions
It is a recapitulation of the first movement with the return of the outcry-like theme, but the stronger rhythm gives it an even more powerful impact. The whole movement is built on a fast figure of the strings in a forward-dashing spirit. The irregular percussion with extreme intensity at the end of the movement is also emotionally overwhelming.
* The music was commissioned and premiered in April 1999 of the concert 'Spring Comes to the Garden' by the HKCO, under the baton of Yan Liang-kun.
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Chang'An Symphony Zhang Hao-fu
This work in two movements is written on the basis of the concept of polyphonic music.
The first movement - Allegro: it employs in the main the techniques of imitative polyphony and variations. Throughout the movement, imitations in various guises are used to provide phonic undulations and appropriate responses for established motifs. The music conveys an unbridled passion, with a rhythm that is full of vigorous dynamics.
The second movement - Adagio: this is mainly composed in a contrastive dual tonality and through the development of the melody. Through various linear contrasts, the movement has a fluidity that is interspersed with rich and colourful variations. The music here is poignant and deeply emotional, and the melodic line is full of twists and turns.
These two seemingly disparate movements correspond with each other so that the work forms a coherent whole. The contrasts usually take the form of a masculine robustness that is tinted with subtle emotions and a mild bitterness. On the other hand, the feminine, gentle side of the music embraces a power that goes straight to the heart and soul of the listener. There are no superficial imitations of life here, nor paper-thin delineations of sorrow and joy. The emotions that make up life are far too rich and varied to be represented in words, and perhaps music has its place in providing for the ideal medium of emotional expressions.
Commissioned by the HKCO / World Premiere
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Nine Suonas and Orchestra Dragon-lantern Tang Lok-yin
One suona soloist plays against 4 groups of suona accompanies. I imagine the body of dragon is distributed by different groups of suona. The movements of the dragon are imitated by using various glissandos, to show the gorgeous wavy shape of moving dragon. Four specify motions are noted with different orchestration: hidden dragon, swinging tail, offensive dragon and flying dragon.
"Dragon-lantern" also describes the scene when the dragon comes and lights up every lantern for celebrating the Lantern Festival and brings people joy and luck.
Commissioned by the HKCO / World Premiere
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Zulu Gazing at the Rising Sun Bongani Ndodana-Breen
The orchestral piece Zulu Gazing at the Rising Sun represents an unusual collaboration for the South African-born composer Bongani Ndodana-Breen. Here we find the gentle meeting of two ancient sound-worlds, African and Chinese, in gentle melodies and harmonies, seen through a sort of post-modernist lens.
The composer was inspired by the familiarity between some Chinese traditional folk tunes and the traditional melodies of Southern Africa (especially those of the Zulu, Xhosa and Venda people). He decided not to focus on the usual African stereotype of drums and heavy percussion and instead emphasize melody and layers of counterpoint, which in themselves give a clear indication of the rhythmic complexity of traditional African music. There seems to be a connection in the use of the five note scale and, to a lesser extent, the heptatonic scale often encountered in northern Chinese folk music.
This led to a thought on how two musical cultures that had no historically recorded contact would approach each other? How can cultures divided by vast oceans relate to each other?
Through Zulu Gazing at the Rising Sun, Ndodana-Breen puts forward that by affirming our common humanity - a concept Africans called "ubuntu" - a link can be forged, bringing these two ancient cultures together. This humanist philosophy of "ubuntu" is best captured by Archbishop Desmond Tutu: "A person with 'ubuntu' is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole¡K" The idea of our common humanity ¡§ubuntu¡¨ leads us to believe that we, as global citizens and as people, are all connected and inter-dependent.
Working with African folk-like motifs and musical forms for an orchestra of traditional Chinese instruments, the composer has created unusual sound textures. According to the composer "I found myself trying to channel African voices through Chinese instruments. Vocal music is the main staple of my African tribe, The Xhosa, and to me this was the equivalent of breathing an African soul into these wonderful ancient instruments."
The music is gentle, invoking tenderness, affection and openness. Cultures getting to know one another, two friends meeting, a Zulu gazing warmly at a friend in the east.
Commissioned by the HKCO / World Premiere
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Institutions participating in the
"HKCO - Institutions Partnership Programme"
Composition Department, The School of Music,
The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts
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27.2.2008
Time : 8:00 pm
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Venue :
Hong Kong City Hall
Concert Hall |
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$300, 200, 100
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Yan Huichang
Conductor |
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¡§Meticulous execution with a charming stage presence¡¨
The Straits Times, Singapore
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¡§The group's charismatic conductor, Yan Huichang, directed the afternoon with sophisticated elan.¡¨
Bruce Hodges, MusicWeb International
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Wang Ning
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Wang Ning is currently Head of the Department of Composition and Director of its Multimedia Music Centre at the China Conservatory. He is also a director of the Chinese Musicians' Association and an Executive Committee Member of the China Nationalities Orchestra Society. He was an adjudicator of music competitions and awards presented by the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Culture, State Administration of Radio, Film and TV, the General Administration of Press and Publication, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Education and the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles (CFLAC) as well as the China Golden Bell Music Award, the Golden Rooster Award, All China Music Compositions Accreditation etc.. He was named an Outstanding Young Teacher of High Schools in Beijing in 1993, and was the winner of the 2005 China Academy Award. He was presented with the accolade as an 'Outstanding Contributor to the Promotion of Culture and the Arts in Beijing'.
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Wang is a prolific composer. His music covers a broad range of subjects that demonstrate his solid training, knowledge, insightful musical thoughts, outstanding character and genuine concern for humanistic issues. Over the years, he works by his belief that music should evolve round the character of the individual while gleaning from the composition techniques of the west and the traditional culture of China. His works have been frequently performed in China and other parts of the world, and have won many major music awards, including the China Golden Bell Music Award, the Wenhua Award, the China Academy Award, and the All China Music Composition Awards. His works have been selected for the Chinese New Year Concert at the Goldenersaal, Musikverein of Vienna and A Compendium of Music by Chinese Contemporary Composers. Some of his notable compositions include Symphony No. 3: Call for the Future; Symphonic Prelude No. 1: New Times; The Drunken Celestial, Duet for Erhu and Orchestra; The Three Kingdoms and Guo Feng ¡V Symphony and Literature; The Ancient Cadence of Gui Chuan, Festivity, Ode to Water (three variations), Hebi-I@rhythm.com for Chinese orchestra; the Computer Concerto 'Wu Ji'; and the epic opera, Liu Bang ¡V the First Emperor of Han.
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Among Wang's many publications, the most notable treatises include An Elementary Course in Orchestration, which was recognized as 'valuable teaching material for higher education' and was included on the official booklist recommended as 'National Teaching Material under the Directive of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan' of China; Debussy's Idea of Composition and His Orchestral Works, A Further Study of the Construction of the Chinese Orchestra and Its Development, and his doctoral thesis, The Chinese Orchestra ¡V Its Origins and Developments. The full scores of his complete works in printed and CD format are released by the Shanghai Music Publishing House and the Beijing Publishing House.
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Yang Qing
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Yang Qing graduated from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in 1983 and worked in the Department of Composition of the Chinese Conservatory of Music in Beijing. He was Head of the Centre of Orchestration and Musical Form Studies and Research as well as the Centre of Composition Studies and Research, and Deputy Head of the Department of Composition of the Conservatory.
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Yang is currently Professor and Dean of the School of Music of Capital Normal University, a member of the University's Academic Committee, Vice Chairman of the Beijing Musician's Association, a director of the Chinese Musician's Association, Executive Committee Member of the China Nationalities Orchestra Society, a member of the Education Advisory Committee on Master of Fine Arts Degrees in China, and also a member of the Education Advisory Committee on the Arts under the Ministry of Education in China.
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Zhang Hao-fu
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Zhang Hao-fu was born in Xi'an, China in 1952, and entered the Xi'an Conservatory of Music in 1977 where he studied Composition under Profs. Du Boxing, Rao Yuyan et al. After graduating in 1982, he worked as a full-time composer with the China Broadcasting Performing-Arts Troupe between 1982 and 1987. During those years, he won several national composition competitions and awards for original music scores for film and television.
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Zhang went to Europe in 1987 to further his studies at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels and l'Ecole normale superieure de musique in Paris, where he was a student of Jacqueline Fontyn and Yoshihisa Taira respectively. He graduated from both institutes in 1992 with diplomas in Composition. He was highly appraised and commended when he attended the master class of Edison Denisov, the famous Russian composer, at the Lucerne Conservatory of Music in 1991. Between 1992 and 1994, after a stringent admission exercise, he entered the IRCAM (Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique) to study modern music composition.
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Zhang has won many major prizes in international competitions for composers, including the first prize at the 4th International Composition Competition at Havre in 1990 with The Movement of Time for wind ensemble and percussion; a laureate at the 13th International Valentina Bucchi Prize Composition in Rome in December of the same year with Dusk for cello and symphony orchestra; and three composition prizes presented by the Royal Institute for the Study and Conservation of Belgium's Artistic Heritage, Quartet for Strings No. 3 and for piano solo in 2002 and Quartet for Strings No. 2 in 2006. In 2007, he was presented with the Prix Darche Freres Award by the Belgian government in honour of his outstanding achievements in composition. He was listed in The International Who's Who in Music and Musicians' Directory (Cambridge) in 1998.
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Zhang's solo album releases include Qin-Xiao (Cypres, Belgium, 2005) and Er-Ren-Tai (Megadisc Classics, Belgium, 2008).
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Zhang has been a professor at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, by appointment of the Ministry of Education of Belgium, since 1997.
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Tang Lok-yin
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Tang Lok-yin is a talented young composer in Hong Kong, with a brilliant track record of prizes and awards to her credit. In 2006, she was awarded a Young Composer Award for her "Volcanicity" at the International Competition for Chinese Orchestral Composition organised by the Singapore Chinese Orchestra. In 2007, her chamber ensemble piece "The Giving Tree II" won the first prize at the Asian Pacific Festival 2007 Young Composer Composition Competition, which was part of the activities of the Asian Composers' League Conference in New Zealand. In June the same year, she won an Outstanding Award at the "Palatino" Piano Composition Competition in China. In December 2007, she was awarded the ACL Yoshiro Irino Memorial Prize by the Asian Composers' League, which made her the first female composer in Hong Kong ever to win this accolade. She was also awarded a 2007-08 Fulbright Scholarship to conduct a ten-month research and exchange programme at the Columbia University in New York City.
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Tang's works have been frequently performed in other parts of the world, including Germany, France, Belgium, Denmark, Poland, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, mainland China and Macao where she won critical acclaim. Her Convergence I for orchestra was selected for performance at the 2003 Musicarama held in Japan. It was followed by Convergence II, which was performed at the 2005 Acanthes Festival by the Orchestre National de Lorraine. This was later made into a recording for release. Another orchestral work, Emulation was the opening number for the International New Music Festival in Israel in 2004. The Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra has also performed many of Tang's works, such as Li ¡V concerto for two pipas and Sculpture for orchestra. More recent commissioned works by the HKCO include A Day in the Village, which was part of its Cadenzas of Hong Kong project, and Dragon-Lantern, which is part of the programme of the HKCO's Music About China II concert at the Hong Kong Arts Festival 2008.
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During her studies, Tang already won many scholarships and awards to attend international music camps and festivals, such as the IRCAM Summer Course in Paris (2001); the Darmstadt Summer Course for New Music in Germany (2002); the HSBC Scholarship to study at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing (2002); three Asian Cultural Council scholarships to participate in the Aspen Music Camp (2004), the Acanthes Festival music camp in France (2005 and 2007) etc..
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Tang received her first and second degrees in Composition at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She is currently pursuing a programme on music composition leading to a doctoral degree at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Apart from writing music, she also arranges, performs and teaches.
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Bongani Ndodana-Breen
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Composer and conductor Bongani Ndodana-Breen has written a wide range of music encompassing symphonic work, opera, chamber music and vocal music. According to the New York Times his "delicately made music - airy, spacious, terribly complex but never convoluted - has a lot to teach the Western wizards of metric modulation and layered rhythms about grace and balance. He reminds us that most of our notions about musical motion in the last century came in their roundabout way from Africa or Southeast Asia in the first place, and that Africans tend to do it better than we do."
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Performers around the world including the Belgian National Orchestra, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Vancouver Opera Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia, Natal Philharmonic, New York City's Vox Vocal Ensemble, Ensemble Noir, Ensemble Cosi Facciamo Munich, Chicago's Cube Ensemble, Ossia Ensemble and the choir of Wadham College Oxford University have performed his music.
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In January 2006 The Miller Theatre, New York City presented a concert entirely of Nododana-Breen's music. In the New York Times review of that concert, Bernard Holland wrote "Nododana is not a raw talent' he is a talent and, at 31, possesses a clear and gentle voice of his own." Current projects for 2006 and 2007 include music for Suzan-Lori Parks, Hottentot Venus for Aaron Davis Hall in New York, a piano quintet for Maria Joao Pires to premiere at Wigmore Hall in London and a new work for the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra. He has received commissions from organizations such as the Vancouver Recital Society, Madam Walker Theatre Indianapolis, Kazbah Project New York City, Southern African Music Rights Organization (SAMRO), UNISA International Violin Competition, The Emancipation Festival Trinidad & Tobago, Playhouse Company Durban and the Cape Town City Ballet.
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Ndodana-Breen, currently Artistic Director of Toronto's MuscialNOir/Ensemble Noir, was awarded the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for music in 1998, one of South Africa's most prestigious arts prizes. This award led to a commission for his opera-oratorio Uhambo that he conducted at South Africa's National Arts Festival. According to Canada's The Globe and Mail "He seems to be just as interested in giving pleasure as in opening people's mind ¡K which makes him doubly a novelty on the Toronto New Music scene."
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