MORE THAN TWICE THE SOUND
A duo featuring cello and sheng takes inspiration from an ancient monk's epic journey to retrieve scriptures and has been adapted for concerts, Chen Nan reports.
The concert, with the theme of "Bridging the Glorious Dynasties of Ancient China: Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang", will also include several other works, including Harken Back to Zhou, by Malaysian composer Chew Hee Chiat, who serves as the assistant artistic director and resident conductor of the orchestra. The piece reflects Chew's imaginative exploration of the rites and music of the Zhou Dynasty (c. 11th century to 256 BC), with an embedded commentary on the transition from the Western Zhou to the Eastern Zhou, offering insights into the modern world.
Another highlight is The Terracotta Warriors, a fantasia by the late Chinese composer and conductor Peng Xiuwen, which captures the suffering of Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) soldiers stationed far from home at the frontier.
The Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) chapter will be represented by Eighteen Variations on a Hu Pipe Melody, adapted from a poem by Cai Wenji, a renowned poet from the Eastern Han Dynasty. The music, arranged by Ng Tai-kong, the former artistic director of the orchestra, will feature soprano Wu Bixia performing alongside the orchestra.
Yan, who has been the artistic director and principal conductor of the orchestra since 1997, notes that this concert represents a special moment in the orchestra's history.
"In 2008, the orchestra became the first performing arts group from Hong Kong to perform at the NCPA's inaugural season," says Yan. "We were invited back in 2009, and now, our performances have become part of a continued cultural exchange."
