Traditional Culture Revitalized with Music
Chow Fan-fu
The four pieces on the programme of this concert have been inspired by traditional Chinese culture in terms of subject matter and content; the musical reinterpretations can be described as injecting new energy into age-old cultural elements. ‘Hua Mulan’ and ‘Mu Guiying’ in the concert title are the names of two legendary heroines in China; the opening piece, Dragon Boat, is inspired by the folk custom of dragon boat racing during the Dragon Boat Festival; and The Dream of the Red Chamber Suite shares the title of one of the Four Classic Novels in Chinese literature.
Hua Mulan, Mu Guiying, Fan Lihua and Liang Hongyu are known as the Four Great Heroines in China. Whether they really existed is not important; they are legendary characters well known in Chinese folklore and have been a popular source of inspiration for theatre, dance and TV drama. Though different in nature, the story of the literary classic of Red Chamber and the source of the ancient custom of dragon boat racing represent the diverse spectrum of traditional Chinese culture that caters for different tastes. While some think that these elements are products of a bygone era and are obsolete, the opposite view is that traditional culture is always accruing and developing. Whichever way one looks at it, the four works in this concert have injected new energy by merging them into our everyday life and striking a mutual chord with the audience.
Revitalization through different forms and structures
Although all four pieces have traditional culture as their subject, different forms and structures are used for the energizing process. In The Dream of the Red Chamber Suite by Wang Liping, the eight sections are like eight different genre paintings depicting figures, emotions, festivities and customs, unravelling a lively scroll of the scenes and storyline of the novel.
In terms of form, Hua Mulan by Gu Guanren is in three sections, like the typical three-movement concerto. The pipa solo represents the female protagonist Hua Mulan, while the pipa and orchestra present the narrative of how Mulan joins the army on behalf of her father and fights on the battlefield. The respective captions progress with the development of the story – Mulan Loves Her Homeland, The Brave Soldier (with subsections The Enemy’s Aggression, Going to War and In Fierce Combat), and A Hero’s Homecoming. While Mu Guiying Leads Her Army to War, composed by Yang Muyun et al of the Central Philharmonic Orchestra of China and arranged by Kuan Nai-chung, also narrates in music the dramatic story of Mu Guiying, it uses the approach of the uninterrupted four-part symphonic poem and incorporates copious features from Peking Opera to enhance the story with a regional flavour.
Such a vernacular touch is an interesting foil to the concert opener, Dragon Boat, by Ng King-pan, which features the inter-relationship between the cultures of South China and of Hong Kong. Short like a prelude, this tight-knit and vibrant piece depicting the dragon boat race is rich in modern appeal.
New energy appeals to the modern audience
In fact, this version of Dragon Boat by Ng King-pan is an orchestral arrangement based on an earlier MV version, an ensemble piece mixed with electronic music commissioned by the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra in 2020. Similar to the other pieces on the programme this evening, it also has its roots in traditional Chinese culture, but the central idea is translated into music that has relevance to the contemporary way of life and is turned into positive energy. Such a process is crucial to the success of re-energizing traditional culture, failure of which would mean it cannot appeal to the modern audience. But I have confidence in the four pieces in this concert: as they have proven records of success in the past. The MV version of Dragon Boat has already lifted the spirits of many under the Covid-19 pandemic, and the other three have touched numerous hearts in the past and have become classics.
