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” soundtracksFrom 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!
