Mantra
of Puan 普庵咒
Selling Vegetables 賣菜
Men of Letters 墨客
Running Streams 流水
Five Colors 五色 - 即興笙獨奏
Sound of Tianzhu 天竺梵音
Pipa Language 琵琶語
Along the River During the Qingming Festival 清明上河圖
The Orchids 幽蘭
Lao Liu Ban 老六板
To reflect upon diaspora outside
of Jewry risks a certain degree of cultural trespass. Being aware
of the totalistic nature of Diaspora Jewry, I cannot find a better
word to describe the impact of the involuntary exiles of the Chinese
intelligentsia in the last century.
When a largely conservative (and conservatory) people are dispersed
and forced to re-plant their cultural roots in totally foreign land
at such a scale, the word diaspora naturally comes to the mind. Allowing
ample room for differences, the imagery of the lost paradise and that
of the Peach Gardens deep in the mountains are certainly not the same,
yet the impacts within are equally profound.
It is said that talent has two characteristics: hunger and occasional
eruptions. What lies in between might be a continuous flow of quiet
improvisation.
That is why we found the musician groups in New York (and elsewhere)
so interesting. It was a multi-layer mixture of the ever-changing
old mother land and the re-sowing in the new "peach gardens"
in the foreign countries that made the musicianship so rich and humorous
and yet often with a deep feeling of lost and sadness.
More than a half century ago, my late teacher Prof. Tang Jun-yi predicted,
"the disperse of flowers and seeds will inevitably lead to a re-rooting
of the Chinese (Confucian) culture."
We probably will never reenter the past cultural "paradise"
, yet we might be able to cultivate totally new "peach gardens"
where ever we happen to be.
And the main themes of the "New Gardens" keep changing
every thirty some years, the hurt of self-inflicted pains, the new
hope in educating the next generation at whatever cost, and a continuation
of the free spirit of the ancient imaginary land……, one layer over
the other.
The deep reflections alternate from the wild fantastic to the sublime
serenity of the inner self. I found the improvisations are often more
revealing than the carefully constructed compositions.
photo credit:
Lucy Lu, Chi Wei Lo, Yoo-Kyung Kim, and Cathy Chan
Meet The Artists
(in alphabetical order)
BAO Jian
包鍵
A
graduate of Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, Bao Jian
has gained tremendous attention as an outstanding performer
of guanzi through numerous appearances as soloist and chamber
musician worldwide. Hailed by The Berlin Daily Post for his
"pure hallowed music from the East, " Mr. Bao boasts an impressive
list of awards including the 1998 Pro Musicis International
Award in New York and First Prize in the 1995 "International
Chinese Ethnic Instrumental Competition" in Beijing. Mr. Bao
is also acclaimed as a major innovator of contemporary works.
His performance of the "Lin Li" concerto with the Hong Kong
Philharmonic Orchestra set new standards for the guanzi . With
saxophonist Kenneth Radnofsky, he premiered Lei Liang's "Extend"
at the New England Conservatory's Spring Music Festivals at
Jordan Hall. With The Phoenix Symphony, he premiered Xu Zhenmin's
"Mooring at night by the Maple Bridge.". He is currently the
Artistic Director of the Chinese Performing Arts of North America
and the Artistic Director of the East Wind Percussion Music
Academy.
A
pioneering multi-style cellist, singer, composer, and educator,
hailed by Yo-Yo Ma as the "ideal musician of the 21st-Century",
and acclaimed by The New York Times for his "vital rich-hued
solo playing". While studying at the Juilliard School, Mike
joined Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, with which he has toured
extensively, and won the 2017 Grammy Award for Best World Music
Album. Mike is an active recording artist of original material,
folk music, cross-cultural collaborations, and he has an ongoing
project to record all of the Bach cello suites in acoustically
glorious bathrooms of famous concert halls, via BachInTheBathroom.com.
As a music educator, Mike is passionate about emphasizing creativity
and collaboration, leading to the founding of the Mike Block
String Camp began in 2010. MBSC provides players of all backgrounds
the opportunity to learn from a world-class faculty in a variety
of styles, and supports the exploration and development of the
artistic voice of each student. Mike is also the founding Director
of Silk Road’s Global Musician Workshop, bringing together musicians
from around the globe, and he created the online Multi-Style
Cello School at ArtistWorks.com, with an extensive library of
instructional videos. In 2012, Mike was appointed Associate
Professor at the Berklee College of Music. Mike plays on a cello
made in 2014 by Fabienne Gauchet, with D’Addario strings, a
David Gage Realist pickup, and the patented cello strap of his
own design, The Block Strap.
CHEN Tao
陳濤
An
internationally acclaimed Chinese flutist, music educator, composer
and conductor of Chinese orchestra, is the founder and director
of the Melody of Dragon, Inc., the co-founder and director of
Melody of Dragon & the Youth, the artistic director and conductor
of the Chinese Music Ensemble of New York and the conductor
of New Jersey Buddha’s Light Youth Chinese Orchestra. The New
York Times called Chen Tao, a "poet in music" and
his playing "a miracle of the oriental flute." Conductor
Herbert Von Karajan praises him as an artist who "performs
with his soul." Chen Tao is a graduate and former Associate
Professor at the prestigious Central Conservatory of Music in
Beijing. He was the winner of the 1989 National Folk Instrument
Competition in China and has toured throughout U.S., Germany,
Italy, France, England, Holland, Finland, Singapore, Hong Kong,
Taiwan and Macao. He has collaborated with the BBC Philharmonic
and the Notional Orchestra of Lyon. His playing can be heard
on several soundtracks of Hollywood movies including Seven Years
in Tibet, Corrupter (with the New York Philharmonic) and on
the PBS documentary Under the Red Flag.
Jianbing
has earned wide recognition for his artistry as a sheng soloist
and composer. Mr. Hu graduated from the Central Conservatory
of Music in China. He founded the Chinese Performing Arts of
North America, of which he is the President. Mr. Hu joined Yo
Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble and did a number of performances
and workshops at museums and concert hall around the world.
He collaborated with San Francisco Symphony and Seattle Symphony
to perform world premier composition of "Sheng and Orchestra"
as the soloist. In recent years, Mr. Hu has been focused on
music improvisation. His current solo albums are "Hu Jianbing's
Skies" , "Guanzi and Sheng" , "Extension" , …. The Boston Globe
wrote of his recent performances: "he has an impressive command
of the sheng and of a broad range of its classical, folk, and
modern musical literature."
A
soloist of the Melody of Dragon, Inc. Since she moved to America
in 1994, Liu Li has been invited frequently to perform and lecture
throughout the country. Her collaboration with the New Music
Consort of the Manhattan School of Music's Chamber Orchestra
received high praise from the critics. She has also performed
at Lincoln Center, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Japanese
Society, La Mama Theater, the Metropolitan Museum of Arts and
other New York venues. In February 1996, inviting by Taiwan's
National Music Ensemble in Taipei, Liu Li held a concerto performance
in the National Hall of Music as well as a lecture on Guqin
music, both of which received critical acclaims. In 2002, she
collaborated on the movie recording of "Hero" composed
by Oscar winner Tan Dun with world famous violin master Itzhak
Perlman.
A
Guzheng virtuoso steeped in century-old Chinese traditions,
is crossing musical boundaries that few others have dared to
cross. She is playing a new role in both traditional and contemporary
music on her Guzheng. Hui has been awarded the gold medals,
"National Rising Star" and "Oriental Artist"
among other honors for her performances in major national and
international competitions. In January 2011, Hui presented a
successful solo concert in Beijing and released her first album
"Men of Letters" . In 2012 she was accepted as the first Guzheng
player of New England Conservatory’s Contemporary Improvisation
department, under the supervision of Dr. Hankus Netsky. By performing
in a multicultural and academic environment at NEC, Hui has
been exploring new musical innovations on the Guzheng, and is
developing her modern style of Guzheng performance by seeking
the perfect combination of Chinese traditional, Western classical
and contemporary improvisation. Hui has rearranged and performed
many cross cultural pieces and received critical acclaims. As
the recipient of the 2014 Emerging Artists Award from the St.
Botolph Foundation, she is recognized for her expansion of Guzheng
performance and composition to include singing and dancing.
Hui was invited to the educational residency program at Brandeis
University, which brings highly accomplished artists worldwide
for teaching and performance. Since 2014, Hui started to collaborate
with YoYo Ma’s silk road ensemble. Hui received her BM in Guzheng
performance from Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing; MM
in Contemporary Improvisation from New England Conservatory,
and is currently holding a teaching position at New England
Conservatory Preparatory since September 2014.
A
renown banhu performer, is now the soloist and Artistic Director
of the New York Chinese National Orchestra. He stared erhu at
young age and was admitted to the Shanghai National Orchestra
with honor, majoring in banhu under the tutelage of banhu master
Gao Jianjun, as well as erhu master Xiang Zuying. He also received
individual guidance by the Jiangnan Sizhu virtuoso Zhou Hao
on the Jiangnan Sizhu playing style. Through his playing and
charm, the Jiangnan Sizhu has became more noticeable. Prior
to his settling in the United States, he was the principal soloist
of the National Orchestra of the Shanghai Opera House. After
twenty years of active career on stage, his performances are
mature, sensitive and solid.
Praised
for her "breathtaking" meticulous technique and
expressiveness by The Washington Post, Zhou Yi started to learn
music at the age of five. After graduating from the Shanghai
Conservatory of Music, Zhou Yi moved to New York. Her highlight
performances include: Tan Dun’s "Concerto for Pipa and
String Orchestra" at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig Germany;
Young People’s Concert with the New York Philharmonic; Bun-Ching
Lam’s pipa concerto "Song of the Pipa" with the
Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra; "Sisters of the Grassland"
pipa concerto with the Ohio Youngstown Symphony Orchestra; guest
Chinese instrumentalist with the San Francisco Opera for Bright
Sheng’s "Dream of the Red Chamber" ; seasonal Chinese
instrumentalist with the Santa Fe Opera for Huang Ruo’s
"Dr. Sun Yat-sen" ; performed with the Momenta Quartet for Tan
Dun’s theatrical work "Ghost Opera" ; recorded the music
for David Henry Hwang’s two off- Broadway productions, "The
Dance and the Railroad" , and "Kung Fu" ; played as a
leading musician in Lincoln Center Festival’s Paradise Interrupted;
collaborated with Damon Albarn (Gorillaz/Blur) in Spoleto Festival’s
premiere show, "Monkey: Journey To The West" ; joined Carnegie
Hall’s "Musical Explorer" program. Zhou Yi is a
co-founder of the Ba Ban Chinese Music Society of New York.
During the Qing
Dynasty, there were three gathering locations for blind-artist
communities, namely the "Public Hall" of the Beijing
East City Big Buddhist Temple, the "Wuben Hall" of NaiZiFu,
the "Xinyi Hall" of the DongBiaoBei East Alley.
All the "Halls" were properties of the previous
generations. The blind-artists were devoted musicians, earning
their living by singing and performing. They also learned to
become fortune tellers. Because they are blind people, it was
considered "safe" to perform in front of the noble
and elite, including the female members of the highest ranking
social classes. The blind artists who play the instrument "Sanxian"
(three-strings) considered the special art and technique private
and secret, practice only with closed doors, without any exposure
to the outsiders. According to AixinjueluoYuhuan's father, Yuhan's
collection of Sanxian music was obtained by spending the amount
of silver dollars that equaled to his body weight.
In an impressionistic manner, Men of Letters was composed
to describe the unique soul of the Chinese art of calligraphy.
This piece is comprised of five sections: "immerse", "stain",
"dissolve", "splash", and "pour", which are named from the five
actions in calligraphy. An important feature of this composition
is characterized by the masterly adoption of artistic elements
from the Kunqu, one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera.
The marriage between the Guzheng and Kunqu makes the expressionism
of this work bold and unrestrained without losing its elegance
and refinement. With the sequential progression of the
five parts, this music vividly portrays the noble-minded character
of the Chinese ancient scholars, and emphasizes the harmonious
nature of Chinese culture. Ms. Weng Hui premiered this piece
composed especially for her, in a concert entitled "Men
of Letters" in Beijing of 2011. The piece has been
widely performed, and is a frequently required repertoire in
many professional competitions in China.
The music goes back to the Spring and Autumn Warring Periods
(770-476 BC) and was inspired by the story of the friendship
between Boya and Ziqi. The story is always used reminisce
sincere friendship and to deplore the scarcity of bosom friends.
5, Five Colors五色- Impromptu
即興笙獨奏 for
Sheng
笙solo by Hu Jianbing
胡建兵
The five colored prayer flags seen everywhere in the Qinghai-Tibet
Plateau are called "Ronda" in Tibetan language. They are rectangular
banners made of cotton, linen, silk and other materials, in
a total of five colors -blue, white, red, green, and yellow,
in this particular order. They symbolize sky, clouds, fire,
rivers and the earth. The white clouds and the blue sky above
the earth, the monks' garments and their monastery in red and
yellow, and the movement of the people in dark skin, form a
beautiful natural painting.
Kucina was an ancient country in the Silk Road, where the business
people rested and were entertained. The famous Kucina culture
was formed by merging of different nationalities. It included
music, dance, and especially its unique painting, now the only
preserved cultural relics in the Kuqa Kizil Thousand Buddha
Cave. This piece is composed by using the musical elements of
the Chinese Tang Dynasty and Central Asia.
Inspired by the single plucking tones of the pipa from the Pingtan
art form frequently performed in the southern tea house, this
composition was published in Hai Lin’s 2003 music album
"Images of Pipa" . The simple yet touching melody soon
became the icon of modern Chinese instrumental pop, and was
used as the movie sound track for "Letter from an Unknown
Woman." It demonstrates pipa’s lyrical playing style,
like lovers' whispers hummed into one's ear.
The music: "Along the river during the Qingmingfestivel"
was composed based on the painting of "Along the river during
the Qingming Festival" by the great painter Zhang Ze-Rui
in Song Dynasty. The music, like the 5.7-meter-long painting,
was written to describe the suburbs during the early spring
time, and launched a scroll of secular life and bustling scenes
of the the Northern Song Dynasty in the 10th century AD. There
are five movements in this piece.
Orchid is one of the "four gentlemen" of the Chinese
scholastic paintings, the other three "gentlemen"
are plum blossom, bamboo, and chrysanthemum. Orchid is
quiet and gentle, and is said like to keep a certain distance
from the outside world. It holds its own posture and sends
out an elegant faint fragrance. It is like to be breezed by
the gentle distant wind but not causing even a ripple.
As a poet once wrote: "no one knows where the orchid is
from, some guest planted it under the eaves of the veranda,
leaving us the fragrance. We appreciate it clearing up the air
for us, but we admire more the dew on its delicate leaves."
The Jiangnan region is the area along the
southern bank of the Yangtze River, including Jiangsu, Zhejiang
and Shanghai. Sizhu literally
means silk and bamboo which refers to the silk stringed and
bamboo made musical instruments, such as erhu, pipa, dizi, xiao
and sheng. JiangnanSizhu’s main repertoire is famed as
Eight Great Pieces. They are Huan Le Ge (Song of Joy), Yun Qing
(Cloud Celebration), Xing Jie (Street Procession), Si He Ru
Yi (Four Together as You Wish), San Liu (Three Six), Man San
Liu (Slow Three Six), ZhongHua Liu Ban (Moderate Ornamented
Six Beats), Man Liu Ban (Slow Six Beats). Lao Liu Ban
(Old Six Beats) is considered the mother piece, most
of the repertoire is derived from its basic structure and they
develops their own ornamented styles.
音
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